Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~ -- I MOTOCROSS Prequel I May 8 , 2004 Tuning Up Many top riders use 'The Prequel" to tune up for the outdoor Nationals STORY AND PHOTOS BY JOHN BETHEA Langston for third . This dropped Langston to fourth and Wey to fifth, where they finished at the end of the moto. After having a decent race in the first moto, Langston elected not to compete in the second. The absence of Langston left Hamblin, Anderson and Decker as the top contenders. When the gate dropped, it was Rusty Holland who jumped out to the early lead on his Clawson MotorsportsfThorbacked Honda. But it did not take long before Hamblin took the reins on lap, two and pulled out to another large lead. Again. Anderson was able to get into second but couldn't catch Hamblin. Wey took over third place after passing Holland on the sixth lap but Dec ke r soon overtook Wey on lap eight. From the n on the riders began to settle down, and they crossed the finish line with Hamb lin tak ing the win ahead of Anderson, Decke r and Wey. ew years ago whe n the MX Des Nations was canceled at the last minute, Gle n He le n ste pped up an d he ld th e orld Cup o f Motocross that became an instant classic. This year t he AMA d e c ide d to place the Gle n Hele n National on Se pte mbe r 12, at the e nd of the National tour leaving empty a weekend at Gle n Helen tha t is histor ically jam-pack ed . So Gle n Hele n o pe ned its do ors to to p-level talent in hopes of fil ling the void left by the absent National. When this new o pportuni ty for Glen Helen and its promoters became apparent, they jumped at it. The track would be the same as the AMA Nationa l, giving the riders a chance to "warm-up" for the fast-approaching outdoor season. There we re only a few minor changes: The pro race was to be held on Saturday, and there was a $20.000 purse up for grabs . With this in mind many of the country's top racers came out to bang bars and put on a show for the thousands of fans in attendance. PJ 250CC Even though this was not a National eve nt, the re were still ple nty of top riders on hand, including KTM's Grant Langsto n and Suzuki's Sean Ham blin. Langston and Hamb lin took command of the first 250cc moto early on . Clark Stiles quickly moved into third place on his Subwa y/Fly Racing Honda. Stiles hounded Hamblin fo r a few laps before he slipped back to sixth on the third lap. This gave Craig Anderso n a chance to move his Motospo rts Outlet/White Brothe rs Honda into third place with in striking distance of the leade rs. For most of the race Langston and Hamblin battl ed for t he lead . Then Langston began to succumb to Hamblin's exuberance, and the pair exc hanged their positions for the final time on lap four when Langston fell behind Hamblin. From there it was all Hamblin. as he pulled out to a healthy lead over Langston. Suzuki's Nick Wey settled for fourth . As the halfway point approached. Cra ig Decker began to make a bid for a top -five finish as he moved into sixth. O n the eighth lap Langston stalled his KTM 450, and Decker was able to close the gap. The n with three laps remaining, Decker was able to squeeze around 125CC When the gate dropped for the first 125cc rnoto, Yamaha of Troy's Mike Brown pulled out to an ear ly lead ove r his team mates Kelly Smith and Danny Smith. By lap four Danny began to fade slightly and allowed Team Suzuki's Davi Milsaps to sneak into th ird place . forcing Danny back to fourth. Back in fifth Ho nda o f Hou sto n/FMF-backed Josh Grant made a pass on Danny for fourth . Then by lap five Grant was able to move up to challenge Mislaps. When Grant began to press ure him, Mislaps started to swap in a whooped-out portion of the brutally rough course and allowed Grant to squeak by and take over the third position . At that point Kelly Smith had begun to struggle with banners that got wrapped up in his rear wheel. A lap later Grant was able to move aroun d Kelly and into second place, where he wou ld remain for the rest of the moto. Brown's idea of a good start and a clean race went out the door in the fourth turn of the second moto. Brown was stuffed into the rear of ano ther ride r's bike at the base of www.cyc lenews.com Mount St. Hele ns, effectively losing all of his momentum up the gigantic hill. Out fro nt this time was Milsaps . "I figured this is going to be a hard race," Brown said, "but it' s not a pointspaying race, so it's good for me to sta rt back there." Back in 25th , Brown had his work cut out for him. He slowly worked his way back up toward the front of the pack. By the halfway point of the moto Brown was able to climb up to sixth position. He eventually got into third, which was good enough to give him a hard earned overall victory. Mislaps . w ho won the moto, end ed up 12th overall. eN GIIN HEliN RACEWAY SAN BERNADINO, CAUFORNIA RESULTS: MAY 8, 2004 125 PRO OIA: I. Mike Brown (Yam); 2. Brock Sellards (Yam); l . KolIy Sm;m (Yam); 4. Joshua G""" (Hon); S. Sean Collie< (Hon ); 6 . Jeremy Geusse (Suz); 7. Teddy HaM" (Kaw ); 8. Jeff NonIwop (Kaw); 9. Evan Uughridge (Suz); 10. Danny Smoth (Yam); II . Rkhie Owens (Kaw) ; 12. Davt H,isaps (Suz ); Il . Dylan Lon! (Su. ); 14. Donn;" HcGourty (Yam) ; IS.)ames MM.hall (Y am) . 250 PRO O /A: I. Sean Hamblin (Suz): 2. Craig Andenon (Hon ); l . Craig Deck er (Suz); 4. Nicholas Wey (Suz); S. CIa'" 51;1es (Hon ); 6. Rusty Holland (Hon ); 7. Tony Amarad;o (Hon ); 8. Johnny Auben (Suz); 9 . Joe Oehlhol (Hen ); 10. GonJon Wud (Hon); II. J...emy I""'" (Hon ); 12. Paget Pierrick (Han); 13. Tyson Hadsell (Yam); 1-4. Justin Mace (Kaw ); 15. Dennis Ewing (Suz). CYCLE NEWS • MAY 26, 2004 73

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