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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128324
stuff, I don't do that much just because of
the crowd. I like this environment better."
Lange had to work a little bit harder in
the Sportsman 125cc Expert race.
Mounted aboard another jim Nation cre ation - this one a bright orange 1974
Yamaha MX250 - he followed Honda
CR250 Elsinore-mounted riders Steve
Gibson and Scott Davis for most of the
first five-lap rnoto before pulling close to
the two men after they began to dice it up
for the lead. Davis slipped past Gibson on
lap three and then held him off for the
first-moto win. When Gibson crossed the
line in second, Lange was right there with
him.
"I just got a horrible start, dead last,
and kind of made so me mistakes in the
beginning, and some guys got by me ,"
Lange said. "I passed a bunch of guys
coming over the [last] tabletop there. By
then it was the last lap, and I got behind
those guys [leaders], but I didn't have
enough energy to pass them. It's hard to
pass here because the turns are a little
hard to see through ."
With Davis sitting out the second
moto, a shootout between Gibson and
Lange seemed probable, but 1973
Husqvarna 125CR-mounted john Hart
snatched the early lead, with Lange and
Gibson close behind him. Lange passed
Gibson early and then ran down Hart to
take the moto win. Lange's 3-1 tally beat
out Gibson's consistent 2-2 to net the
overall win.
"I got a third-place start and passed
Gibson before the first tabletop and then
shot by Hart up the long uphill in the back
section of the course," Lange recounted.
....I just want to thank jim Nation , who is
my sponsor. I have been racing that
orange bike for three years . Ijust show up
and race it for him. He does all the rest:'
British-built Thumpers in Rickman
Metisse chassis were the weapons of
choice for the top two competitors in the
Premier 500cc Expert class. Gainesville
National winner Chad Mcintosh pulled
the holeshot in the first moto aboard his
Rickman Matchless 500 single, with
Rickman Triumph 500cc twin-mounted
Poole in second . The two were close , too
close. Contact was made, with Poole
coming out on the short end. Mcintosh
went on to take the w in. In the second
moto, Poole was able to turn the tables .
Although Mcintosh once again led it early,
Poole was able to get by after the
Mcintosh slowed . Poole's 2- 1 score was
good enough for the class win.
"First rnoto , we were racing really
close , and Chad missed a shift," Poole
said. "I ran into him and crashed and bent
the shift leve r, and he won that one . Then
in the second moto his bike wasn't running very good . I passed him on one of
the straightaways because his bike was
bubbling so bad."
Mcintosh and Poole met up to do battle once again in the Classic 500 Expert
class. This time, Poole got the holeshot
with Mcintosh chasing him. Poole and his
twin appeare d to be quicker on the long
uphill sect ion that led to the top of the
course, while the burly Mcintosh was able
to gain back the lost time by muscling his
Matchy thro ugh twistier sectio ns. It was n't enough, as Poole held on for the w in.
Moto two was disastrous for both men,
though . Poole once again took the lead,
and he appeared to be getti ng away from
Mcintosh when the track, which was getting rougher as the day wore on, bit him
hard . Poole caught one of the squareedged bumps that had developed on the
long uphill, swapped, and basicallyturn ed
into a human helicopter.
"I did like a flat-spin 540 in the air,"
Poole said. "I crashed so hard, it broke my
handlebars . That was a little rough, but
that's motocross. I really like this. I race
three or four modern races a year, but
this [vintage] is what I do:'
After Poole's crash, Mcintosh failed to
capitalize, as his Matchless motor let go,
leaving him stranded. Instead, Triumphmounted Kelly Shane inherited the lead
and the moto win, while a consistent-riding Bruce Kelley finished second on his
1967 Husqvarna 360 Viking to sew up the
overall win via 4-2 moto scores. The 59year-old Kelley's performance again
proved the proverb that youth and en thusiasm are no match for age and tr eachery.
"I got beat in the first moto by two
guys where I am 10 years older than the ir
combined age," Kelley said. "In the second moto, those two guys broke down,
and I got second . It was just the total
combination and consistency. I'm not
even tired because the adrenaline is still
flowing. If I hadn't won, I would be tired .
The track was very ro ugh, but I liked it
because I wo n."
On e rider who didn't fi nish fi rst overall
but proved to be a w inner nonetheless
was Michael Owens , 44, of San juan
Cap istrano , Californ ia. Racing in the
Classic 250cc Expe rt class , the
Husqvarn a-mounted Owens ran away
with the first-moto win while Cotton
Cobra rider Dave Boydstun struggled
mightily in second place after having broken his leg in practice. Boydstun also suffered the added indignity of a broken
throttle cable, but he was still able to
nurse his bike and his bocly home to the
finish. In the second moto, Owens once
again do minated the action, but on the
final run over the last tabletop jump,
Owens stopped and allowed the slowriding Boydstun to pass him and secure
the overall win.
"Dave is chasing the national points
title, and I'm not ," Owens said afterward.
"He hurt his ankle in practice this morning. I just thought it was the right thing to
do for him."
eN
CAHUILlA CREEK MOTOCROSS PARK
ANZA, CAUFORN IA
RESUlJS: APRIL 25, 2004 (ROUND 4 OF 18)
PREH SOO EX: I. Wes Poole (Tri) ; 2. Chad Mdntosh
(Tn); 3. Kelly Shane (Ali); • . Robert Poole (BSA); 5. john
Geer(Tn).
PREH SOO INT: I . TIm Csccea (BSA); 2. Marl