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/128361
MOTOCROSS I the NEW - Round 1 January 1-2,2005 The 34th Annual Engine Ice Florida Winter Am Series ach year it seems, no matter where you look, the racing season wastes no time getting back up to speed, and this year was no different. A record turnout of nearly 930 riders kicked off the New Year for the opening round of the 34th running of the Florida Winter Am series at historic Gatorback Cycle Park in Gainesville. After Friday's E practice session, the moto masses on hand were treated to two days of perfect track conditions, fantastic weather and great racing at the first of six rounds that will make up the 2005 Winter Ams - one of the longest running traditions in motocross competition. The biggest news coming into the series opener had to do with the change to a three-moto format. After a successful experiment at last year's series opener in the Gold Cup Series, Unlimited Sports head honcho Wyn Kern decided to make every round of this year's Winter Ams a three-moto affair. "We did the three-moto format at the first round last year," Kern said, "and it was obvious that everyone got a lot more track time by doing it, and just about everyone seemed to like the way it worked. So, we're doing three motos at every round this year." Not only did the change give the racers more track time, it also added a great deal of drama to the action on Sunday, where a number of class wins went down to a final-moto showdown between two previous race winners. And one of the showdowns - an all-out war between Florida speedsters Shaun Skinner and Matt Boni in the 2S0cc Pro-class final moto - was also one of the best races in Winter Am history. After Skinner ran down Boni to claim the first moto win, he then fell while leading moto two, gift-wrapping the win for Boni. The crowd knew that moto three would be an epic seven-lap battle between the two for top honors - and it did not disappoint. 30 Skinner snared the final-race holeshot on his WMR Suzuki, with Boni rounding the first corner fifth, behind Michigan's Brad Smith, MTF rider Chad Charboneau and the legend from New Jersey, Barry Carsten, respectively. By the completion of the opening lap, however, Boni had blitzed his way into second and was right on the rear fender of the leader; the battle was on. For the next four laps, they were never more than a few feet apart, JANUARY 19,2005 • CYCLE NEWS much to the delight of the substantial crowd that had lined the fences to witness the two duel for the win. As their pace pushed them well ahead of the pack, Team Green's Boni made repeated attempts to find the answer for Skinner, but each time he was denied access to the lead. Finally, on lap five, Skinner made a slight mistake, right after the two had just negotiated the four-story drop that is lovingly referred to as the "Gator Pit," and it looked like Boni might have found his opportunity to take the point. But Skinner rebounded quickly, which put them side by side, and neither one was going to be the first to shut off heading into the next turn. Boni came into the corner so hot that he hit the outside bank and went down, ending what was easily one of the most hard-fought battles in recent memory. "Boni reeled me in at the beginning,"