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/128316
Pro Circuit/KawasakI/Chevy Trucks' Eric Sorby suffered a broken stemum in a heat race crash, according to the team. Going into the St. Louis Supercross, Sorby was second in points, but he is now tied for fifth . Most likely, Sorby will miss the final two rounds of the East series. Nathan Ramseygot his first $1500 Butterfinger Holeshot Award of the season. "Th at's awesome," Ramsey said. "I want to thank Butterfinger for putting this up, and my mechanic spends, ifthey 've got 30 minutes, he's packing my gate for 30 minutes. This right here is for him." James Stewart won $1000 for his 125cc holeshot. Motosport Outlet Honda's Craig Anderson won the $750 Racer X Gas Card for finishing third in the 250cc LCQ, while ECC Suzuki's Rodrig Thain won an extra $250 from the Asterisk Medic Card for finishing fifth in the 125cc LCQ. Travis Preston is likely going to have knee surgery next week, according to Amsoill Chaparral Honda team manager JC Waterhouse. It's too soon to know how long Preston will be out . ton and just behind Team Honda's Butterfinger Holeshot Awa rd-winning Nathan Ramsey. "Nathan's a great rider," Pastrana said, "but when I saw him up there, and I didn't see Kevin or Reed , I thought, ' If I can get a breakaway here, I can really do well this race.' I saw that Nathan [Ramsey) didn't do three out of the comer [in the rhythm section), and I was like, i\ll right , I'm getting the lead, and I'm checking out. I'm gone.''' But Pastrana went down awkwardly before the end of the tricky rhythm section, falling directly into Langston's path . "I was a little overaggressive," Pastrana said in hindsight. '" was soaking up the jumps, and I went a little faster than I thought I was, and I overjumped one into the face of the next, and I kind of just fell over off to the Side of the track, and then Langston kind of landed on me . It's kind of what I've been try ing to get away from, but oh, well. It would've been good to get up and keep going, but I kind of got run over, so ..." Langston went down as a result of the contact, too, and Pastrana was sporting an icepack on his left leg after the race (see Briefly...). With Pastrana and Langston down, Reed inherited the runner-up spot ahead of MotoXXX's Damon Huffman , Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Michael Byrne and Windham. Windham went around Byrne for fourth before the end of the second lap, as Reed worked on Ramsey for the lead . Windham actually moved around Huffman for third before Reed could find his way around Ramsey, although the Aussie finally made the pass stick on the fourth lap. Windham did likewise on the following go-around . "They both just passed me ," Ramsey said. "I was up there, and I was real excited at the beginning, and I kind of got a good surge, and then Chad went by, and I made a few mistakes, and then Kevin MotoworldRacing.com Suzuki'sAndrew Short Is staying on a 250 for the rest of the supercross season, which, according to AHA rules, will open him up for three more years of I25cc 5X eligibility. "The bigthing is, I've been ridinga 125, and to get the RM-Z ready for just two more supercross races is pretty much ridiculous." he said. "Iwasn't very competitive, and I was goingdownhill, and I seem to be going uphill on the 250, so I'm going to get ready for the outdoors on the 250F. I've never done that well outdoors, and that's what's holdingme back from getting a factory ride, I think." But when asked ifhe would like a full-time 250cc ride as soon as next season, Short was quick to answer. "That's my dream, and if I could, that'd be great," he said. "If that opportunity comes along, that'd be a dream come true." MotoXXX's Damon Huffman was stili suffering from his badlysprained left ankle, and it noticeably affected his performance in St. Louis. He was spotted before the races soaking his ankle in bucket of ice. Mach I Yamaha's Heath Voss (Above) Nathan Ramsey (25) led the main for the first three laps befare Reed (22) made his way by. Ramsey held on far third. was running a Yoshimura pipe on his YZ450F, instead of his usual GYT-R unit. "It makes the bike easier to ride," he said. 'T he GYT-R pipe worlks great when the track is reallytacky, but when it gets a little bit drier, it has a lot of hit, and it just makes it a little bit harder for me to ride: ' (Right) Andrew Short (32) worked his way through the pock for his best 250cc finish of the year - sixth. Here, he passes hobbled Damon Huffman (20), who finished 12th. Co n ti n u e d on www.cyclenews.com pas_ CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 24, 2004 27 25