Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMX E ·ZUplDealer series/AMX Arizona State Championship series Round 5/5: Ocotillo Raceway Ramirez Romps to Ocotillo MX Win B y J O H N N Y W HIT E B O O T S ElOY, AZ, APR. 16 om e 2 50 of Arizona 's best and br ightest motocross racers rolled into Ocotillo Raceway , read y to battle it ou t for points in two sep arat e ser ies: In Arizon a 's spring ser ies , th e AMX E -Z Up/Dealer Seri es, with it s hug e ha lftime p rize giveaways , po ints wou ld be scored for the fifth round, setti ng up th e contende rs fo r the next and fina l round; and it was also round fi ve of the year-long Arizona State Championships . Suzu k i offered support, with "Suzuki Buck s" be ing offered , and adding to everyone 's enthus iasm was the fact th at th is would be th e last chance to ride the day track , with it s sweet tandem pit j u m p s and huge 95 -foot tr iple , before the heat hits and night racing begins. Ted Campbell , taking a break from campaigning the PA CE Supercross Series, put on an awesome displ ay of outdoor speed to collect the cash in the Pro rank s. Campbell's YSA / lndustria l / O 'Neal /Young Po w er RM250 shred d ed to both holeshots and put together superior lap tim es th at pr evented anyone else from even getting a g li m p se of t he lead . Ryan Mort ensen, aboard his Town & Co untry YZ426F, was runner-up in the first m ot o and thi rd in the seco nd t o claim the most points of th e State Ch am p ionship contend ers. J ason Matthews suffered a first -m ot o fall that led to an eventual DNF, scu ttling his chances of sco ring any big points on th e day, th ou gh Matthews did put it tog eth er in t he second moto , co m ing ac ro ss in s e c ond pl a c e. This m o v es Morten sen 's poin ts lead u p by four po ints , to eig ht, over Matthew s. Both ra cers have been rac ing hard in the chase for the fo ur-figure pay check at the end of th e series. Th e ra c ing in t h e 12 5 c c Novic e cl ass i s al w ay s fresh and exc itin g , and this race was no exception. Coming out of the 80s at th e beginning of th e ye ar , Hyd er A ir ' s E ric Ram irez ha s consis te ntly been a threat to win . Ramirez decimated the fi eld, grabbing th e lead on th e second lap and nev er looking back en route to a I -I sc ore and th e ov era l l. Ramirez al so redee med him self in the point s chase for the E -Z Up Seri es , movi ng into seco nd , a scant five po ints b eh ind l ead er M ichael Beaver. RM I25 p ilot Chris Chevrett e fini shed the second moto in a surpris ing seco nd p l ace, good eno ugh for th ird overall. M att Madden put tog eth er a pa ir of great S 52 M AY 1 7, 2 0 0 0 ' cu e I e ride s to brin g ho me the second -pla ce trophy . Go Huge Racing's Rhett Urseth left little do ubt as to wh o was th e fastest 80cc race r on this day. The 9-yearol d too k th e overall win in th e 8 0cc (9 - 1 I ) class , fin ish ing both m oto s in front of all th e 80cc age -group riders . His first race on an 80 was in J anu ary, and, incredibl y, just four months lat er he is clearly ou tc orn ering every on e else. In the combined ag e-group contest , 80cc (9- 11) racer Nick Ril ey display ed great speed, coming across sec ond beh ind Urse th in both motos. