Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

GFI Racing Winter Series South, Round 3 By (Left) Bobby Bonds (129) was back in action at round three of the OFI Racing Winter Series South, taking wins in the 125cc and 250cc Pro classes. (Below) Billy Laninovich (32) also took double victories at Barona Oaks Raceway in Ramona, Califomia, with wins in the 125cc and 250Cc Intermediate classes. GREG ROBERTSON RAMONA, CA, JAN. 23 riiifteen-year-old Bobby Bonds ~proved his runaway 125cc Pro win at the previous round of the GFI Racing/Goat Eyewear/Pro Circuit/76/ PJ l/FMF /Fox-sponsored Winter Series was no fluke by capturing both the 125cc and 250cc Pro victories at round three, as the series traveled south to Barona Oaks Raceway. Bonds got things started off in his favor by putting his Mid Cities/ Answer/FMF/Oakley-backed CR 125 out front on the opening lap of the 20minute, one-shot 125cc Pro moto. Michael Sleeter controlled second place, just ahead of Husqvarna mounted Tim Beatty, Dusty Walters and Akira Narita. By lap two, Sleeter had his Yamaha leading the way, while Bonds and Walters argued over second place for the next few laps. Bonds was finally able to shake Walters and then get back around Sleeter to regain the lead at the halfway point. to Laninovich in moto two. Reif slowly worked his way up for a third-place finish and second overall. O'Connor went 2-5 for third, ahead of the 5-4 of Weigand and the 8-2 of Casillas. Things were a little tougher for Laninovich in the 250cc class. Weigand ripped the first-moto holeshot and was understandably reluctant to hand over the lead. Laninovich finally got the upper hand and took the win over Weigand. Reif put a last-lap pass on Cory Macomber for third. Round two was a duplicate of the first, with Weigand holding off Laninovich for the first half of the race before he could manage the pass. Laninovich continued on for his fourth mota win of the day. Nathan Jones used a good start to finish in third and came out on top of a points tie with Macomber for third overall. In the first 80cc Open/Expert mota, Thousand Oaks Yamaha/KTM rider Mike Alessi went wire to wire for the win. Casillas was a close second, over fellow Yamaha rider Shane Kelley and Cas Swift. Alessi absconded with the holeshot in the second moto, only to go down and hand the lead over to Casillas, who went on to secure the overall on a 2-1 score. Alessi worked his way physically back into third place but was docked a lap for aljegedly cutting the track, and he ended up third in the standings, behind the 3-2 of Kelley. Casillas returned to pick up his second class win of the day by going 1- 1 in the Supermini class on his YZ. Alessi posted 2-2 finishes to top Kelley (3-4), Swift (5-3) and Kevin Bried (6-5). The second half of the moto belonged to Bonds, who slowly pulled away for the first-place money. Sleeter finished a safe second on his NCY/TMR/Axo/FMF/Maxima/Renthal Yamaha, ahead of Takeshi Katsuya, who spent the 20 minutes passing people after suffering a bad start. Beatty