Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Fay M yers Suzuki Superm oto Classic McGrath 12) runs ove r the fallen Ga ry Trachy during heat-race action on Saturday. McGrath went on to win the heat before finishing second to his teammate Ward In the main event. would give him the Big Kahuna title. Schwantz was flawle ss out front , the Texan hold ing on fo r the v ict ory. Avar d he ld on for second ove r Burkhart, wi th Russell ho ld in g off t he advances of Metzge r to finish fo u rth . The Godfather of F reest y le h ad r id den superbly to fin ish f ifth after h is poor start. " I' m g lad we c h a n ge d to a 4 7 tooth sp ro c k et for Sunday - it was w ay better ," M etzger said . " No w we're se ndi ng th e moto r o ut for more power for next ro und in Vi rg inia. " Dr e w f ini sh ed s ixth , the W h ite Br o th e r s -b a ck ed r i de r stopping W ard ' s stea m ro ll t o keep W ard from er, finally gave in to a Burkhart pass in a motocross berm on the last lap . McGrath took the easy win , w ith B u r k h a rt , Drew and Pinson joinin g him. Dymond bolted to the early lead in the next race, wi th Schwantz, Russell and Matt Purs ley fighting behind hi m . Sm it h was forc ed off the track in the m el ee . D ymon d m a d e a mistake in turn three , and Schwantz poun ced , taking th e lead . Russell tried th e same move two laps la ter and got a na st y tail whip , and D ym ond wa s abl e to ho ld on to second . Schwantz, D ymon d and Russell were headed to the m ain event. In th e first se m i , Eric Pinson ro ar ed to t he lead but ev entually ga v e w ay t o M att Burton . Mik e Ha le , m ea n wh il e, ended his un lu c k y day w he n he stall ed hi s bik e . Bi a v a . S u n a nd J a son Cu r r an en ded up fi ghti n g for t he tra nsfer. Wh en it was all said and d on e , Burt on had t aken the v ictory , w ith B i a v a taki ng second and th e other transfer. St even Johnson grabbed the lead in the second sem i, but it was shortlived as Mike Smith took o v er on th e ex it of turn th ree . Lee was in an other epi c tussle fo r a transfer spot to th e main event, thi s ti me feeling the heat fr om t he fath er / son co m bi nation of Da vi d and Matt Sa do w sk i. T h e p res su r~ fro m the dici ng t rio proved to b e too m uch for J o h ns o n , and he crashed . Lee avoided close contact to make it to the big sh o w . S U NDA Y 'S MAIN E VEN T W ith th e $2000 bonus up fo r g rabs , it w a s M cGrath t ak in g the e ar l y lead, w it h Sc hwa n tz, Drew , Smith, Avard, W a r d , Ru s s ell, B u rk ha rt, Purs ley , Chisum , Zem ke , Trach y and Bi av a in cl o se form ation behind hi m . Met zg er , m eanwhile, g ot a t erribl e sta rt . Schwan tz took an ea rly sh o t at th e 48 S EPTEM BER 10, 2003 · cue lead on th e pavement as W ard sta rte d to heat up , passing Ava rd as Sm ith m ad e a high -speed asphalt m ove on Drew for thi rd place. Then , on lap three. th e m otocross world turned ups ide down . and th e B ig Kahuna outl ook sudd enly changed as both M cG rath and Ward came around at the b ac k of th e pa ck after suffering crashes . W ard was c lo se eno ug h to mak e so me o f it up, but McGrath w as w ay down and almost a lap beh ind . Road ra c e fan s we n t n ut s as Schwantz and Sm it h sta rted an aweso me d ue l fo r th e lea d, with D rew ge tting push e d b y Av ard . Russe ll loo k ed like h e wa s in po sit ion for a 3 3 ove ra ll, but Burkh art u s e d t h e m otocro ss sec tion to pass h im . Ru ssell wa s sudde n ly fourth with C his u m fift h, follo we d b y Lively , Zemke. Pursley and Trac hy. Metzger was blazing along in 10th. Ward, meanwhile. w as m aking up major ground and co ul d st ill en d up as t he Big Kahuna. Lap six saw Schwantz an d Smi th out fr ont , w ith Metzg e r p i ck in g o f f Trachy and Zem k e. W ard cou ld now s ee the t o p 10 , and M cGr ath wa s loo k ing at 18th place . Sudde nly, Sm it h c r a she d o ut in turn one while t ry ing to make a move on Schwantz. T he Georg ian c ou ld n' t get the bi k e restarte d and en de d up watch ing the race from a haybal e . Metzger grabbed two m o re spots and was now all the way up to seve nth . Ward , too , was impressive as h e'd move his way u p t o ni nth . McGrath . m ean wh il e, held d own 15 th . Avard. who was second. suddenly h ad B urk ha rt all o ver hi m w ith fo ur lap s remain in g . M etzg er con ti nued t o m o ve forw ar d , catchi ng Dr ew in fifth, th e l a tt e r a lso ga i ni ng on f ourthpl a c ed Ru ss ell . W ard w a s seventh , de spe rate to p ass Drew bec ause that e nevus earni ng t he Bi g Kahuna t itl e. Lively, Zem ke and Gifford rounded o u t the t o p 10 . On the podium , Burkhart received a lo t of pra ise for his ra cing sp eed and rightfu