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/128348
Gene Romero 's W est Coast Flat Track Se r ies emph is Shades/ Parts Unlimited Yamaha 's J,R. Schnabel put together a fla wless even ing and romped home the winner in the M By MIKE KIBBY PHOTOS BY KINNEY JONES Open Pro A main event when Gene riders Johnny Murphee. Shawn Russell, Schnabel , Rob Pearson, Ch ris Hart and Rome ro 's West Coast Flat Track Series former AMA Road Racing C hampion ventured south to the prestigious Del Mar Fairgro unds rodeo arena for round Jimmy Filice. WCFTS regul ars Kenny n ine of the series. the Sk ip Van Carlo tta . the Halbert brothers (jet hro and Sam), Jimmy Wood. Rick Hock ing, Leeuwen/Tom Cates Memorial Short fo rme r WCFTS Open Pro Champ Ronnie Track. KLH Racing/RAB Racing/A&A Racing's Rick Hock ing won his seventh SadBrown and Rodney Spencer filled ou t the dle men O pe n Vintage A main of the year 50-rider Open Pro field. The Tuff Plates and re peated as the Sad dlemen Open fast time award went to Schnabel , while Vintage champ ion. He lbo Brothers Susthree-time former Saddlemen O pe n Vintage Champion Jeff Johnso n was the pens ion /Tom Mart in-backed Br ad le y fastest Vintage rider. Schnabel . Brown , Spencer Jr. won his fifth Top Gun 450 Jethro Halbert, Rodney Spencer Jr. and ma in event to earn his first Top Gun number-one plate . Mees all scored Open Pro heat race wins. As it was run in conjunction with an Schnabel won the Open Pro dash for AMA Supermoto held at the fairgrounds cash, wh ile Rod Spencer was the Open the next day, the short trac k drew severVintage dash winne r. al top-JO AMA Grand National riders as The flash of green for the K&N Filters well as the WCFTS regulars. Last year 's Open Pro A main event saw polesitter Del Mar Short Track winner and 2004 Schnabel grab the lead in turn one. jessie AMA Grand Nat ional Sanchez got in a little hot and bumped Rookie of the Year Schnabel. Sanchez couldn't keep control . Jared Mees was and he went down. Everybody got by Sanchez safely, with Schnabel fendjoined by Nat ional ing off WCFTS series points leader Jethro Halbert, Mees . three-time former WCFTS Champion Ronnie Brown and Ron Wood/Maxxis Tires /Eddie Mulder-backed Jimmy Wood . Previous Open Pro winner Spenc er Jr. also we nt down but was safe ly off the track . Wood moved around Brown for fourt h as the top three started to string out. The framer-mou nted Halbert, m eanwh ile , began to lose ground to Schnabel's stockframed YZF450 as the track began to groove up. At the crossed flags it was Schnabel, Zanotti Racing/Aqua Flow Inc./W iseco 's Halbert and then Wood, who had passed Mees for third . Mees' would try unsuccessfully to repass Wood, but he wouldn't get the job done. Schnabel crossed unde r the checkered flag first, with Halbert second and Wood th ird. Mees was fourth . w ith Brown finishing fifth. Shaun Russe lland Rob Pearso n tangled in the final turn and both we nt down while fighting for sixth pos ition. Schnabel's win marked a vindication of sorts as he crashed out of the lead wh ile appearing to be a sure victor in his WCFTS debut at last year 's Watson ville TT. "The big th ing ton ight was to set your self up in the right pos ition, to have that inside starting spot, because in these short tracks , the starts are importa nt," Schnabel said. "The key was we were fast qualifier tonight , so we got the inside starting spot for our heat race , had a smooth heat and won that . We had the fastest heat race so that again set us up good for the main event on the inside. I had a good start [in the main). and Jethro