crossed the line in fourth, ahead of Jimmy Varis and Walters. Yoshitaka Atsuta put his Honda at the head of the pack when the gate dropped for the single 20-minute 250cc Pro outing. Rookie Pro Todd Mitchell ran second, with Takase Tanaka and Kazuyoshi Odagiri close behind. Bonds gated midpack, but by lap two he was up into second place, behind Atsuta. Bonds hounded Atsuta for the next five laps before being able to make the pass. Once out front, Bonds wasn't seriously contested en route to the win. Secon'd-place payback went to Atsuta, followed by Odagiri, Atsuta and Tanaka. So far, the 125cc and 250cc Intermediate classes throughout the series have been to Billy Laninovich's benefit, and today was no exception; the youngster piloted a pair of NCY/ Burger King/FMF/Troy Lee/Cryolabsbacked Yamahas to a four-moto sweep of the two classes. Sean O'Connor pulled his usual holeshot in the first 125cc Intermediate race and eventually finished in second place, ahead of Jake Elkins, Turbo Reif and Tim Weigand. Supermini competitor Jesse Casillas has been testing the waters in the 125cc Intermediate class as of late, and he put in a good ride to finish runner-up 26 FEBRUARY 1 6, 2000' cue • e n eVIl's Juan Diego Saffon was untouchable in the first 125cc Novice moto to earn the win over Brandon Norton and David Meyers, who fought back from a start outside the top 10. Saffon was hanging with early second-moto leader Brent Line when a fall knocked him back to a seventhplace finish for fourth overall. Riding the lone KTM in the field, Brent Harden put a last-lap move on Line to sew up the overall with a 5-1 performance. Line's 4-2 got the better of Norton's 26 and the 1-7 of Saffon for the secondplace trophy. Jon Levey won three out of four motos entered to take home wins in both the Over 25 and Over 30 Intermediate classes on his YZ250. Levey split mota wins with Duane Benner in the Over 25 class, with Kelly PicheI edging out Todd Flaming for third. It wasn't even close in the Over 30 races, as Levey won with a pair of commanding leads. Ken Lurcook held off Tim Konkol in both motos for second overall. CN Barans Osks Rscewsy Rsmons, Cslifomis Results: Jsnusry 23, 2000 [Round 31 50 STK BEG (7·8): 1. Bryan Br;ley (Cob); 2. Casey Harries (Cob). 50 STK (4-6): 1. Fuller Reis (KTM); 2. Matthew Quintanilla (Cob); 3. Stone Wilson (KTM). 50 STK (7~8): 1. Trevor Reis (Cob); 2. Austin Banard (Cob); 3. Oylan Schmoke (Cob); 4. Kyle Corfman (KTM); 5. Garrick Noble (Cob). 50 OPEN: 1. Ronnie Goodwin (Cob); 2. Dakota Garner (Cob); 3. Austin Ballard (Cob); 4. Trevor Reis (Cob); 5. Dylan Schmoke (Cob). 60 FiT: 1. Joshua Massey (Kaw); 2. Warren George (Kaw). 60 BEG: 1. Curtis McLellan (KTM); 2. Terren O'Dell (Kaw); 3. Scott Noble (Kaw); 4. Steven Lewis (Kaw); 5. Brett Downey (Kaw). 60 NOV: 1. Michael Hall (Kaw); 2. Blake Harber (Kaw); 3. Trevor Reis (Kaw); 4. Dana Dreier (KTM); 5. David Loft (Kaw). 60 INT: 1. B.J. Bohrer (KTM); 2. Bryce Terzian (KTM). 60 EX: 1. Mike Alessi (KTM); 2. Bruce Rutherford (KTM); 3. Michael laPaglia (KTM). 