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/128395
him - didn't have to use as much energy - and I just sat there the remainder of the race." Despite the front brake lever perch falling off on the final lap, Williamson held off a charging Watts at the finish. Garrahan got around Calkins to secure fourth place by the third lap, but Calkins in his first race since breaking a wrist in March - refused to give up. The Throttlehead.com/Kenda/Moose KX250F racer stayed right with Garrahan's Rentone.com/NorCaI Motorsports/Moose RM250 until he began fading just after the halfway point. "I wanted to go out there and see what the pace was," Calkins said. "Until I got warmed up and my wrist got warmed up, I wasn't ready to go that fast, so I hung back a little bit. Brian [Garrahan) and I rode together for most of the race, then Brian started to pick it up. It seemed like we were doing good, but crossing the logs and everything wore on my wrist, so I basically put my focus into just finishing. "I'm just happy to finish, really," he continued. "I'm a little disappointed, but that's just me; I'm hard on myself. I'd like to do better, but that's all my wrist would do today." Calkins would hold on to a distant fifth, 46 seconds behind Garrahan. "I haven't ridden in a couple weeks," Garrahan said. "I pulled over to let Cole [Calkins) by [on the second lap). I needed someone to follow, because I was struggling out there. We were riding a good race. He wore me out. I got by him, and after that, I was just exhausted on the last two laps. I was just completely exhausted." eN SPRING CREEK MX PARK MIUVIW, MN RfSUlTS: AUGUST 28, 200S (ROUND Williamson found himself near the back of the pack aboard the unfamiliar 2004 CR250R. He normally rides a Williamsonracing.com Yamaha YZ250. While getting ready for the start, he discovered a leaking head gasket. He and his mechanic/uncle, Chris Williamson, replaced it, but the bike didn't run right, so they went to the backup bike, which they found to be unraceable. Faced with the prospect of not racing, Williamson said, "I have a good friend, Chuck Garetson, and he offered to loan me his bike. We had to change it to fit it to me a little bit, but once we got out there, I started getting used to it a little bit. I don't know, I just kept on cranking out there. It was real nice in the tight stuff. I could really gain some time. I felt good on the motocross track, except the whoops - the suspension was a little soft through the whoops there." As they completed the first lap, with Jarrett leading Watts by 24 seconds, Williamson had worked his way up to third place, 39 seconds back of Watts, with Garrahan another five seconds behind and Calkins in fifth. The order did a little shuffling on the next two laps, with Williamson sneaking past Watts, who seemed to be content to shadow him on his KTMHutt.com/Fun Mart Cycles/Moose 200 EXC. "I pretty much rode with Shane [Watts) the whole day," Williamson said. "He was just following me the whole time. I crashed a couple times, and he'd wait for me to get up." "I couldn't run the same pace as what Jimmy was doing," Watts said, "I'm just not fit enough for that, so I just settled into my own pace and pretty much figured Justin [Williamson) would catch me. I thought the rest of the guys would catch me. too. but when Justin caught me. I thought. 'Well, I'll just jump in behind him.' That picked my pace up a little bit, seeing as how I could spot off 7) PRO OVERAU: I. Jimmy Jarrett (Suz); 2. Justin Williamson (Hon); 3. Skane Watts (KTM): 1. Brian Garrahan (Suz); 5. Cole Calkins (Kaw): 6. Chris Bach (KTM); 7. Alex Martin (Kaw); 8. Kyle Nelson (GG); 9. Chris Robertson (Kaw); 10. Jesse Blomberg (GG). Briefly... Australian Matt Fish was, once again, the fastest A-class racer. Despite the handicap of starting well behind the Pros, Fish ended up passing all but fIVe of them on his Fun Mart Cycles/Maxxls/Moose 4S0 MXC. Though he's now based in the U.S. while contesting the OMA Nationals, he went to Australia to compete in the Australian Four-Day Enduro, where he was third in the Over-SOOcc Four-Stroke class. Shane Watts also traveled back to Australia, though it was to tend to "an emergency thing," he said. "I had to go back there for that. We only just got back on Thursday night. We went back there for four or five days. We were all jetlagged going that way, then had it coming back. It was enough to come back, just wash some clothes, repack again and come up here." Two storms on Friday made the course very wet and muddy lor Saturday's Ama- teur and ATV races, but it dried out enough to make Sunday's conditions nearly perfect. Besides running much 01 the National MX track, promoter Bill Gusse and track owner John Martin laid out a nice combination of trails in the surround· ing hills with both two-track and virgin single-track. Alex Martin, the 15.~lOR oftnlCk owner lIIld former AHA NatIonal Hare SerambIes ChImpIon john MartIn, did a lot of racinI on Sunday. He annihIIaIIad lhe minibike race on his 10<100, then. at his clad's Uf'IInI. he came bade ' - than _ hours later for lhe Pro race - his lint • on his IOQ5OF. Compari.. lhe _ races, he said, "The Pro race was longer,lIIld It lOt relIIly rouah ~ the and. I'm able to go tfvouah the trMS r-- on lhe 100. It was a great experience." For the saconcI OMA race In a rtNI. ChrIs Robertson had a ...... brake problem crop up this time on the flBt lap - so he rode bade to the pits, rapIaced the entire system lIIld went back out almost a lap behind "This time, somehow. we put a hole In lhe brake line," Robertson said. "I JlIIt lost .. the brake fluid. I came In, got Ie ftxed and went back out lIIld IlIIt had croubIe aettInI &01... I didn't want to DNF apIn. I need _ poIllII." CYCLE NEWS • SEPTEMBER 14,2005 65