Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

(Right) Austin Politelli took home the 5 0cc Stock (7-8) championship a nd finishe d sec o nd in the 5 0cc M o d ified (7-8) event. g ra p e f r u i t, an d his t a i l b o n e w as pa i nful w h i le sitting . Bu t , here h e was, t ak ing ov er th e Schoo lb oy lea d w it h M inor fl ounderin g behind . Park er wo n t he e ve n t ove r Sulli v a n , wi t h M em oli th ird and Ricky J am es fou rth. Mino r had m anaged t o regain o nly a few po sit io ns after his spi ll and had to settle for fifth . Sud den ly , Par k er and Minor were t ied with seven po ints. Ba ck in the pit s, M ino r was co nfi de nt, but Park er was happ y , " Be ati ng M in o r m a d e m y w eekend ," Par k er said . Pa r k e r ' s mo ther , wh o w a s l ap c hec k i ng f or t he eve nt i n r ac es h er so n was n' t r ac in g, was more ap p rehen siv e. "H e' s rea ll y h urtin g; it' l l t a k e a m ir a cl e f o r hi m t o w in this , " s h e sig he d. "I t's so re, on ly wh en I sit ," Park er sai d on t he lin e aw aiti ng th e sh ow down m ot o . But Min or was now here to be see n. T he starter m oved into pos iti o n down t he st a rt stra ig ht before M in o r sud denly pull ed into t he sta rt ar ea and gra bbe d the first av aila ble o pen sp ot t he ext rem e in sid e gat e, rig ht next to Pa rk er 's fri en d Su llivan . " I j us t los t co unt o f th e ra c es ," Minor lat er ad mitte d . Off the lin e , Sullivan d id a little fisht ail and sw erved int o Mino r, who in turn had to shov e his bik e abr uptly t o the righ t to avo id a spil l. Th e in ci de nt , on ly a few feet in to t he race, left M inor t ucking into th e b ack of the pack as th ey hit th e first turn. Park er had th e lead , and Sullivan , wh o had w eat he r ed t h e en cou n te r much more smooth ly , was soon rid i n g sh o tgun f o r h is f rie nd . M ino r hac k ed hi s way t hr ou gh th e field and wa s n a r rowin g i n o n Sull i va n w ith o nly t hree laps remaining . "I held h im off as lo ng as I coul d ," Sullivan later told Park er. It w as p o ssibl y j ust lon g eno ug h t hat , wh en Mi nor mo ved to se c o nd place with less th an two lap s left, he was st ill abo ut t wo sec onds off Park er 's rear fe nde r. Th e whit e fl ag ca me o u t w ith M in or w i thin a f e w bik e lengths of Park er. W it h a half lap t o go , Mi nor m ade hi s m ove, sla m ming i n to a be rm i n a d riv e t o ca t c h th e cha m pio ns h ip - but h e bobbl ed slightl y and lost his m o m entum , and Parker, feeling the pressure, m an ag ed to sq uirt back to a sma ll lead, wh ich he held to th e fi nis h . Now, down to o nly one ch an c e left fo r an overa ll wi n, Min or set his sight s on t he 12 5cc B cl ass, wh ich he had won three t imes alrea dy . Thi s ti me he wasn 't lat e to th e li ne , and wh en th e field hi t the fir st tu rn , he ha d th e lead with , amazing ly , Parker in secon d pla ce and Memo li movi ng into th ird - and t h at' s how t hey fin ished . O verall , ho wev er, M em o li claimed second, as