Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

My 62 OWN RACE: Travis Preston 250cc 5th Amso iV Chaparral Honda's Preston came from be hind and was gaining on Vuillemin late in the race. "He got tired," Pre ston said. "My last five laps kind of sucked , too. If I'd have had a better last five laps , I might'v e go tt en him. I'm definitely shooti ng for to p-t hree now." 36 Se an Hamblin 7th Team Suzuki's Hambl in rode inside th e to p five for most of the main. "I rode well the first couple laps of the main, but no excuses: I got beat," he said. "I fee l like tonight was my night to be o n the podium , or definitely top-four. I'm just looking forward to go ing to Daytona and redee ming myse lf." 27 Nick Wey I Ith Still not 100 pe rcent afte r his crash in Minneapolis, Wey fell hard on the first lap of the main. "I had a pretty decent start go ing - top- five - and I was try ing to make some moves in those first few turns , and I just slid out on the face of the jump and went down ," the Team Suzuki star said. "I crashed pretty good." He got up last and passed his way back up to 11th. 28 Hea th Voss 6th Voss prefers bad starts to good ones. "I wou ld've liked to have had a better start, but it's a blast coming from like 14th and picking people off," the Mach I Yamaha rider said. "It's so much fun. I know why laRocco does it. It's a lot better to pass people than to get a good start and just ride in front of people, you know?" 26 Michael Byrne 8th The likable Aussie th inks he 's workin g too hard . "I don 't really think it's my bike; I've just been overtraining, I th ink," the Chevy Trucks Kawasaki ride r said. "I just have no strength when it co mes to the final. I'm just go ing to ta ke a week off from tra ining and recover a little more. My starts have been rea lly good ; I just need to re st up and get my body bac k into shape." 38 Jason Thomas 12th "I feel like I'm back up to a pace wh ere I need to be; it' s just to ugh in the 2S0 class right now ," Subway 's JT Money said. "I felt good, and in the main event I was just trying to put in a solid pace for 20 laps, and I was just running I Ith for a long t ime and holding off Short and Wey, and they both ended up getti ng by me . I'm looking forward to Daytona. It's my home track and all." 71 David Pingree 17th "I've been riding once or twice a week since Stee l City, but I can co unt on bo th hands how many times I've ridden a supereross track since then," said Red BarronfTroy Lee Des igns Honda's Ping. "I just wanted to make the main, and I had some things go my way. I was tired before the main e ve nt w en t off - that's more laps than I've done in over a year." 20 Damon Huffman 19th "I had an awesome start, but I felt a litt le ragged ," said MotoXXX's Diesel. "I finally sta rted kind of settling into a flow in fourth , and I just caught my toe on the ground and ro tated my ankle backward. I think I my ankle went out , but the X-ray looks all right. It's definitely sprained and swollen ." 32 Andrew Short 10th MotoworldRacing.eom Suzuki's Short goe s really well on a 2S0. "I passed like maybe two or three people, and everyone else just crashed in front of me ," he said of his ma in eve nt . "I ended up 10th, so It was o kay. It was fun. I rod e okay; I just need to wo rk on my starts." slip backwa rd . First he fell into W indham's grasp. Then, late in the race, laRocco caught and passed him as well fo r the final podium spot. " I just didn't ride the pa ce early, and when I caught David, I think he was kind of on his way back," laRocco sa id. " He didn't really fight too much, and I just went on by. That was pretty m uch it. I kne w I wanted to get Dave behind me because he's the next stop in points , so I'm glad I did that." At that point on lap 14, the podium posit ions were set. Reed went on to w in by quite a d istance over Windham . laRocco scored his fifth podium finish of the year in third, and Vuillemin finished fo urt h , just in fron t of another Amsoil/Chaparral Honda ride r, Trav is Pre sto