Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly.... The inclement weather left AHA referee Steve Whitelock with many decisions to make throughout the week, but none was more difficult for him to make than deciding on how to reconfigure the evening's program without making too many people upset, mainly the privateers and the 45,050-plus fans that bought tickets for the big race. With all of the previous wet weather throughout the week and the forecast for more rain long as possible. Saturday night, a program change was imperative, and the first major decision was to cancel Friday's practice in order to keep the track covered with plastic. On Saturday morning, after more rain and fell, Whitelock made the hardest decision of all: to cancel qualifying, which would ultimately end many of the privateers' day right then and there, since the AHA would now have to basically "hand pick" the tocal 80 riders that would normally have to qualify into the evening's program on Saturday afternoon. "We thought about the possibility of this happening all week," Whitelock said. "Both Todd Jendro [Clear Channel Entertainment] and I were planning for the worst-case scenario. If we ran a normal program [with qualifiers and full practice], the track would just go away, and we've got a sellout crowd to think about as well. Todd and I have been really working hard to try to figure out a good way to bring a fair program to the racetrack tonight." During the morning's riders' meeting, Whitelock announced the new criteria that would select the 80 riders that would be automatically seeded into the night's program. Basically, any rider who pre-entered and had placed in the top 40 of the 2004 AHA Supercross Series, the 2004 250cc and I25cc National MX Series, and the 2004 I25cc East and West Supercross series, and those were currently placed in the top 40 of 2005 World Supercross rounds (after Toronto and Vancouver), would be automatically seeded into the night's program, including all past champions in both supercross and motocross. This left seven open slots in both the 125 and 250cc classes, and those spots were determined by a lottery; rider numbers were picked out of a bucket. So, of the nearly 180 riders that signed up for Anaheim I, nearly half went home early before a knobby even touched the ground. But there was some consolation for those who didn't get to ride: The AMA refunded their entries, and Clear Channel also cut each rider a "nonparticipation bonus" check worth $165. "It cost both of us [AMA and Clear Channel] about $10,000 each," Whitelock said, adding that not too many made a big stink about not being able to race. "Overall, we haven't had too many complaints, but I'm sure we'll hear about it later." The riders who did get in didn't get much time on the track before the green flag dropped. The first practice session didn't get under way until about 4:30 p.m., about an hour after the plastic covering was caken off the track. And each rider got only one relatively short practice session to get to know the track. The evening's program was also altered for the 250cc class, where the semis races were omitted, giving way to just two heat races, with the top eight going direetly to the main. The rest would compete for the final four spots in the last chance qualifler. For the l25cc class, it was business as usual up to the main event. To keep the main events down to the usual 15 to 18 minutes, the 250cc main was reduced from 20 laps to 12 laps, and the 12scc main from 15 laps to 10 laps. AMA referee Steve Whitelock had a lot of decisions to make over the course of the weekend. pushed, pulled and dragged his bike to the mechanics area where they cut off the brake hose to to free up the front wheel and send him back out on his way. By then the damage was already done, however, and another crash in the whoops on the last lap didn't help. Reed was credited with 16th place. Reed was unavailable for comment after the race, but Jim Perry, Reed's team manager stated the obvious: "He's very upset." And things went even worse for McGrath, who was involved in a pileup with four other riders right off the start, which left the former champ with a broken clutch perch and sidelined for the rest of the race. It was a disappointing way to end an evening that had started on a high note when McGrath Ricky Cannichael came within a fraction of a second of not making the podium after being penal. ized fIVe seconds for riding on the track backward when he fell the first time in the main event. Carmichael crossed the finish line 5.199 seconds ahead of his teammate, Sebastien Tortelli, giving him just about two-tenths of a second to spare. AHA referee Steve Whitelock said that he felt that a fIVesecond penalty was sufficient for what he thought wasn't a major infraction. Suzuki team manager Roger DeCoster, however, was somewhat annoyed by the penalty, feeling that other riders throughout the night committed worse offences by riding off the track and re-entering downfield without being penalized. "They [the AMA] should be more lenient when you have conditions like this," DeCoster said. There was some controversy after the race about what place James Stewart actually finished in the main event. Initial results had him in 12th place, but he was later moved up to fifth, which had many people scratching their heads, claiming