tha t fi rst-moto spi ll came back to haun t Par ker o ne last ti me, leavin g him th ird in t he final points . A cross t he line, a j ub il ant Min o r leapt o ve r th e fi nal jump and cl ick ed hi s h e els . It wa s th e last race o f the weekend, and he fi nally got h is nu m be r-o ne plat e. A few oth er ri ders had tou gh ti m es , t o o . Li ke Joe y B i t i n t h e 12 5 c c C class. He sp ent t he firs t three motos tearing up the op po sit io n, but his bike b roke in th e fo urt h m oto, and he had to wait p ati en tly nea r t he finish line In the end, there were a l ot of happy, deserving number-one p late holders. Each of these racers ca n b oast to be the fastest in his c lass i n Ca lifornia. and wat ch his dr eam spee d past . His 13th- pl ace finish t um bled h im all t he w ay do wn to f o urth o veral l, m ov ing t he c on sist ent Sha un Hill io n to t he top of th e podium ev en t ho ugh he di dn 't win a sing le m oto . A nd , in anot he r view, c ons ider th e p lig ht of 85 c c rid er Ph illip Th o rs t ens en . He a nd Da ne Ja ckson wer e battling fo r sup rem acy in bot h Supe rmi n i and 85c c ( 14 - I 6) ac t io n . O n S at urd a y, Jac k so n w on b o t h Supe rm in i m oto s, w it h T horst e nsen second, and t hey re versed position s in th e 14 - I 6 event. Com e Sunda y , Th or st en s en ag ai n wo n t he 14- 16 eve n t and then stopped J ac k son in th e t hi rd m ot o of Su pe rmi n i, settin g u p a f in a l - rac e showdow n . In that o ne, th e duo co l li d e d , a n d Th or stensen wo und up wi th a broken lef t ha n d. Param ed ic s ad v i se d h im not to rid e t he fina l 14 - 16 moto . Howev er , with J ac k son hav in g wo n the Superm ini s and hi s dam aged Honda now unabl e to st art th e 14 - 16 eve nt , Phillip " rode" anyway . He got on his Ya ma ha a nd slow ly completed hi s re q u ire d t w o l a p s, an d he won th e plate . eN Glen Helen Raceway San Bernardino , California Res ults : October ll-1Z, Z003 5 0 ST K (7 -8) : 1. Austin Po lit elli (Le m ); 2 . Co lby Raha (KTM) ; 3. Cody Baker (Pol) ; 4 . Mic hael Maze (Cob ); 5. Bryce Cords (Lem) . 5 0 STK ( 4- 6) : 1. M ik e Victori an (Co b); 2 . Bradley Taft (Cob); 3. Maxwell Ted der (KTM) ; 4 . Gil Sabalza J r. (KTM ); 5. Michael Don Bass (K TM). 50 MOD (7·8 ); I. Colby Raha (KTM); 2. Au stin Polit elll (Lem ); 3. Michael Maze (Cob); 4 . Cody Baker (po l) ; 5. Bruce Cords (Lem ). 50 MOD ( 4 -6 ) : 1. D avid Fu llm er ( KTM) ; 2 . Bradl ey T aft (C ob ) ; 3. Mi k e Vic to ri an (C ob ); 4 . Mich i:ld Bass (KTM) : 5. Blake Green (Cob) . 50 SHA fT : 1. D ayto n a A n d ers o n ( Ya m) ; 2 . Came ro n Bash (Yam ); 3 . D y let~ P<"llitelli ( Yam) ; 4 . -_ Jake Koeh nke (Yam). 5 0 4 -STR K: 1. Mak ai Clea rwat er (Hon ). -6 5 ( 9· 1 1) : 1. Nick Paluzz i ( K aw ) ; 2. J erem y McCoo l (K aw ); 3. Co lton Sanders (KT M); 4 . Mas on McBride ( tcaw): 5. J .C. Bell (5 uz). 6 5 ( 4 - 8 ): 1. A ustin Pol ite lli (Ka w) ; 2 . Mi c hael Maze ( KT M) ; 3 . Ga rr ett J a ckso n ( K aw) ; 4 . Cod y c yc le n Bak er (Sua): 5. Daniel Paluzzi (Kaw ). 