Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AM AlYamaha California State M X Champ ionsh ips G len H e len Race wa y Sean O'Connor left a mark on the 2003 California State MX Championships but found st iff opposition from J osh Cavanaugh in both Four -Strok e A ev ents, losing each time. By Sunday, O'Connor was notice ab ly more determined and c am e out slugging. The new attitude mad e all t he difference , as he aced all si x races , sweeping the 125 A class ov er v isiting Rafael Mon terrey , of Ecuador, a n d th e 250 c c A c l a s s ov er Cavanaugh and J on Simm ons , wh o both su rr ender ed b y fail in g t o start th e fina l m oto. O 'Co n no r wo und u p ti ed with Cavana ug h in the fina l FourSt roke A points and was awarded hi s thi rd num ber -on e plate at th e end of the Sunday prog ram bas ed upon his vi ctory in th e final m ot o. However, it was the B classes tha t pr oduc ed the m ost intrig uing perfor m anc es, w ith Ja ro d M ino r, wh o has STO RY AND PH OT OS BY J OH N B ETH EA SAN BERNARDINO, CA, OCT. 11-12 h e bat tl e for the E i g hth annual A MA Yam aha Cali forn ia St a t e Cha mpionships p rod uced another bi t terswee t p rogram fo r the nearl y 200 race rs who trekk ed to the fa med Glen Hel en Rac ew a y . Yet, w hen a ll was said and done, th e cream st ill rose to th e top of the fo u r- moto standings in eac h c lass, w ith track regu lar Se an O 'Conn or l e ad in g th e way o n h i s Hond as - garn e r ing thre e A - c l a ss Ch amp ion sh ips. O 'C on no r rod e Satu rday's opening ro und aggressi vely, as usua l, but d isap poi nte d h im self w hen he fa il ed to s w e e p h i s s i x motos . He was f our f o r fo u r in t he t 12 5 and 250 A eve n t s T been voca l in re ce nt weeks sta t ing t hat he i s actively seeki ng m aj o r sponso rship , entering t he 125cc B , 250cc B and Sc hoolboy classes with eve ry inte ntion of winning al l three. In Satu rd ay ' s ope ni ng ro und, he d id ju st t h at , u s i ng thr e e s t ro n g ho leshots. In th e afte rn oo n, he aga in se t h i s st a n d a r ds hi gh wi t h th ree m ore g reat st arts, aga in wi nn in g the 12 5 c c B a n d Schoolboy mo t os in co mforta b le fas hion , but he stubbed h is to es in th e 2 5 0cc B class w hen Sc ott Sim on ambush ed him aboa rd hi s K awasak i. Min or wa s ev en m ore up set wi t h him se l f af t er Sun d a y 's firs t ro u n d wh en Sim on ag ain rac ed home w it h t h e 2 50cc w in , an d Robb y B el l (nephe w of fo rmer Sup erc ro ss Ch am pio n Mik e Bell ) finish ed second o n a Ho nda. " S imo n is rid ing only on e cl ass , and he 's f ast ," M inor sai d a fter h is th ird -pl ace fini sh . " When he pa ssed me [in m oto 2 ] and ju st pulled away , well ...• Und erstanding that a tripl e -title was out of the picture , Min or halfheartedly rode the fin al and finished sixth in a field of seven, dropping to third ov era ll. He still had t wo in his po cket, so he figured , as he jumped to the lead of th e Schoolboy class Sunday morn ing, again pu lling out a great holeshot and setti ng th e pac e o n la p three. Th at' s wh en "I double-rutted out of a turn ," Min or said . M ic hael Parker topped the SChoolboy class, despite inj urie s suffered in a cra sh on day one. Ni ck Pa luzzi won the 65cc (9 -11 ) and 85cc 14-11) cha m pionships. '). . : • ,- 32 N O VEMB ER 5 , 2003 e y e I e n e vv s --. His cras h took t ime to re c over from , and by the time he had , he was back in seventh . Taking ov er the lead was M ich ael Par ker. h imself a multi c lass entrant w ho was ha vin g his own bouts of fru stration. In th e very opening rac e of th e w eeke nd - the 12 5 Al B event - he had cra shed, kno cking his left l eg h a rd j u st abov e the kn eec ap and la ndi ng hard o n hi s t ail bon e. He m anaged to fini sh eig hth in th e fie ld of 20 and foug ht off the pai n t o ri de in t h ree m o re eve nts during th e round, DNFing the 250cc B class in rac e six, rebound ing w it h a second beh ind M in o r in th e Sc hoo lboy class ( r ace 8 ) , a n d t hen p laci ng t h i r d beh ind Bell and A .J. Steinba ch in th e Fo ur-Stro k e B eve nt (rac e 10 ). T h ree rac es later , Park er was o n the trac k again in th e second 125 B m ot o - th is t im e run ning seco nd to M i nor a t the che ck e red - bu t t he po un ding had tak en its toll. He decid ed at that p o in t to pull o ut of the Four-Stroke and 250 c c events and concentra te only o n th e 12 5 c c and Schoolboy class es , rid ing only his newly acquired 2004 YZ 125; after riding his '99 for fou r seasons, he had purchased a n ew rid e o n l y days be fore. So his only rema ini ng ride on Sat urday was th e Schoolboy class , and he g ritted his t eet h and rod e to a fo u rt h beh in d Minor, Rob ert Me moli and Devin Sull iv an. By S u n d ay , th e bru ise o n Park er ' s left knee had sw oll en t o th e si ze of a

• Cover