60 OPEN: 'I. Mike Alessi (KTM); 2. Bryce Terzian (KTM); 3. Dana Dreier (KTM); 4. Michael Hall (Cob); 5. Webb Massey (KTM). 80 FIT: 1. Anthony Rondon (Kaw). 80 BEG: 1. Chris Sampson (Kaw); 2. Chase Takacs (Yam); 3. Jake Bissonnette (Kaw); 4. Cameron Keidel (Suz); 5. Derrick Kerr (Yem). 80 NOV: 1. Larry Reese Jr. (Kaw); 2. Kyle Foltz (Kaw); 3. Brad Masters (Yam); 4. Sean Borkenhagen (Kaw); 5. Kenneth Brewer (Yam). 80 tNT: 1. Jeff Alessi (Yam); 2. Michael laPaglia (Suz); 3. Bobby Romero (Yam); 4. Brett Rothas (Kaw); 5. Justin Noble (Kaw). . 80 OPEN/EX: 1. Jesse Casillas (Yam); 2. Shane Kelley (Yam); 3. Mike Alessi (Yam); 4. Cas Swift (Suz); 5. Kevin Breid (Yam). S/MlNI: 1. Jesse Casillas (Yam); 2. Mike Alessi (Yam); 3. Shane Kelley (Yam); 4. Cas Swift (Suz); 5. Kevin Breid (Yam). SCHBY: 1. Jason Ciarletta (Yam); 2. Chad Gaumer (Han); 3. Anthony Bruscella (Han); 4. Andy Bakken (Yam); 5. Jeff Harris (Yam). 125 BEG: 1. Brandon Kerr (Han); 2. Dennis Van Atta (Kaw); 3. Brian Burns (Yam); 4. Sean Cox (Yam); 5. Giovanni Filippone (SUI). 125 NOV; I. Brent Harden (KTM); 2. Brent Une (Yam); 3. Brandon Norton (Yam); 4. Juan Diego Saffon (Yam); 5. Jonathan Davies (Kaw). 1251NT: 1. Billy Laninovich (Yam); 2. Turbo Reif (Hon); 3. Sean O'Connor (Yam); 4. Tim Weigand (Y8m); 5. Jessie Casillas (Yam). 125 PRO; 1. Bobby Bonds (Hon); 2. Michael Sleeter (Yam); 3. Takes~i Katsuya (Han); 4. Tim Beatty (Hus); 5. Jimmy Varis (Yam). 250 BEG: ]. Aaron Bjork (Yllm); 2. Jerad Wilson (Suz); 3. Travi.s Peterson (Kaw); 4. Dean Herrera (Suz); 5. Scot Trainbert (Kaw). 250 NOV: 1. Jason Larson (Suz); 2. Billy Arnone (Suz); 3. Brian MacN.. (Hon); 4. Joe Rempp (Hon); 5. Alvino Garcia (Yam). 250 INT: 1. Billy Laninovich (Yam); 2. Tim Weigand (Yam); 3. Nathan Jones (Hon); 4. Cory Macomber (Yllm); 5. Taylor Vanderpool (Yam). 250 PRO; 1. Bobby Bonds (Hon); 2. Yoshitaba Atsuta (Hon); 3. Kazuyoshi Atsuta (Hon); 4. Taka Atsuta (Hon); 5. Taka.se Tanaka (Kaw). 500 PRO: 1. Yoshi Atsuta (Hon); 2. Kasuyoshini Ojagiri (Hon); 3. Taka Atsuta (Hon). 25+ BEG: 1. Mike Ryer (Suz); 2. Johnny Esqueda (Hon). 25+ INT: 1. Jon Levey (Yam); 2. Duane Benner (Kaw); 3. Kelly Pichel (Kaw); 4. Todd Flaming (Yam); 5. Geoff Waiters (Yam). 25+ EX: 1. Dustin Evans (Hon). 30+ BEG: 1. Dean Herrera (Suz); 2. Darin Sharp (Yam); 3. Brady Helm (Yam); 4. Jesse Costa (Hon); 5. Ron Goodwin (Kaw). 30+ NOV: 1. Roger Oreb (Hon); 2. Tim Hickerson (Hon); 3. Tom Bell (Suz); 4. Dawson Leachman (Kaw); 5. Marc Robertson (Kaw). 30+ INT: 1. Jon Levey (Yam); 2. Ken Lurcook (Suz); 3. Tim Konkol (Suz); 4. Milton Mile (Kaw); 5. Gary Doggett (Suz). 30+ PRO: 1. Ron Lechien (Hon). 35+ NOV: 1. Dawson Leachman (Kaw); 2. Danny Lee Jones (Yam); 3. Ken Kinnucan (Yam); 4. Rudy Chavez (Hon); 5. Anthony Rose (Han},. 35+ INT: 1. Jay Pavlovec (Hon). 40+ NOV: 1. Rudy Chavez (Hon); 2. Ron Howell (Suz); 3. Mike Kelly (Yam); 4. Alan Miller (Suz). 40+ tNT: 1. Greg Meyers (Kaw); 2. Milton Mize (Kaw); 3. Philip Taboada (Suz); 4. Gary Doggett (Suz); 5. Lars Larsson (KTM).

• Cover