Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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AMA Chevro let 12Scc Championship Motocross Se ries South African newcomer Gaveth Swanepool (I Ith), and the top 15 places were paved entirely w ith four-strokes. "This track did really favor the four stroke." said Stewart, who usually plays off the rivalry between the two bikes . "I had a good attitude coming in this weekend . I like coming here, so it was fun. " In all, of the 40 bikes that started , on ly six bikes were two-strokes. But the new technology doesn't come without a price, as Suzuki's Davi Millsaps w as on fire on his RM-Z250, only to suffer some sort of mechanical failure that caused the bike to seize and forced Millsaps to pull out of the second mota when he had a 2-2 for second place overall all but wrapped up . Benefiting from the technology, as well as some consistent riding, was Smith . Known for his rockets hip starts on a bike he helped pioneer as a rider, Smith admitted that th is year has be en a bit different, noting that pretty much all the brands (sans KTM) now run a four-stroke (in the 125cc class) . My 44 OWN RACE: "First mota I missed a sh ift, which dro pped me way back." Smith said . "But the second mota I got a pretty good start, top five. 50 I did n't get the greatest starts like I'd normally like to . The track was slippery, rocky and hard . Rain and mud made it a little more interesting at this track where I haven't done that well in the past. Just being consistent today helped a nd worked out for me in with the overall." So with Walker moving up a slot and Smith scoring his first podium by virtue of Millsap's mechanical failure, Brown overcame a first mota/first-tum pileup and second -mota podium finishto take fourth overall ( I 1-3). AMSO ILJFactoryConnection/ Honda's Josh Grant continued to race well , as the California n scored a fifthplace finish at his first visit ever to Unad illa. going a consistent 7-6 . H ughes also put up a spirited battle as he always does, overcoming a second-mota crash that tore off his front fe nd e r and raced to a 4-10 finish fo r sixth overall. 125cc Ryan Mills 8th (9-7) Running a New York Yankeestribute helmet for the hometown fans, New Yorker Ryan Mills didn't disappoint, scoring AMSOIUFactory Connection /Honda's second-best finish of the 12S race, with consistent top -10 mota finishes in both motos . "Things felt great today," Mills said. "My bike was running awesome, and I was able to finally avoid trouble and mistakes and put two good motos together. And the best part was, it came in front of a bunch of friends and familywho had come out to watch me race ." 956 Gaveth Swanepoel I Ith (18-8) Who? The South African, who lists "Temecula/South Africa" as his hometown on the AMAentry list, jumped right into the thick of what he called the "most intense race I've ever been in." And , in comparing the Nationals to the European GPs, said, "it' s like a fight every single lap here. I had a pretty good afternoon. First time I've ever ridden a National [though he did race the World Minis here as a youngster] . First race I crashed , then got up and finished 18th. Second race I got a good start , kept steady and came up to eighth. 18 Paul Carpenter 18th (37-12) Team Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki's Paul Carpenter got a little impatient after a first-turn, first-mota pileup and berzerked it off the exit of the Gravity Cavity, briefly reac hing for the stars before plummeting to earth and putting the sting on an already injured wrist. "I almost pulled the holeshot and got off into the deep mud, and it stopped me, just endoed and caused this huge pileup. I was kind of bummed out after that - hometown track, looking forward to doing well. Igot up all ready to go to the front and went off Gravity Cavity, left it [the throttle] on too long and jumped way too far. I landed so hard, it blew my hand off the bar, the same hand I've been havingsome navicular problems with since the beginningof the year, so I had to pull off the track. I sucked it up, took a couple pain killers and went out and did pretty well in the second mota (12th)." 80 Josh Summey 21st (30-16) The Samsung/Radio ShackIYannaha racer broke out of a bad luck streak to nearly crack the top 20 in the highly talented 12Scc field at Unadilla. "Qualifyingwent real well," Summey said. "Ever since Southwick I've crashed in the first turn of qualifying and had to watc h. This is my first race since Mount Morris that I've done pretty good - got sixth in my qualifier Then, in my first mota , I missed the first big pileup, then hit the . second one - which took down about IS of us. I lost nearly three laps because my bike was broke and never reallywas able to get things going. In the second mota, Igot kind of a crappy start because I didn't want to have to pick my bike up again in the first turn . I worked my way up from about 36th to 16th, so overa ll I was pretty happy with my results." 53 Bobby Kiniry 27th (33-21) The New York native and MotoworldRacing.com/Suzuki rider overcame a freak injury in the first moto to race again in the second mota - much to the delight of the local fans. "It was crazy," he said. "I got a bloody nose in the first mota , and I mean a bad one . I tried to fight through it, but there was so much blood pouring down the back of my throat, I started to choke and couldn't breathe, so I had to pulloff. The second mota, I got a mediocre start, worked my way up to 12th, fell back a bit then hit a lapper and fell over. I had a problem starti ng my bike once Igot back up. But then I could hear the crowd yelling,"Go! Go!" And that got me going again. I could hear everyone as I went around the track. Air horns we re going off, peop le snapping pictures. Got me all stoked to finish strong." 24 JULY 28,2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary