Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128240
AMA Eastern Four-Stroke NationalsIFali Classic MX Series Round 5: B roome-Tioga Sports Center STO RY AND PH OTOS BY JIM P. S ANDERSON BINGHAMTON, NY, OCT. 12 a u l Carpenter , the 2002 AMA Western and Eastern Fo ur -Stroke National MX Champion and 2003 AMA Western Four-Stroke Champi on, came back home to upstate New York to defend his title at round five of the 2003 AMA Eastern F our Stro k e National MX Series at the Broom e -Tioga Sports Center. On e cou ld say t ha t Car pe n t er had t he "ho me fiel d adva ntage " as h e has been racing Broome-Tioga si nce he w as on m in is and l ives ju st up t he roa d in Ith aca. C arp ent er ca me in tr ai ling J eff Gib son by on e poi nt in th e Premier F ou r-Stroke Pro /Am c la ss and had hoped to retake the series points lead - and it looked as if he wou ld , after winn ing the first Four-Stroke m ot o. But disaste r st r u c k i n the sec on d mot o wh en C arpente r ' s b ig b or e Honda Thumper spit a crank , resulting in a me chani ca l DNF. Carpent er only p icked up 2 5 po int s a n d dropped to fourth in the series st and ings with just tw o rounds rem aining . Loc al veteran Bru c e Stratton led the st art of t he f i rst Premi er Four Stroke moto, with Ben Riddl e, Gib son, Josh Summ ey, C arpenter and Spud Walters in tow . Wh en the leaders came off th e huge Broome-T ioga N a t i o n al Hi ll , it wa s Riddle in the point position with Gibson only a bikelength behind. Gi bson made the pass for th e lead at th e base of the P 38 NOVEMBER 12, 2003' c u e hill, relegating Ri d d l e to second. Stratton dropped back to th ird , and Carpenter and Walters rounded out the top five . When the lead riders ca me off the hill after 2 1/2 la ps, the to p two remained u nc h an g ed. Carpe n te r came o f f t he hill in third bu t t h en Bruce Stratton 186) leads the start of the first Premier Four-Stroke molo with Ben Riddle 1241). Paul Carpenter 11) and Jeff Gibson 167) in tow at round five of the AMA Eastern FourStroke Nationals. dumped h is bike in the switchba ck comer at the base of the hill but managed to rem ount wi thout lo sing any position s. Stratton dropped to fourth , and Walt ers held fifth. Gibson had a fo ur-secon d lead by the st art of lap th ree. Carp enter co nti n ue d to m ov e up, taking seco nd on the Nat ion al Hill - releg atin g Riddle to thi rd. Stratton bobbled, allowing Walters to get by t o take fo urt h and Summey fifth . St ratton was relegate d to sixth. Gibson in creased hi s lead to six seconds by lap fo ur, but Carpenter was so on cl o si n g . Ca rpenter cl osed th e gap on Gibs on to three seco nds on lap fiv e, but by th en th e lead ers were well int o lapped traffic , and that ma y have been the reason that Carpenter t ook unt il lap eight to reel Gibson in. Carp enter m ad e th e pa ss for th e lead in th e exact sam e comer wh ere he went down earlie r. Gibson was rel ega te d t o second . Carpenter quickly pu ll ed away . Rounding out t h e top fiv e were Gib son , Summey , Ridd l e and Walters. Carpenter le d the start of the fi nal Prem ier Four-Strok e moto but ga ve up the point position and runner-up to Gibson and Summey by the thi rd turn . Wa lters and Neel roun ded out the top five. Aft er a half-l ap , Gib son was st ill out fron t, and Ca rpent er had moved to second , dropping Summey