that Stewart had made a lengthy stop in the mechanics' area after his early crash and could not have made up that much time. AMA referee Steve Whitelock, however, said, "We've gone over the lap sheets again and again, and we're confident with the results." As of Anaheim, Yamaha's Heath Voss still didn't have a plan fully figured out for how he will get to the races. Voss was pitted out of the Yamaha semi for the first round, but for the rest of the season his plans are slightly different. At the Thursday press conference, the World supercross Champion told everyone that he had all but finalized a deal with Raytheon and Beachcraft boats for the season. He also let everyone know about the new truck that he and his family had purchased to get to each round. on him, did that next section really good and closed up on him. I was really good through the whoops tonight. I looked up, and his feet and stuff were off the pegs. I made a move, and he got me back. The last time Igot him, Igot him in a place where he really couldn't get me back." Team Yamaha's lim Ferry had a miserable night. The Yll50 pilot struggled with the mud in both the heat race and LCQ and thus failed to make the cut, as did a few other nocable riders, such as Sean Hamblin and Jason Thomas. Team Motosport Oudet Honda's Steve Lamson switched to the I25cc Western Regional Supercross Series at the last minute. Lamson was originally set to ride the I25cc East, but Greg Schnell, who was planning on riding the West for the team, wasn't quite reatly to ride yet because of an injured ankle. The two riders have swapped series. According to MDKMotosport team manager Danny Paladino, Nick Wey, who finished an impressive sixth in the 250cc main, was still aboard an '04 Honda CR250R. "We just got our one '05 250 this week and didn't have the time to get it ready," Paladino said. Red BuIVCemics/Suzuki's Travis Pastrana made his comeback at Anaheim even though he was still wearing a cast on the wrist that he broke back in October. According to Pastrana, the bones are fully healed and the cast is there to help keep the wrist protected while the ligaments in the wrist continue to heal. He added that he did feel some pain in the race and will have to wear the east for quite some time yet. Ivan Tedesco holeshot the opening I25cc heat and, except for a tipover on the step-off jump section on lap four, had a relatively easy time of it en route to the win. Ryan Morais finished second, well behind Tedesco. Heat two was closer, at least initially, as Nathan Ramsey and Motosport Outlet Honda's Steve Lamson traded the lead twice on the opening lap, with Ramsey taking it for good when lamson crashed in roughly the same spot as Tedesco had crashed. Ramsey went on cake the win, with Lamson second. Jeremy McGrath had the large crowd on its feet and cheering loudiy when he moved into the lead in the first heat race. McGrath, who claims that he isn't a mud rider, looked quite good in the slop until pulling up over the spacious finish-line double-jump and landing short, on the face of the second jump. He suddenly lost momentum and slid back down between the two big mounds, where he struggled to get going again. McGrath still managed to transfer directly the final with an eighth-place finish. "The end resuk was bad, but to get out and lead the heat race like that was so sweet," McGrath said. With all the hype surrounding Chad Reed, Ricky Carmichael and James "Bubba" Stewart at the prerace press conference held the Thursday before Anaheim I, American Honda's Emesto Fonseca was only too happy to be overlooked as a contender. "It's kind of good that you don't get yourself in there," Fonseca said. "I think that a lot of peopie don't expect a lot from the riders that weren't really up at that table. I think that it's good to be low-key, just go out and do your best, and not worry about what other people are thinking; just go out there and get a good scart, and get it done." When Ricky Cannichael found out that his second heat-race win was about over a minute faster than James Stewart's first heat-race win, he said, "I thought the transponder was broken, there's no way. They were in the first heat race and the track had to be better, but James had a bad scart and fell a couple of times." In his heat race, Carmichael had a good battle with Chad Reed before pulling away. "The heat race, me and Chad got really good starts," Carmichael said. "He held it on longer in the first turn and got the [holeshot]. I came on the inside before the triple, [and] he went on to triple. I did the next section really good; I kind of closed up Nathan Ramsey said that he was really excited to be riding his factory KTM SX250SF four-stroke in the I25cc Western Regional Supercross Series. "They're really good," Ramsey said. "I have no complaints at all. The bike is fast, it handles good, and I like the feel of the no linkage. Nothing has popped up that is a problem yet. I'm just really excited about this first race here in the Scates, and I can't wait to throw a leg over the thing and show everyone how good it is." Ramsey said that there was little, if any, difference in feeling between the KTM and the Honda that he rode last season. "Rider preference enters into it so much," Ramsey Continued on page 2' CYCLE NEWS • JANUARY 19,2005 17

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