AMA 12Scc National Motocross Championship Series
Presented by FMF
rivateer Mike Brown, the surprising I25-c1ass points leader
of the 2005 AMA Motocross
Championship presented by
FMF, pounded home a message to the rest of the field at Budds
Creek by running away with the first
moto victory and coming from behind in
the second moto to take third place good enough for the overall win.
The win was Brown's first of the season, the first win at Budds Creek since
200 I, and the first Honda 125 win at
Budds since 1999. Brown increased his
points lead to 27 points over the secondplaced racer in the standings, Team
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's
Ivan Tedesco.
"In the first moto, I got a good start,
ran with [Andrew] Short a few laps, got a
bit tight, so I figured 1 needed to get
around Short, because there was a train
of guys behind us that were coming fast,"
the Jim's
Cycle
Shop/Honda/Pro
CirCUit/Deluge-sponsored rider said.
"Luckily, I was able to get around him and
then put some distance between me and
him, a couple seconds, and was able to
ride through to win."
Team Honda's Short had actually
pulled the holeshot in the first moto,
somewhat surprising because as of midweek, Short didn't even know if he was
P
going to race following a "tweaked" shoulder
at Southwick. The train of riders chasing
Short and Brown early in moto one included
Tedesco, Suzuki's Brae Hepler, Tedesco's
teammate Grant Langston and Hondamounted privateer Ryan Hughes.
As the field quickly spread out,
Tedesco and Hepler got into a good battle, with Hepler getting by Tedesco on lap
two and into second place. Then when
Brown passed Short on the same lap, the
lap chart read "Brown, Short, Hepler,
Tedesco" through lap 12. Though Brown
didn't necessarily "check out," his consistent lines and speed were tough to match,
much less gain on. And the aforementioned riders probably would have made
up the first moto podium had Short and
Hepler not come together - both going
down - with Hepler being unable to get
his bike going again due to a possible
clutch problem which occurred in the
crash.
"Hepler took me out," Short said.
Either way, Tedesco inherited second
place, Southwick winner Langston came
in third, and a charging Josh Grant, of the
Amsoil/Faetory Connection/Chaparral/
Honda team, came fourth, setting the
stage for what would be a terribly exciting
second moto.
"These guys were going fast," Brown
said.
CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 29, 2005
19