6 5 BE G : 1. Ryan Boy dstu n ( Ka w ); 2. Le x ! A nderso n (KTM ); 3. Donny Fi sh Jr. (K aw ). S/MI NI: 1. Da ne J ack son (Hon); 2. T ravi s Bright (Yam); 3. Phill ip Thorstensen (Yam); 4. My les Tedder (Yam); 5. Devin Roth (Ha n). 85 ( 14-1 6) : 1. Ph ill i p T hor st en sen (Ya m) ; 2 . Dane Jackson (Han) ; 3 . Kirk Agostini (Yam). 85 (J2- 13 ) : I. Matt Do well ( Yam ); 2. Trav is B r ig h t ( Yam ) ; 3 . Mu l es T edd e r ( Ya m ) ; 4 . Scott Ago sti ni (Kaw ); 5. Devin Rot h (Hon ). 85 ( 4 - 11) : 1. N ick Palu zzi (Kaw); 2 . Mic hae l Hall (K aw) ; 3. Drake Rainier (Kaw); 4 . Danie l Sander s (Suz ); 5. Ryan M oscrop (Kaw). 85 B EG : 1. Garrett Mo rr ison (Y am ); 2. Dav id M itchell (Kaw); 3. Chasen T edder ( Kaw ); 4. Ch ri s Gaumer (Hon); 5. T ravis Rosano (Hon). 125 A : 1. Se a n O' Co n nor ( Han); 2 . Rafa el Monterrey (Yam ). 125 B : I. Jared Minor (Yam); 2. Robert Memo li (Hon); 3 . Mic hael Park er ( Yam): 4 . A .J . Ste inba ch (Yam); 5 . An drew Guzma n (Kaw). 12 5 SCHB Y: 1. Michael Parker (Yam) : 2. Ja red Mi nor ( Ya m); 3 . Ro be rt Mem o li ( Ha n ) ; 4 . Devi n Sulli van (KTM); 5 . Rick y Ja mes (Yam). 125 C : 1. Sh a u n H illion (Ya m); 2 . B rand on Freistat (Yam ); 3. T ravis Freistat (Yam ); 4. J oey Bitt o (Yam) ; 5 . Bry s Kun tz. 12 5 0 : I . Bobby Hesse (Ya m ); 2. Ma tt Lee (Yam ); 3. Ji m my VanLund (Yam) ; 4. Mic hael Quiroz (Yam ); 5 . Trevor Hatch (Kaw). 25 0 A : l . Se an O 'Co nnor ( Ha n); 2 . J o sh Cavanaugh (Hon); 3 . Jon Simmons (Suz) . 2 50 B : 1. Scott Si m on (K aw): 2 . Rob by Bell (Ho n ) ; 3 . Jared M ino r ( Ya m): 4 . Ry an Mc Ph illi ps (Suz) ; 5 . Cliff Je nnings (Yam ). 250 C: i . Chr is Ayers (Ya m) ; 2. Mike Lo pez (Han); 3 . Bry s Kuntz (Yam) ; 4 . Evan Dieteri ch (Han ): 5 . J am es Stinett (Ka w). 2500 : l . Cra ig Ch eever ( Ya m ); 2. Zachary Dy k str a ( Yam ); 3 . Michael Qui roz (Ya m ); 4. Ch ris Brode (Yam) . 4 · S TRK A : 1. Sea n O 'Co nno r (Ha n); 2 . J o sh Cavan augh (Hon ); 3 . Jon Sim mons (Han ). 4 ·5T RK B; I. Ro bb y Be ll ( Hon); 2 . A .J . Ste inb ach (Yam) ; 3 . Shaun Higham (Yam ); 4. Mi chal Parke r (Yam); 5. Brett Daugherty (Han) . 4- ST RK C: 1. Evan Die terich (Ha n); 2. Andrew Yarnell (Yam). JR VET A : I. Craig McCall (Hon). J R VET B : 1. John Leddy (S uz); 2. J ustin McCoy (Yam ). JR VET C: 1. Matt Cleveland (Hon) ; 2 . Darr ell Patton (Hon) . VET A: 1. Matt Tedder Sr. (Han ): 2 . Craig McCall (Han ): 3. Phil Do well (Yam ); 4 . Eric Bake r (Hen). VET C: 1. Mar k Moo re (Han) . SR A : 1. Matt T edder Sr. (Hon ); 2 . Eri c Ba ker (Ha n ) : 3 . Mar k Mosc rop ( Ka w) : 4 . To ny Sc h u ler (Yam ); 5. Chris Bergstrom (Yam) . SR B : 1. Kevin Gor sk i (Han); 2 . Mik e Nas h (Su z). "'-_ ~ Il_ C: 1. Fra nk Wright (Yam); 2. David Blo sser (Ya m): 3. J Ol ll 1 Ago !;ti n i (Y a m ) ; 4 . D on ni e Q uanstrom (Han ). WOM.E N : 1. E liza beth Ba sh ( K aw) ; 2 . T an y a Elb ers (Suz) ; 3 . Er ik a Contreras (Suz); 4. Scheri sse Moody (Kaw): 5. Heath er Dubin (Suz) . e VIl' s NOVEMBER 5 , 2003 33

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