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/128375
Briefly...
Geoff Aaron competed in Texas on the
new Dunlop 0803 tires, which he had a
hand in developing. Texas was the first
outing for the new rubber, which was
available in very limited quantities. Most
everyone gave good reviews. "One of the
things I was able to do was test all of the
tires at the same time," Aaron said. "We
would try Michelin, front and back, then
we would try the 080 I, front and back,
then the 0803, front and back. Then we
tried different combinations, all in sections, and you could really get a feel for
what each tire was doing. The 803 is a
good combination of the old 80 I• which I
like the stiffer sidewall, and the Michelin,
which is softer all around. So what we
have is a lower profile tire, so you can
run a softer compound and still minimize
the amount of sidewall flex."
Sunday was a different story, however, as the combination of Ie Riche's solid
technique combined with Sherco USA
team manager Ryan Young's mental
grasp of the game was unstoppable.
Young, a six-time National Champion,
took on the role of Ie Riche's minder for
the 2005 season and he barked out
instructions to the Sherco rider before
nearly every obstacle.
Young and Ie Riche took all of the time
limit allotted to them and kept mental
notes as the event wore on.
"I was just trying to keep Bruce on
safe lines," Young said. "When there was
a doubt - left or right - I gave him the
choice. We just wanted to watch a few
people in section one to see if they were
jumping or zapping - and they were
jumping. In section two, we were watching, because again we had some doubt
about where to go. We did that for the
first half-a-dozen sections, and by section six, almost everyone had made
some kind of fatal mistake, and we capitalized on every one of them."
Aaron was the first of the contenders
to make a fatal error, killing his engine in
the relatively easy second section. A
mental error in section 10 cost the
defending champ another five points for
taking too much time.
By the end of the first lap, the Sherco
team's strategy of "wait and watch" was
paying big dividends, giving Ie Riche a
huge cushion, considering the ease of the
sections. A one-point lap for Ie Riche,
compared to six points for Florin, eight
for Wineland, 10 for Webb and 12 for
Aaron, meant that even if Aaron went
clean for the rest of the day, Ie Riche
needed only to avoid any drastic mistakes over the final two laps and the victory was his. Aaron indeed finished out
the event clean, while a
five on the final lap was Ie Riche's only
major blemish, giving him the round-two
win.
Aaron's scorching final two laps
improved his standing to second overall,
while Florin avoided trouble to finish out
the event in third.
Le Riche was obViously overwhelmed
when the final results were posted.
"It's phenomenal," Ie Riche said of the
win. "It hasn't quite sunk in yet, but it
was not all me, you know. My Shereo
bike is fantastic; everyone in the Sherco
pits has been great. Ryan has been fantastic, and the new Dunlop was hooking
up really well. Plus, the people at Trials
Training Center have really helped a lot.
"It was definitely a mental battle
today," Ie Riche added. "There was a lot
of big stuff, and it was all slippery, and
you had to clean off each rock every
time. Ryan just helped out so much with
the mental game. I definitely feel more
confident about the rest of the year with
such a good team and such a relaxed
atmosphere. "
Aaron admitted haVing the first-ride
jitters.
"I just had a little too much on my
mind," Aaron admitted. "New season,
new everything. I knew the trials wasn't
going to be super difficult today, so I was
a little disappointed after my first loop.
We are only running 12 sections this year
[as opposed to I5 per loop last year],
and it's tougher to make up ground in an
easy event."
Aaron and Ie Riche left Texas deadlocked for the lead in the championship
points chase, and with I0 events still
remaining on the schedule, the 2005 season could turn out to be the most hotly
contested yet.
eN
RED RIVER MOTORCYCLE PARK
MUENSTER, TEXAS
REsws: APRIL 9·10, 2005
(ROUNDS 1·2 OF 12)
Saturday
PRO, I. Geoff Aaron (17); 2. Bruce Ie Riche (22), 3. Kefth
woneland (35); 4. Cody Webb (37); 5. Mkhaelll