Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Atlanta, GA • Febr-uer;.r as, 2000 AMAlEA Sports Supercross Series Round S: Georgia Dome show for the fans, once again. The teenager has a Floridian Jason Thomas crossed the finish line next, huge following, much of which has to do with his aeri- in that order. al performances of the past. In Atlanta, though, after Honda-mounted riders Jeff Gibson and Doug going down early in the race and charging through DeHaan, followed with BSY's Tyson Hadsell, F&S the pack, he earned the respect of even more fans. Suzuki's Danny Carlson, Husqvarna's Robbie Skaggs Pastrana over-shot a berm on the first lap and, and Todd DeHoop in tow. Plano Honda's Paul Currie while trying to save it, he was clipped by another crashed out of the final over a triple jump and was rider, resulting in the fall. Since the fall came so early credited with 22nd place, rounding out the field. in the race, nearly every rider got by him, but Pas- lieergill Dome AtIatIta, &eorgill Results: February 2&, 2000 (Round 4 of 7J trana passed a slew of riders right away and throughout the race and eventually fmished out the race in CN 125 HEAT 1 (20 riders, 6 laps, 1·9 transfer to main): 1. Tyler Ewms (Suz); 2. Nicholas Wey (Kaw): 3. Stephane Roncada (Yam); 4. Paul Currie fifth. (Han); 5. Michael Brandes (Hon): 6. Matt Shue (Su,); 7. Todd DeHoop (Yam); 8. Barry Carsten (Su,); 9. Mark Burkhart (KTM); 10. Joseph Oehlhof(KTM); I I. Jeff Gibson (Yom): 12. Doug DeHaan (Hon): 13. Daniel Tesh (Yam): 14. David Dettel: IS. Jeff Hedden (Kaw): 16. Hans Neel (Hon): 17. Tom Welch (SUl); 18. Jason Fink (Yam); 19. Paul Carpenter (Hus); 20. "I made a mistake early on and went down and came from nearly last to fifth," Pastrana said while signing autographs for his many fans. "I really want Jimmy Wilson (Yam). Time: 5 min., 57.430 sec. 125 HEAT 2 (20 riders, 6 laps, 1·9 transfer to main): 1. Ernesto to win one, but top five in all of my fitst three races isn't real bad. I'm just focusing on smoothing out and Fonseca (Yam); 2. Travis Pastrana (Su,): 3. Brock Sellards (Hon); 4. Ryan Clark (Su,); 5. Robbie Skaggs (Hus): 6. Jason Thomas (Yom); 7. Branden riding a little smarter." J~sseman Sixth went to Georgia privateer Matt Shue. From Whitmire (Yam); 17. Vincent Kamow (Su.z); 18. Brian Mason (Kaw); 19. after ending the first lap in seventh_ The F&S Suzu- David Kratz (Hus); 20. Steven Onisko (Suz). lime: 5 min.. 52.660 sec. 125 LCQ (22 riders, IS laps): 1. Kelly Smith (KTM); 2. Doug DeHaan ki/No Fear/Sunstar/Works Connection-sponsored rider passed a downed Michael Brandes on lap five and rode alone for quite a while_ Pastrana made his Postinll his best result of the season was Nick Wey, who made the podium. way by Shue on lap nine, and on the final lap, both Pastrana and Shue took advantage of a Branden first lap in fifth and rode there for quite a while until Jesseman mistake to each gain a position. For Shue, fumbling and losing three positions on the final lap. it was one of his best ever rides. Jesseman will go into Daytona in ninth place in the KTM's Kelly Smith took seventh. The Factory (Suz); 8. Danny Carlson (Suz); 9. Tyson Hadsell (Yam); 10. Jim Neese (Yom); 11. James Evans (Yam); 12. Kelly Smith (KTM); 13. Clark Stiles (Su,): 14. Da. Kastrin (Yam); IS. Thomas Barron (Suz); 16. Josh nearby Kennesaw, Shue put in an impressive effort series point standings. (Hon); 3. Jeff Gibson (Yam); 4. Jim Neese (Yom); 5. Jimmy Wilson (Yam): 6. Joseph Oehlhof (KTM); 7. David Kratz (Hus): 8. Clark Stiies (5uz); 9. Daniel Tesh (Yam); 10. Jeff Hedden (Kaw); 11. Thomas Barron (SUl): 12. O(l:vid Gettel; 13. Dax Kastrin (Yam); 14. Paul Carpenter (Hus); 15. Tom Welch (Suz); 16. Brian Mason (Kaw); 17. Hans Neel (Hon); 18. Josh Whitmire (Yam): 19. Jason Fink (Yam); 20. James Evans (Yam): 21. Vincent Kamow (Suz); 22. Steven Onisko (Suz). Time: 4 min., 7.900 sec. 125 MAIN (22 riders, 15 laps): 1. Stephane Roneada (Yom): 2. Brock SeUards (Hon); 3. Nicholas Wey (Kaw); 4. Ernesto Fonseca (Yem); 5. Travis Pastrana (Suz); 6. Matt Shue (Suz); 7. Kelly Smith (KTM); 8. Branden Jessemlln (Suz); 9. Mark Burkhart (KTM); 10. Michael Brandes (Hon); 11. back to his 125cc after riding the big KTM four-stroke ished out the race in ninth with FMF/Konda's Brandes in the West Coast 250cc rounds. Smith was happy following in 10th. Brandes went down hard on a triple Ryan Clark (Suz); 12. Tyler Evans (Su,): 13. Jim Neese (Yam): 14. Barry Carsten (SOl): 15. Jason Thomas (Yam); 16. Jeff Gibson (Yom); 17. Doug DeHaan (Hon): 18. Tyson Hadsell (Yam): 19. Danny Carlson (5",,): 20. Robbie Skaggs (Hus); 21. Todd DeHoop (Yam); 22. Paul Currie (Hon). TIme: 14 min., 43.120 sec. ~ with seventh, but he knows that he is capable of bet- on lap five while riding in fourth. The Indianapolis- Margin or Victory: 7.006 sec. Winner's Average Lap lime: 58.874 sec. ter. round winner remounted in 15th and charged until EASTERN REGIONAL 125 SOPERCROSS SERIES STANDINGS (After 3 of 7 rounds): 1. Brock Sellards (66); 2. Stephane Roneada (64/2 wins): 3. (TiE) Nicholas Wey!fravis Pastrana (52); 5. (TIE) Emesto Fonseca/Michael Brandes (51); 7. Tyler Evans (40): 8. Kelly Smith (37); 9. Branden Jesseman (31); 10. (TIE) Jason Thomas/Matt Shue (24): 12. Barry Carsten (22); 13. Ryan Clark (20); 14. (TIE) Mark Burkhart/paul Currie (19); 16. Jeff Gibson (13): 17. Jim Neese (12); 18. Doug DeHaan (4): 19. Tyson Hadsell (3); 20. Robbie Skaggs (I). KTM-supported Michigan-native is slowly adapting AM Leonard/KTM/Sinisalo's Mark Burkhart fin- "Seventh is all right, but I need to get up there a the checkered flag flew, passing several riders along little more," Smith said. "' have a week off now, and the way. Despite his good effort, Brandes still I'm going to ride hard and get ready for Daytona. dropped to fifth in the standings. That one is fun and I want to do good there." Demarini/Pro Caliber/Troy Lee/Bill's Pipes-team- Bill's Pipes/Motorious.com/AXO/Suzuki-supported mates Ryan Clark and Tyler Evans finished 11th and Branden Jesseman had another quiet night, finishing 12th respectively, while Triad Powersports/Protel's eighth. The Fombell, Pennsylvania-resident ended the Jim Nesse, Bromley Suzuki's Barry Carsten and down to the fork tubes. "I don't even know.what happened. I cased that jump and it just flipped me right over the bars." BRIEFLY••• Team SplitFire/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Nathan Ramsey, the 1999 125cc Western Regional Champion. broke a bone in his thumb while practicing prior to Atlanta. and will be out of action for about four weeks, team manager Jimmy Perry said at the Georgia Dome. "He has a small fracture in his right thumb." Perry said. adding that it was in the same bone that he fractured before the season and had surgically pinned. "He crashed on Wednesday while practicing and broke a different part of the thumb. It's not a full break. it's a hairline crack." Penry said he'd only been riding for a few laps when he slid out. using his right hand to break his fall. Penry said he'd be out for two to three weeks. Tallon Vohland, another Team SplitFire/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider. who separated his shoulder at Houston, February 12, has been doing aerobic training and hopes to be back in three to four weeks. 'He'lI start riding in two to three weeks. Hopefully he'll be back for Minneapolis [March 25]." Harley,Davidson factory rider and Georgia native Scott Russell showed up at the Georgia Dome to take in the Supercross. "These guys are awesome," he said. "My hat's off to them. I wish I could do what they do." The track announcer at the PACE·pro. mated Supercross event asked Russell if he'd be running the inaugural PACE road racing series: 'I'd like to think we could do both. but the Harley's not eligible for your [PACE's} class. Maybe one day we can do it.' As for his own prospects for this season, Russell said the team was still" ...wet behind the ears. It's just a matter of getting the team to gel behind me, then we're going to make some moves this year. Also representing the pavement crowd were Georgian Aaron Yates, of the Yoshimura Suzuki team. and Yamaha's Jamie Hacking. H Lineman Cycles' Jason Thomas performed the acrobatic stunt of the night. The Floridian was at the front of a dogfight for the lead in the 250cc Last Chance qualifier when he overshot a berm. did a complete flip in the air, cleared a gully, and landed on a separate section of track. "I thought I was going to win the race." Thomas said after flying over the hay bales and bending his handlebars 12 MARCH 8, 2000' cue I e n e _ After winning his heat race at the Atlanta Supercross. Team Mazda/Chaparral Yamaha's Jeremy McGrath did a little marketing when he let the crowd at the Georgia Dome know they had a reason to visit their favorite video game store this week for the release of the latest version of his Supercross game. "It's called Jeremy McGrath's Supercross by Acclaim Sports." McGrath said. "The game comes out on Tuesday for Nintendo 64, and then it comes