ll y so. " I j u st like th is type of racing , " Burkhart sa id . "T h ere' s less inj uries. So far th is is my second race, an d I' m pa y ing for everything and look ing fo r sponsors. " m Without doubt. the most colorful interview went to A vard . " W ell. crack le , that was th e best b loody r id e," A vard said . "T here was no catch ing K ev in [Schwantz] , and I got a lot of pressure from Burkhart. I've raced enduros , si x days and even gold-medalled, but that was the best track fo r a good ride. " As the crowd applauded , Schwantz blamed h is t eamm ate fo r h is hi gh fin ish. " It li t my fire being beaten by t he other S u zu ki yeste rday ," Schwan t z said . " I got some great break s along with good starts. I didn't think the big money was possible." CN FayMyers Suzuk Supermom Cla ic i ss Copper Mountain, Colorado Results : August Z3-Z4, Z003 SATURDAV FINAL: I . J eff Wa rd (H on ) : 2 . Jere my McGr8th (Hon ): 3 . Sco tt Russelll (Hon); 4 . M.ork Ava rd (Suz) ; 5 . Steve Drew (Hon ) ; 6. Kevin Sch wa ntz (S UI); 7 . Mi k e Me tzge r (Hon ) ; 8. Mark Burk hart (Yam) : 9. Micky Dymon d (KTM): 10. Josh Chis um (Hon): 11. Gary Trac hy (Hon ) : 12. Matt Pursley (Yam); 13. Jake Zemke (Ho n) ; 14. Trevis Marks (Hon ); 15. Don Blava (Hon) ; 16. Marc Gifford (Hon) ; 17. RZlndy Menn enga (Ho n); 18. Bla ir U vely (Yam): 19 . Troy Lee (Hoo): 20. Scott Larm ( Hoo) : 2 J. Mike Sm ith (Vam ). SUNDAY flN AL: 1. Kevin Schwantz (Suz); 2. Ma rk A vard (Suz); 3 . ~ rk Burkh art (Yam); 4. Sco tt Russelll (Hon) ; 5. Mik e Metzger (Hon) ; 6. Steve Drew (Hon): 7. Jeff Ward (Hon): 8. Bla ir Lively (Yam ): 9. Jake Zemke (Hon ): 10. Mar<: Gifford (Hoo): 11. Matt Burton (Hon) ; 12. Matt Pursley (Yam) : 13. Jeremy McGrath (H on ) ; 14. Don Bleve ( Hon); 15. Micky Dym ond (KTM ); 16. Trav is Marks (Hon): 17. Troy Lee (Hon ); 18. Eric Pinson ( KTM ): 19. Mik e Smith (Yam); 20 . Gliry T rechy (Ho n) ; 2 1. Josh Ch isum (Hon ). Own Race cB®, left California late, waiting on parts, and that put me here late and tired after dri Micky Dymond 9th/15th "Well, ving for two days. We have to run the 450 . and I usually run the 520 . KTM's been great with the bike and help. The rain was a new obstacle, and I felt like being sure and finishing for tomorrow was the smartest. I didn't get a good start and had [Kevin] Schwantz in front of me for the whole race. I was a littl e tried at the halfway point. The track allows me to hit sixth gear out back . and I use third {gear] for most the rest. I'm disappointed that [Mark] Burkhart passed me late in the race on Saturday. Sunday will be better. The qualifier was good; the main wasn't ." 7J ® Steve Drew 5t h/6t h "I need to step up for the main on Sunday. I have a couple of spots that I'm not comfortable with . Tum six has a dip that unweights the bike. It' s a little mind game when you're not a road racer. I'm look ing for a podium finish . Th e track is one of the fastest. You need to make no mistakes and be smooth - oth erwise you'll be passed. I'm always learning and try ing road racing techniques. Supermoto has a great racing atmosphere. 1started second and made fast moves right away that separates or discourges the compet ition. I should have let [Mark] Avard by late in the race." ®®7J Sco tt Larmside out in the fast flat track section. The rain messed with my 20th/DNF "Wow, I had a front-wheel head. I needed to relax. My helmet is toast. and the shoulder is not stellar. I was having a blast until that halfway point. [Jeff] Ward, [Scott ] Russell came by as 1was chasing Troy Lee. , tried to make up the time I lost and took a digger. My brakes are perfect for street and strong on dirt. The qualifier was awesome. I held the bubble the whole time with three racers dicing with me. I wouldn't look back. I just focused forward to be smooth. I love the track and atmosphere. Thanks to Danny Walker from Supercamp and Doc Ray Rossi for the bandage jo b." @1] Mike Bur kha rt 8th/3 rd "Laguna Seca was my first -ever Superm oto, so this is only my second one. I mostly motocrossed in the Ohio area, and I got tri ed of all the knee injuries. This is the best track yet. The dirt section is awesome. There's no advantage for anyone as the track is equal to all skills. My qualifier was cool because I went behind [Jake] Zemk e who caught [Jeremy] McGrath some. I got up to McGrath and was feeling good, but my footpeg hit the corner steel ring and stalled the bike. I came back and won the semi. The main was a lot of traffic and crashi ng. I started my way back but work ed up to eighth and passed [Micky] Dymond late. Sunday' s main was great. I got a good start and rode well. I was glad to make the podium , and I j ust missed second place."

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