Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

... w z Hotshoe Promotions Ohio Pro-AmHalf Mile Madison County Fairgrounds I Rules inIILondon George gl w By CRAIG GRISMORE San J ose Fairgrou nds: Chris Podergois (119) gave the outside a try in the 125cc Int erme diate class as flat track finally returned to the San Jo se area with round five of the CMA Bou nty Hunter Series In Santa Clara, Califo rnia. CMA Bounty Hunter Series IT Round 5: San Jose Fairgrounds Return to Glory By EDDIE G RA VEUNE SANTA CLAR A , CA , AUG. 15 For th e pa st few yea rs , m ot orcycl e raci ng ha s been enj oyi ng a g rowt h spurt. Moto cross is m or e popul ar tha n ever, and superm oto has fina lly started t o c atc h on here in th e Stat es, Perhaps th e m ost American form of motor cycle spo rt of all - flat tra ck is al so attra ctin g m ore attent ion than ever. Fact ory involve m en t from th e likes of KTM and Suzuk i, co m bined with the introduction of easil y adaptable four strok e m ot ocross bik es. has br eath ed new li fe int o th e ovals. Th ou gh less co m mon than the o val tr ack ra c es, TIs have c ap t u red the int erest o f a diverse g roup of ride rs . IT track s are a littl e d iffe re n t bec ause they usu all y hav e at least one jump and tu rn s in both directions. Mo to cro ss racers ha ve started to realiz e th e cro sstrain in g benefi t s of this form of racing , and th at has gi ven th e spo rt an other sho t in th e > a rm, Despite the new po pul arit y of m ot orc ycl es. so me of the glorious old racing venu es and regions ha ve been lost. Mot ocross has Sadd leba c k Park . Roa d ra cin g ha s t he is la nd o f Catalina . Until a few week s ago , fiat track had th e San Fra nci sc o Bay Area . No t anym ore. Th e Californi a Moto r c ycl e A sso ciation was able t o take its eve r -popula r Bounty Hunt er Series to a new "old" area in mid -Au gu st : the San Jose Fa irgro und s. A lon g with th e rest of Northern Cali fornia , th Ba y Area was a flat -track haven back in th e 19 7 0s , A r a p id l y gro w i ng p opu lation closed in, th ough, and it soo n bec am e im pos sible to get aw ay fro m residential areas. Th row in th e fact that San Francisco co uld be c ons ld ereel the nationa l ca pi tal of envi ro nmentalism , and you can see why th ings went south . Sinc e motorcycle racing hadn 't been pr esent in San Jose for so long , there was some question about how big th e rider turn out wo uld be. Th er e wa s no rea son to worry; the Bay A rea still ha s a lot of rid ers, and th ey jumped all over th e cha nce to race in thei r own neigh bo rhood instead of havi ng to drive for hours . Th e Four -Str ok e 91 ·125cc cla sses (which ba sic a ll y me a ns " X R 10 0 " ) h a ve become am on g th e m ost popular in flat -t rack and IT c ircl es. A dul ts usu all y turn o ut in high er nurnb e r s th an th e k ids t o r i d e o n t h e l i tt le ma ch ines and hav e some g rea t battl es while t h e y 're at it. B u t ch Coc h ra n sta rted t h e evening well, w inning th e opening m ot o on th e only Yamaha in th e field. Mik e Bessem er and Bro ok e Shaw fi ni shed behind hi m . but th e mom entum sh ifte d in the fin al ra c e. Sh aw wo n , ahead of J im Stilwell and J oe Carril lo , Co chran a nd B essemer c ould have p la ced well , ba sed on their