Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

November 29- MOTOCROSS December 4,2005 ~ 2nd Annual AmatEur OpEn LEMOINE Juices II Up Matthew Lemoine garners Most Outstanding Rider at Amateur Open STORY AND PHOTOS BY ROBERT VAN DAMME hey talk about sophomore jinxes, and how they can be bad for someone's career. It is mentioned in regard to sport, musical and performing figures. Luckily, that didn't apply to the second annual Amateur Open, presented by PPG, Weekend Warrior, Parts Unlimited, MMI and Clear Channel, where Braun Entertainment - Erv Braun (yes, Clear Channel's Supercross announcer), his wife, Winn, plus his two sons Zia and Zegin - met all their expectations this year. After last year's unusually wet weather in the Arizona desert, the racers were blessed this year with clear skies. Additionally, the rider count increased, and there was a larger presence from the motorcycle aftermarket industry. Also, having Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and KTM rider support there made it a must-be-at event, not to mention the extracurricular activities, which allowed the participants to not only compete, but also to be entertained. The Most Outstanding Rider Award went to Team Green Kawasaki's Matthew Lemoine for his wins in the Midsize Stock B, Midsize Stock (12-17), Midsize Modified (12-17) and Four-Stroke NonPro divisions. Lemoine received a custom-painted helmet from Platinum I for the honor. In the Midsize Stock B final, Lemoine pulled the holeshot over Weston Potter, Sean Borkenhagen and Ben Evans, while Trey Canard and Tye Hames ran at the back of the pack. As Lemoine pulled away, Evans battled with Borkenhagen T 74 JANUARY 4,2006 • and Potter before moving into second. Ken Urquhart started in sixth, but by the final lap, he had passed Potter and Borkenhagen to finish third. At the finish, it was Lemoine, Evans and Urquhart. Luck was not on Canard's side in the Midsize Stock (12-17) class final, as he slid out going into the first turn. Evans, hampered by a poor start, was also outside the top 10 after one lap, as Lemoine battled with Tyler Wharton for the lead. It would take until lap three for Lemoine to pass Wharton, while, on the next lap, Hames also moved by Wharton. Lemoine took the checkered flag and another title, as second went to Hames, with Wharton in third. Canard charged hard from behind to finish fourth, followed by Evans. Devin Sullivan won championships in four different ''p.:,' divisions (Midsize Stock and Modified, Full-Size Stock and Modified). Sullivan shot to the front of every moto, but had problems in the first motos of both Modified classes, when he experienced severe arm pump. This allowed competitors, such as Anthony Charette and Joshua LaFountaine, a chance to reel him in. Charette (who won the Four-Stroke Expert A championship) caught and passed Sullivan just after the halfway point of both first motos; however, during the second motos, the TMRlMaxxis/Scott USA-backed Sullivan jumped to the front and remained there for the wins. Tyler Sjoberg came into the I 12cc Modified (Through-16) class final with a score of I-I, after besting Blake Baggett and Cody Adair in their divisional races. CYCLE NEWS Meanwhile, in Division Two, Tyler Wharton won both motos over Tyler Villopoto and Jake Canada. In the finals Sjoberg grabbed the lead, followed by Wharton, Baggett, Dakota Tedder and Adair. Villopoto's chances for the title were nixed with the derailment of his bike's chain on the first lap. Adair went down on lap four and would finish out of the top 10. The Powerhouse/ R&D/Spy-backed Sjoberg won the finals and the championship by topping Wharton and Baggett. In the 85cc Open (12-16) class, Sjoberg again battled with a Wharton, but this time it was Blake Wharton. Sjoberg won both motos in Division One, over Tyler Wharton and Villopoto. Division Two saw Blake Wharton battling with Jason Anderson in the first moto, with Anderson holding on for the win. In the second moto, Wharton came away with the win over Drew Mitchell, Adair and Levi Hall. For the final runoff, it was Sjoberg getting out in front of Blake Wharton, Villopoto, Adair and Mitchell at the start, but the championship would come down to Sjoberg and Wharton, as they gapped the rest of the field. Two laps from the finish, Wharton out-drove Sjoberg after the triple-step jump, for the lead. Then Sjoberg took it back when the two came back into view through the rhythm section. After receiving the white flag, Sjoberg had some breathing room when Wharton lost momentum off a right-hand corner. But Wharton gained back the ground he had lost on the first uphill. The two doubled down into the straight, Sjoberg protecting the inside line, while Wharton charged from the outside. Out of the next turn, Wharton got a better drive going up the triple step-up - and drove around Sjoberg for the lead. Wharton would be first into the rhythm section and held on for the championship, over Sjoberg and Villopoto.. Blake Wharton came back to win the championship in the 85cc Stock ( 14-16) class. Not to be out-done, Tyler Wharton, running in the Mini and Midsize classes, came out on top of the 85cc Modified (14-16) division. The top-scoring overall rider (from the Winter Nationals held the previous week in Florida) Trey Canard came away with three championships at this year's Amateur Open. On Saturday, Canard took the overall in both the Full-Size Stock and Modified B classes. Then on Sunday, he secured the championship in the Midsize Modified B class. Joey Savatgy came in second behind Brent Jernigan in the first moto, and behind Jessy Nelson in the second moto of the 65cc Modified (10-12) division, but the 2-2 that the Champion/AXO/PCSbacked rider scored netted him the title. Nelson would not go home emptyhanded though, as he garnered four titles. Nelson won championships in 85cc Stock and Modified (8-11), plus the 65cc Stock (10-12) and 65cc Open (7-12). For those classes, Nelson was nearly perfect in every moto. The only exception was finishing second to Savatgy in the first moto of the 65cc Stock (10-12).

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