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/128389
AMA 12Scc National Motocross Series Presented by FMF O nce thought of as a "supercross specialist," Team Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Ivan "Hot Sauce" Tedesco used this past weekend's AMA National to lay claim to "motocross specialist" as well, parlaying his first and second career mota wins into the overall 125cc class victory in front of 22,OOO-plus fans at Thunder Valley Motocross Park. With the effort, Tedesco also launched himself and his KX250F into the overall 125cc class points lead, ahead of jim's Motorcycle Sales/Honda veteran rider Mike Brown, 257-250. "I couldn't ask for a better weekend, going I-I and taking over the points lead," Tedesco said. "My family was here to watch, and it was just a really good weekend for me." A self-proclaimed "sixth- or seventhplace guy," Tedesco - in one race - shed the title of "supercross specialist" for good. He hunted, captured and tagged multi-time champion, and teammate, Grant Langston in the first mota and held off local factory Honda flyer Andrew Short in both motos. "I've been working on every element of racing the Nationals, really - my fitness, my bike - which is a lot better this year. And how I've been training for outdoors," Tedesco said of his more recent rise to motocross stardom, one which took him five years on the circuit to record his first moto win. "I've got a trainer that I work with every day, and we've been working at it, and I've been getting better and better every weekend and finally made it to the top and got the points lead, so hopefully I can keep on getting better." Following the second checkered flag, in one of the best celebratory moves of the summer, Tedesco wheelied the entire start-straight hill - one-handed - giving the number-one sign with his clutch hand. Rounding out the 12S-c1ass podium were Short and AMSOIUFactory Connection/Chaparral/Honda rider josh Grant. As did Tedesco, both racers moved up in the overall standings with their podium efforts at Lakewood - Grant from fifth to fourth and Short from eighth to sixth overall. With the high altitude looming heavily over the teams and racers at Lakewood, the first moto looked like Pro Circuit did its homework best as teammates Langston and Tedesco shot out to a one-two start on the loamy course built into the foothills of the Rockies - just a click outside the Denver city limit. Langston only carried the lead through lap three, when the hotly pursuing Tedesco caught and passed the former National champion. From there, Short, who'd started in third, began to make his move on Langston. In addi- tion, there were two other Hondas in hot pursuit of the top spots: Amsoil/ Chaparral/Honda riders Billy Laninovich and Tommy Hahn. The Colorado crowd was well aware of its hometown factory pilot, Short, and gave him all the love he needed around the track to keep him out front of Langston and hot on the heels of Tedesco. "It was pretty amazing, my best finish ever at a National, and I'm really excited I could do it here in front of the hometown fans in Colorado," Short said. Coming on hard from a 13th-place start was Grant. The first of two solid charges the Southern California native would put on was a beauty as Grant reeled in and checked off fellow factory 125 pilots such as Boost Mobile/Yamaha of Troy's Brett Metcalfe and Danny Smith, KTM's Mike Alessi and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Matt Walker. "I just didn't get the starts today," Grant said. "It wasn't the bike or anything, because look at how I was able to come through the pack and up to the front. Overall, it was a good day. I was pleased with the way I rode." The second mota began much in the In front of his hometown crowd, Andrew Short turned in his best ride of the season. He went 2·2 for second overall. 30 AUGUST 3,2005 • CYCLE NEWS same way the first, sans Langston, who was caught up in an accident with Grant (although Grant didn't go down). Tedesco smoked the field through the first few turns and came back down the side of the mountain in first, followed closely by Alessi and Short. The lead three would separate themselves from the rest of the pack with Short catching and passing Alessi by lap six. Setting his sights on Tedesco, a racer he's battled since they both began racing 60cc bikes, Short would close the gap to within six to seven seconds at best, but he never really challenged for the lead - even with the massive crowd support. "Ivan [Tedesco) and I grew up racing together, and he's always been faster, and I've always been chasing him," Short said. "just kind of like old days, I guess you could say." With Tedesco and Short in a class of their own, fans kept one eye on the leaders and the other on a charging Broc Hepler. The Team Makita Suzuki racer, who was involved in a first-moto pileup and had to race back from 29th (at the end of the first lap) to ninth place, raced back from a Sixth-place start in the second mota to make the podium. The 17year-old Alessi, who started in second,