first -moto finishe s, bu t rod e t o fo u rt h - and e ig h t h - pl ac e fi n is hes , res pectively , in the final. That meant th at Sha w's 3 -1 sc ore s took th e ove rall , foll ow ed by Sti lwe ll (5 -2) and Carrillo (4 -3) , The 250cc Novic e class was a wild one , to 60 S EPTEMBER 24, 2003' cue say th e least. If nothing else, it prov ed that a rider should never g ive up. After finishi ng fifth in th e first race, David Mo sier could have lost hope for a podium fini sh. Instead , he wen t out and won th e final m ote . With a little help fro m the rest of th e pac k , he won th e ove r all as well . Fresno ' s Ronn ie Vasq uez fi nished seco nd o n a C la wso n M ot orsp orts YZ 2 5 0F . Ch ri s Allen recove red from an eighth in the first ra ce to tak e th ird in the seco nd outi ng and wo und up th ird overall. Perseveran ce pa ys! Th e Modem O pen Ex pert division featu red some great racing, as well . Bessem er started quick ly again, winn ing aboa rd a full y co nv erted CRF450R. Un fort unat ely , he co uld n't put two m ot os togeth er and fin ished seventh in the seco n d r a c e . T ha t l eft a n o pe ni n g for m ot oc ro ss Pro Ken ny Heess, who se 2- J per f o r man c e p r op e lled h im t o v i ct ory . Ro d Spencer and Jess Medley co m pleted th e to p thr ee aft er a gr eat battl e in th e final m ota . Th e same th ree riders domi nated th e Dash Fo r Cash rac e; how ever, Sp enc er was able to tr ade fortunes w ith He ess . M ed ley fin is hed th ird o nce aga in aft er a st r ong effort in an un fam iliar form of racing . T h er e were m an y o th e r cl a sses fu ll o f ea ge r c o m pe t it o rs , in cl ud in g a v er y l arg e turn ou t in the q uad d iv isio ns. Th e riders and fans seem ed happ y , and th ere was gen uine co nc ern that th e event be c ons idered a suc c ess b y th e power s th at be. Som eon e must have been listening , bec ause th e CM A will return with a full series of Frid ay nigh t ITs in Sept em ber and Oct ob er, LO NDO N , OH , AU G. 16 Th e de bate co ntinues to rage aro und th e pits of th e U ,S , d ir t -track scene : A ft er - m ark et fram ers? MX -based stock ers? Sing les? Twins? 88 3s? Wh at is the bik e for the fu ture of dirt tra ck? Whil e the speculation co ntinues with in th e sport , o ne t h ing re m a ins cl ea r : A Ha rl ey Davidson XR75 0 with one Georg e Roeder II on board is a virtually unbeat able c om bination on an O hio half m iie. With th e untimel y pa ssing of his belov ed fath er , Georg e Sr.. back in M ay . Geo rg e th e Sec o nd (" Geo ") n ow assumes the "at th e tr ack " rol e of pat riarch of Ohio's number-o ne fam il y o f d irt-tra ck m otorcycl e raci ng . On Saturday, King Georg e II and his royal family ento urage roll ed int o London , O hio, seek ing to lay cl aim to th eir share of the $4000 Pro Am pu rse and also t o hono r the m emory of Georg e Sr. on th e occasio n o f wha t wo uld have been his 67 th bi rthd ay , The tra ck at th e M ad i son Coun ty Fa irg ro unds hadn' t seen bi kes since th e da y s of Geo rge Sr ., but thank s to the hard work and perseverance of th e fol k s from Hots hoe Pro ductions , the bikes were back! Th e riders were ea ger to d ig in to th e n ic e, deep Ohio pea gra vel cushion . On th is day. th e big bik es du g th e deepest , as th e t o p