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/128334
AMA Chevrolet ii!50 cc Championship Motocross Series He re Sebastian TortelH cele brates a h a rd· ea r n e d th ird place . Briefly.•. Continued from poge 21 26 Michae l Byrne 5t h (4-5) The Kawasaki rider had a day that he was pleas ed with. "Today was good; I got really good starts," Byrne said. "I like this track a lot, too . I've always done well here. I tried to ride tw o so lid motos, and it worked o ut good. I had some good batt les wit h Tortelli. We have two mo re races in a row com ing up here, so hopefully I can kee p it going." 12 David Vuillemin At each rou nd David Vuillemin has always been a player at the top of th e running order, and Unadilla was no differen t . "T he first moto I didn 't get a good start, but I came out fifth at the end ," Vuillemin said . "The second moto I moved up to fifth, but I started to have trouble with the clutch, so I had to give up a little bit. This track's all right ; it's the same for everybody. I'm sure Ricky [Carmichael] says he liked it because he wo n today:' 15 Timmy Ferry Not to let the truth get in the way of a good story, Yamaha's Tim Fe r ry said his wrist injury has "helped" his golf game. ':A.ctually, I'm much farther off the tee than I used to be ," said Ferry, showi ng off a backswing that nee ds some work. "I used to hit it about 220, now, and te ll Nathan [Ramsey, Ferry's go lf buddy] that I'm 240- 260:' We' ll be sure to te ll Nathan that's "feet ," too . 11th (7-18) After an injury earl ier in the year Ferry has been slowly climbing his way back up to the top. "The first moto I got a little pumped up:' Ferry said. "I was pretty good until about th ree-quarters of the way through, then Kevin got by me . I knew I needed to try to save a little energy for the second moto, and no one was beh ind me , so I just took it easy. The second moto I came out in about seve nth or eighth , then I passed a few guys and moved into fourth . Then my gas line fell off, and my bike quit because I ran out of gas. I looked down, and gas was gushing out. So I stopped and put it back in, but it took me forever. After that I was afraid I was going to run out [again], so I just took it easy:' 28 Heath Voss 7th (8-7) Yamaha rider Heath Voss has really stepped it up this year and has been finding himself in the top lOon a regular basis. "Everything went really good: ' Voss said. "I had a great weekend off. I raced a local race at Cycle Ranch. Coming into this weekend, I felt really strong, but I felt that my first moto and second moto were just average for me . I came out in the top lOin both rnotos, but I wanted to be first, or in the top th ree. I've been getting great starts at the other races, but I didn't get them today. I found a rhythm towards the end of the second moto, but it was just too late . The track was just rough; it was the roughest I have ever seen it:' 14 Kevin Windham 4th (6-2) Bad starts ke pt Kevin Windham from run ning at the front in bo th rnotos, but he stillwas able to finish second in one of them. "The track this weekend was harder than in the past ," Windham said. "Th e water and the rain kind of wo rked it into a one-line track. In the first rnoto, it really kind of hurt me because I got a horrible start. I spun a little bit and hooked handlebars w ith th e guy next to me . [That moto] was wet and rainy; my vision was good, but I was going th roug h tear-offs pretty qu ick. It was o ne of those brutal races where you work your butt off and co me away with a sixth, so tha t sucks . The second mo to I got an okay start, but Ricky and Reed were really fast in the first three or fou r laps. So I just thought, 'Well, I've got to settle into my pace : and I was able to make up a litt le time on Rickyand was able to get by Reed . I wasn't nervous this weekend or worried about anyth ing. I came in here optimistic, and I was going to ride the best I can . I got a bad start , and that's just the way it goes , so I didn't finish the way I wanted to . I rode fair; I don't want to be too hard on myself. I just keep positive and keep plugging away. Even if he [Carmichael] has a perfect season this year, I'll beat him [Carmichael] one day." 108 Joaquim Rodrigues continuing to roll along . "We've got a bunch of opportunities on the table ," Sepko vic said. "But Jeremy hopes to stay with all of his current sponsors:' Sepkovic added that McGrath would race on ly a "limited " Supercross season, poss ibly six to eight races - but not exclusive to Southern Califomia . "He 's not 100 percent, but it's on his deal :' added Sepkovic on McGrath racing the U.S. Open. "He won't be racing in Europe, but may show up at a National next summer." 23rd ( 19-22) While his results this weekend weren't overly impressive, ----- . ; KTM/Red Bull's joaquim Rodrigues gave it his all in each moto only to have bad luck stop him from getting good results. "In the first moto, I had a pretty good start:' Rodrigues said. "But then in the back section in one of the fast parts, the bike went sideways on a jump, and I crashed. Then I got going again, and some guy crashed in front of me , and I just ran over him and had a big, big cras h. I was thinking , 'Damn this can't be happening: I know I have the speed to be up there. Th is just needs to be a weekend I need to forget ." Some times braving rain , mud and otherwise not the greatest co nd itio ns to sit outside in (unless of course you're a duck) , you could call the loyal fans at the Nationals "co reeross" fans. ':A.ny more, promoters don't have to worry about losing their butts due to weather," said N PG member Tom Hurd , promoter of the nearby BroomeTioga National. "O ur fan base is so core that they figure if Ricky and Bubba are out there giving it their all in the rain, then we can fo r sure sit there and watch them. Plus, lots of fans figure they'll get a better seat to watch the races if it's raining!" "Unadilla is the Augusta of motocross: ' said Racer X's Davey Coombs, comparing the legendary Unadilla co urse to the most hallowe d golf cou rse in the United States and ho me of the "Masters" go lf tou rney. The Unadilla rain/mud has an effect on everything. Ch et Burks Prod uction's Mike McEown, the producer of the ESPN program, said muddy bikes and number plates play havoc on his cameramen. "Y can't ou see th e numbers, then the colo r of the bike, we're in big trouble." So who co mes to the re scue? "Oh, that's Bevo," adde d McEown of Scott USA's Bevo Forti. "Bevo can tell the ride rs by their style. He's unrea l." So w hat makes Bu b ba Stewart faster than the othe r riders? According to Bubba, it's this: "Pinning it all the way down a ro ugh hill and then railing the be rm at the bottom. That's what I'm best at: ' To commemorate his hometown race, Amsoil Honda ride r Ryan Mills, who hails fro m New York, wore a custo m helmet painted in the New York Yankees' colors. Anyone who has attended the Unadilla National at so me point knows tha t the Gravity Cavity is the track's trademark Continued on poge 27