n. "Fo rtunate ly, I was a ble to get second," W indham said. "I hate to be in this po s it ion in the cham p ionship whe re Re e d 's got the cushion and I have to rely on a bre ak or a fall. If I can't swing some m omentum here q uick, t his t hing's getting o ut of my gras p . We'll just go and kee p plugg ing along. I just nee d to take it one race at a tim e and do t he be st I can. It 's not time to be thinking about be ing the runne r-u p aga in, but the reality sets in that I need to swing momentum my way big t ime. It's pretty frustrating to work all week and to really realize that our race both this weekend and last weekend was a five-lap race . I can't capital ize nine seco nds o n him ." Reed is only happy w he n he wi ns , and he was happy in Atlanta. " I had my problems last weekend, and I kind of felt like 1was ro bbed," Reed said . " Kevin rode a great race, and I just wanted to challenge him and race. Again the t ra ck was really good . It's great to have a 26-point lead, and it's great to have it go ing on . I win two and then I lose one, so I'm goi ng to try to ge t a little bit o f a streak going." eN GEORGIA DOME ATlANT A, GEORGIA RESULTS: FURUARY 28 , 2004 (ROUND 11 O F 17/9 OF 16) Continued from poge 2' "That was the whole deal . And then when Grant came over to talk to him, they were having words, and Jimmy got mad and was arguing back. No one touched anyone or anything like that, and then the AHA officials jumped in there, and Grant had some words with the AHA officialabout his o fficiating skills, and it got completely blown out of proportion. There was no fight, and no one even touched one another." AHA Pro Racing's Steve Wh itelock described the reason for Langston's penalty as "disqualified for actions deemed by the meet manager to be detrimental to motorcycle racing. I thought that him chasing a guy down with his bike wasn't quite what we expected to see." Team Honda's Ricky Carmicha el was actually introduced during the opening ce remonies of the Atlanta Supe rcross and rode out on a BBR -modified CR FSOF to overwhelming cheers. "This is where I won my first supe rcross in 199 7, and you guys have a special place in my heart," he said. "I 'm de finitely ready to get back o ut here." The Georgia Dome was the site of Kevin Windham's broken femur, which he credits for his return to form . "That crash was the start of a new beginning, so I guess it's as much of a blessing as anyt hing else," he said. Star Racing was dealt a co uple of major blows , as first 2SOcc rider (and last year's World Supercross Top Privateer) Ke ith R. Johnso n went down hard on his YZ250 , endoing into the finish-line jump face. He reportedly suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a lacerated adrenal gland. and he broke a few tabs off of his lower spine. With him already out, his impressive 2SOcc team mate Erick Vallejo [left) did basically the same thing in the same spo t. Early reports have Vallejo okay but very, ve ry sore. James Stewart ran a SS,467-second lap time in practice, while the fastest 2500e rider, Chad MAIN: I. Cha d Reed (Yam); 2. Kevin Windha m (Hon) ; 3. Mike l.aRocco (Ha n); -4 . Da'wid Vuillemin (Yam); S. Travis Preston (Hon ); 6. Heath Voss (Yam) 7. Sean Hamblin (Suz); ; 8 . Michael Byrne (Kaw); 9. Tyler Evans (Suz); 10. And ",w Short (Suz ): I I. N ick Wey (Suz); 12. Jason Thomas (Hon); IJ. lsalahJohnson (Yam); 1-1 . Nathan Ramsey (Hon); IS. Ted Campbell (Han); 16. Joe Oehlho f (Hoe }; 17. David Pingr ee (Hon ); 18. James Poyolny (Hon); 19. Damon Huffman (Hon) ; 20. RY'" CIMk (Yam). Rac e n me: 19 min.• 6.68 1 sec . Margin of Victory: 13.057 sec. THQ/AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES POINTS STAN DINGS (After 9 of 16 ro und5): I. Chad Reed(2 16/6 wins); 2. Kevin Windham ( 19013 wins); J. OavidVuit1emin (170); -1 . Mike LaRocco (167 ); S. Michael Byrne (12 1): 6. Damon Huffman (II I); 1. Nk k Wey (105 ); 8. Hea th v"" (96); 9. Sean Hombl in (19); 10 . Grant Ung.

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