f ive fin ishe rs i n th e b ig- m o ney O pen Pro cl ass were XR750 -moun ted. K ing Geor ge II and hi s mi ghty XR k ep t his subjects at bay fo r th e en t ire r ace . Ro ed er pulled th e hol eshot and headed for th e cush ion. blasting his way to a co n vinci ng w in and leaving no doubt as to wh o was in charge of London on this day . Th e Lon don tra ck suite d Roed er ' s high -li ne , heavy -handed , ga s-it -up sty le perfec tl y , He had proved th e point earlie r in th e da y by winn ing the fastest heat race by a wide m argin over New Yorker Chr is Hart. Th e next in successio n to the family racin g thr one, J ess Roeder , Gee ' s yo unge r brothe r, liked Lo ndon, too. He wo n th e sec ond heat with a hard -earn ed co m e-fr om -behind cha rge. Th e determined Jess ke pt hi s head down and fina ll y execu ted a la st -la p pass on rac e-lon g leader Nick Evans to cla im the win . In th e fin al, J ess co uld not close th e ga p o n Hart. who was run ning seco nd . Neith er of th em co uld m ount any serio us c hall enge t o th e lead ing Roeder , Geo . Th e race for th e win was o ver earl y. On c e th e lig ht turned gr een, it was " Hail T o The King,- as the thun der ro lled to wa rd tu rn o ne. Geo bur ied it d eep in the cushi on and dropped the ham m er. Lap after lap , Geo wh eeled it in ha rd and let her rip , send ing huge roo ster ta ils of d irt flyi ng over th e fence . Geo dis appeared on his hay balet e rr or i zi n g j o u r n e y . le av i ng no r ail b ird unraoste d on his way to th e chec ke rs. Beh in d th e to p thr ee. th e pr oc ession cont inued . Ohio rid er s Charlie Italia and Co ry Rot h staye d bu sy on t heir big tw ins, k eeping th e dicing Rot ax riders J ason Isen noc k , J eff Landr u m and N ic k E va ns at bay , whil e t he high -r ev vin g Su zu k i T LI 000 of Jerry Van derk ooi b rou ght up th e rear . Th e 750c c Tr i um ph of Pro Sport winn er Dan Ged eon went sour short ly aft er Gedeon m ade the move of the rac e by passing four guys at onc e with a very hot, low lin e through turns thr ee and four o n the o penin g lap of th e feat ured ra ce. Th e fast es t w ay a ro u nd . however. bel ong ed to Roede r and his cushion -blasting XR750, In the sin gl e -c ylinder Pro ranks. fram ers reigned supr em e, swee ping th e top fou r spots in the 505cc Ex pert cl ass and lea ving th e MXbased stockers to fill out th e fi eld . Th e 50 5c c Pro-Sport cla ss was wo n by Da n Gedeon , th is tim e m ounted on his ever -reliable Rota x. T h e da y o f r aci ng also i nclu d ed so me A ma te u r cl a sse s. In t hat d iv is ion , Solon , O hio' s Ricky Marsha ll c o n ti n ued t o assert himself as th e m ost li k ely to asc end to the top of the profession al di rt -track world in Oh io . For th e tim e bei ng . how ever , King George II reigns suprem e! Madison Coun ty Fairgrounds Lond o n, Ohio Re sults : Aug u s t 16, 2003 50 S AM: I. Ricky MlIrshllll (Sw); 2. Ben Evans (Roc); 3. Troy Mil yo (Rot) ; 4. Bl'lIdlq' VlIn~rkool (Rot ); ~. Thomll s Engll"hlll1.( YlIm) . L/W VINT: I. Ro~11. D. ~nll (Hon); 2. Ben EVlIrl5 (C-A ); 3. Ro~11. E Deec enea (Bul]; 4. Juslin Z~igler (C·A) ; 5. Mikt" Ashton (C-' I. 50 5 PRO-SPT ; I . Olin Gedeon (Rot ); 2. Scott CJ~y~~r (Rot ); 3. Scott Lowt"l} (Rot ); 4. John venderkocl (Rot); 5. Mike U oyd (Hen). 