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/128394
PHOTOS BY LARRY WOOSTER
Yamaha Night of Champions
Frozen Ocean Moto-X Park
Kiniry Perches Atop the Podium
By LARRY WOOSTER
AUBURN, NY, JULY 9
he annual Yamaha Dealers Frozen Ocean
Night of Champions continues to be one
of very few "must-see" events that Uves up to
great expectations and always finds its own
unique way to draw some of the top riders
from throughout the country and beyond. This
year drew the Alessi brothers, Jeff and Mike,
along with returning Night of Champion's winner Brock Sellards and his teammate Danny
Smith, hometrack hero Bobby Kiniry, Bruce
Stratton, Brian Gray, Sonny Nighman, Brandon
Kuhn, and too many more to list.
In the I25cc Expert/Pro contest, JefT Alessi
snatched the first-moto holeshot, with his
brother Mike inside and half a bikelength back,
bar to bar with Jeremy Cook, Brent M'Leliar
and Nick Kruger. Mike pinned it wide open and
passed Jeff, who now came under the gun from
Charles Ellis, Smith, and then M'Leliar when
Smith went down and out.
Stratton was charging hard in the top five
when his Arkport Cycles Honda suffered
mechanical issues, but Mike was busy opening
up a huge lead over JefT. The hardest-charger
award would have to have gone to Kiniry, who
got a horrible start but had moved from 20th
to seventh, and he wasn't done yet. Roosting
past Ellis, Kiniry could smell second, and he set
T
his sights squarely on catching Jeff, because
Mike was flat-out gone. Kiniry split the Alessi
brothers with two to go and neyer looked back
as they topped the podium. Gray slipped into
fourth, slightly ahead of Sellards.
Boost Yamaha rider Sellards rocketed to the
second-moto hoIeshot, with Mike, JefT, M'Leliar
and Barry Carsten dicing on the outside line.
Sellards just exploded away out front, and
Chuck Mesley pulled ahead of Mike on the back
sections. However, Mike doubled past Mesley
through the whoops and began reeling in the
unwilling Sellards. Mike missed a shift or
something and went down while cornering at
high speed, and Kiniry was now in position to
reel in Sellards. JefT was skimming the whoops,
but as he hit the end of the section, his KTM
was toasted with mechanical woes. Mesley and
Gray battled it out for fourth.
However. the focus was still on the tight
battle for the lead between Sellards and Kiniry,
Though Kiniry could apply pressure at will,
Sellards could relieve it by being just that much
faster in multiple sections, and also in weaving
through lapped riders late in the moto. Though
Sellards took the win, Kiniry put his Team ECC
Honda on top with a 2-2 tally, over Sellards
(S-I) and Gray (4-3), in one of the most
memorable Yamaha Night of Champions Frozen
Ocean Moto-X Park has ever had. Mesley (6-4)
and Ellis (10-6) rounded out the top 1M!.
eN
Supermoto Canada National Series
Round 3; Parry Sound Salt Docks
Baffeleuf Perseveres
on a Weekend of Crashes
By TIM DAILEY
PARRY SOUND, ON, CANADA, JULY 9
T
his was a weekend full of crashes; in particular, crashes that took out teammates. As
the series points chase heats up, the competi-'
tion is fierce, and many of the top Pros went
down, including HMC KTM teammates Ben
Carlson and David Baffeleuf, the Beanies, Wes
Cyr, Fred Kesak, Uno Zecca and Dave Arnold,
to name a few. This event was held in conjunction with the Parry Sound Sportbike Festival,
producing attendance well past expectations.
Event promoter Ted Baker said they ran out of
wristbands midway through the day due to the
record crowds. Sponsored by Honda and the
town of Parry Sound, the event showcased a
short, tight course right on Georgian Bay.
One of the biggest surprises of the day took
place in the qualifiers. Going through the dirt
section, Carlson bobbled in a long right-hander
and fell. Baffeleuf, follOWing closely, also fell
while trying to avoid his fallen teammate.
Carlson had trouble getting his bike restarted,
and again fell in the same corner later in the
race, trying to perfect his crashing technique.
54
This left Carlson being iapped and the series
points leader starting 14th on the grid.
In the Teknic Pro Am class, the race had to
be restarted after the D4/BWR teammates
collided and crashed hard on the tabletop. The
restart forced 04 rider Cyr to start at the back
of the grid; Kesak wouldn't finish the race. In the
restart, Machine Racing's former champ Arnold
went down in a turn·one collision with rivals
Steve and Doug Beattie. The final ended Steve
Beattie atop the podium, flanked by Zecca in
second and Doug Beattie on the low step.
The Premier class would prove to be a
challenge for Carlson, but he was up for it.
With the Inglis Cycle-backed Beattie brothers
shOWing speeds comparable to Baffeleuf's, this
day was their best hope of catching the
powerhouse HMC KTM riders.
"With the tight track," Steve said, "the
speed advantage of the HMC team would be
neutralized, and the passing was better the
expected when coming through lapped riders."
Unfortunately, the upset of the day was a
turn-two crash after the start. With both Beattie
brothers pushing hard for good start positions,
SEPTEMBER 7, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS
-=---=----.,,.,....---=-=---FROZEN OCEAN MOTO'X PARK
AUBURN, NEW YORK
RESULTS: JULY
9, 2005
FAST 50s: I. Kurtis Jack (Suz); 2. Kevin
Schwvtzmeyer (Hon); J, Jon Thompson (Hon); 4. Shawn
Rousseau (Hon). 50 SHAfT: I. Paul Evenson (Yam); 2.
lYle.- Bigford (Yam); 3. BenjamIn Gates (Yam); 4. Michael
Mattison (Yam); S. Tyler Caine (Yam). SO CHAIN/OPEN:
I. Austin Little, (Kaw); 2. CoI'on Camp (KTM); J. Angelo
Komuda CUM); 4. Michael Von Krusze (KTM); S. Justin
Mattke (KTM). 60: I. Nick Desiderio (KTM); 2. Brett
McMichael (KTM); 3. Ryan Despaw (KTM); 4. Jarett
Matthews (Suz); S. Austin littler (Kaw). 85 (1-11): l.
No DesKterio (KTM); 2, Cr.>ig Mullett (KTM); J. _
,""", (KTM); 4. Donald j...,."ky (Xaw); S. J
...... Matthew, (502). 85 (12-15): I.
Man Babbitt (Kaw); 2. R.J. 8e