out at the end of March for Sony PlayStation. And I think the Game Boy version comes out in about a week. ' The most frantic scene of the night was in the Team Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki pits after the first heat race. John Dowd was two comers from victory when his engine broke. spitting him off the bike. The team had to get the machine back to the pits. which were I~ated several hundred yards away in the Georgia Conference and Convention Center. and put a new engine in the bike in time for the semi. "These guys did a great job," Dowd said of his mechanic. Jeremy Albrecht. and the others on the team who pitched in. "They had to come over here £to the far-off pitsl and do a complete engine change. My mechanic and all the other guys on the team, they all jumped on it. and we got done just in time for the semi. They did a great job getting it back together. and it made it through the night." Dowd was well on his way to what would have been his first-ever Supercross heat win when the engine broke. 'I haven't won a heat." he said. "I was pretty excited. I figured I had it in the bag. I only had two more corners to go. ' The Atlanta round of the AMA/EA Sports Supercross Series marked the eighth week in a row that the riders had been going at it since the season began in Anaheim on January 8, and more than one rider was looking forward to the two-week break before Daytona. Series points leader Jeremy McGrath said he felt fine after suffering the previous two weeks with the flu, and he was going to take the time to train. "I got a little bit of a cough going, but my strength's back. and I'm just going to train hard for Daytona." His teammate Timmy Ferry said he'd be working with his mechanic to try to find a setup that would ease some of the strain on his arms, which have been pumping up late in the race. "We have this week off, so my mechanic's coming to my house in Flori- so Upcoming Rounds: Round 4 - Daytona, Florida, March 11 Round 5 - 5t. Louis, Missouri, March 18 da and we can get it straightened out for Daytona," Ferry said. Honda's Sebastien Tortelli said that he was" ...going to train hard this week to adjust my physical condition and get a little bit more mental to make sure I'm 100%. Daytona's going to be a long race, a tough race, so I need to do better." Kevin Windham, Tortelli's Honda teammate. expects to be fully recovered from his Atlanta injuries. "I've got a pretty good little bum on my arm. For the first lap and stuff it was tough. I was really kind of still off the pace; it was kind of sore. Once I got back into the adrenaline side of things. I just put it behind me. It didn't hurt uritil the checkered flag came out. I'm feeling it now. It was pretty serious: I had to let the medics go take care of it. It should be all right. Hopefully it'll be totally gone by Daytona. ' Planet Honda/Answer Racing/HJC-sponsored Jason McCormick showed up at Atlanta after being sidelined by a concussion sustained at the Phoenix Supercross on January 29. "I'm hanging in there. still not 100 percent. but I'm just going out for track time and to get back in the groove," McCormick said before the event. "I'm not wonried about making the final. but I'm doubtful that I can ride 20 hard laps." McCormick finished 16th in the final. Lineman Cycie/Pro-Action/Thor-backed Jason Thomas was once again dOing double duty at Atlanta. Thomas became the first rider of the year to qualify for both finals last week in Pontiac. and he was really close again this week. He qualified for the 125cc final right out of heat two, but while leading the 250cc last chance. Thomas had a spectacular crash that is sure to make the highlight reels. Triad Pow· ersports' Jim Neese qualified for both this weekend. though, finishing 13th in the 125cc main and 19th in the 250cc final. Former rap star and current alternative music singer Vanilla Ice was spotted hanging out at Atlanta. A big fan of motocross in general. Rob Van Winkle as he is also known. chatted with riders and fans and was seen signing many autographs in the press box. "I'll go to as many races as my schedule will allow," Ice said of his appearance. "I love it and know some of those guys. so it's fun." The winner of the Racer X Gas Card was privateer Barry Carsten, who finished third in the 250cc LCQ, eaming him the dis· tinction of being the highest-placing qualifier not to make the main. He walked off with $250. which will help him get to the next race.

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