250 AM: I. Ricky MiI ~hllJl (Suz ); 2. Jllro n WilTlf'r·Sm ith (Hon); 3. Ricky Bolq' (Hon ); 4. Crll ig Thones (YlIm ); 5. ThomlI, E'rIg ll!hllrt (Yam) . H/W VINT: I. Tom Morglln (Hon) ; 2. Chris Thomil s (YlIm); 3. Edward Filuinger (Tri ); 4. Chns ShindeldKk~r (Tri) ; 5. Rick Holfmlln (Yam) . 505 EX: I. Brylln Dougills (A TK) ; 2. Chris Klint"ff'll t"r (Hon); 3. Jclf lAndrum (Roc); 4. Chll rlie 1UI1i l (Rot); 5. Kt"yin Hilbt"n. (ATK ). 1 OP EN A M: I . Ric ky MlI rsh ll ll (Rot) : 2. J,~Hon W imt"r -Smith (ATK) ; 3. Troy Mily o (Rot ); 4. Craig TholTlils (YlIm ); 5. Chris Thomas (Yam) . oPEN PRO : I. Gf'Orge Reeder (H-D ): 2. Chris Hillt (H-D); 3. Jess Roeder (H-D) ; 4. Chll rl it" ltlllill (H-D ); 5. Cory Roth (H·D) ; 6 . JllSOO ISffiOOCk (Rot) ; 7. Jdf lAndrum (Rot) ; 8. Nick Evans (Ret ); 9. Jerry VlInderkooi (Suz) ; 10. Dan Gedeon (Trl ). S a n Jose Fairgrounds Santa Clara, C .lllifo rnia Re s u l t s : August 15, 2003 (Round 51 PP: 1. A5h1 ynn Marino (Kaw ); 2. St~ Cilocilill ( Hon); 3. Brook e Iiodges (Kaw): 4 . Brllnd l MonaSJfTljilh ( YlIm ). 0-90 YTH; I . Miltthf'w Silnchez: 2. Milson Gilrci.s; 3. Jc.rry Cox (YlIm ); 4 Cha~ l..oplItt" (Hon); 5. Andr_ Aiquinwn (Han). 9 1· 125 YTH; 1. Frank)e GarrilI (Han); 2. T ylier ~n (Yam ); 3. Bill y Millff ( YlIm); 4 Dil vid McPherson (Hon) ; 5. T yl~ GormiIn (lion). 91 · 125 ADOlT: I. Brook t" 5NI w ( lion ); 2. JlITI SliIwdl (Han); 3. Joe ClIrrilio (Hen ); 4. Butch Cochran (Yam); 5. Doug Milnno (Hon). 250 NOV: 1. Dayid Mosld (5ul:); 2. ROl'Vl VlIsquel (YlIm ); 3. ie Chris A11~ (YlIm ); 4 . Ronnit' CllIrk (HOIl); 5. Milrk Swih (Yam). '1 0 s SGl NOV : 1. Mick Grundy ( YlIm); 2. Kiril Richll rdwn (YlIm ); 3. Dayid Shipwright (YlIm ); 4. Richard Godinez (YlIm ). '10 s SGlINT: 1. [)eyt" Ma.wdl (Yam) ; 2. Bred Richll rd (Yam ) "70s SGl EX: 1. Butch Cochrll n (Hen ); 2. Joe ClI~lI (VlIm ). ft\DRN OPEN NOV: 1. Ronnie Va~z (Yam ); 2. Brooke Shll W ( Hon): 3. Chris Allen (YlIm ); 4. Eric Kisf' r (Hon) : 5. Vinct" Larocca (Han ). ft\DRN OPEN INT: 1. C hllrh~ Potu (Hon) ; 2. Scott Willis (Han); 3. Brad Spencer (Hon) : 4. Terry King (Hon) : 5. Michad Crum p (Yam) . flIDRN OPEri EX: I . Kf'fl ny Ht>e (Hon); 2. Rod Spenc (Han) ; 55 er 3. J t"ss Mf'dlq' (Han ); 4. Olin ClIse)" (YlIm ): 5. Jesse $lInch~l (YlIm). VET NOV : 1. Brooke Shaw (Hon): 2. Chris Cow ~ 1I (YlI m ); 3. Mick Grundy (KTM ): 4 . Bred An derson (K lI w) ; 5. Ric k C r~m on ll (Kll w) . VET INT ; I. Chll rlit" Potts (Hon); 2. ScOlt Willi s (Hon) ; 3. Brian Padgett (Han); 4. F~ie Sanchez (Yam ). VET EX; 1. Red Spencer (Hon) ; 2. Mikt" Bessemer (Han ). OIT NOV : I. Gordon Hodges (KTM ); 2. Eric: Kis t"r (Hon) ; 3. lA rry Morlllf'S (Hon) ; 4. Allin Krllu 5t" (Han). OIT INT: 1. Michll t"1Crump (YlIm ). OIT EX: 1. Milr11. Biscardi (YlIm) ; 2. Ron Pattt"rsotl (Hon); 3. .Joe ClIrTffll (YlIm) . X: 1. Adria n Pens ( Ka.... ); 2. Trll vls Co wen (YlIm) ; 3. Diln iel Goldsmith (KlIw) DFC: 1. Rod $pffic~r (Han); 2. Kf'flny Heess (Hon ); 3. Jf'55 Med· ~y (Hon): 4. Tom ClITTlger (Han) : 5. Dan Cilsey (YlIm ). e n e vv s Madison County Fairgrounds: Ohio's top Amateur dirt t racker, Ricky Marsh all, celebrates with a victory wheelie - one of three he got to perform on the day at th e Hotshoe Promotions Ohio Pro-Am Half-Mile In London, Ohio.

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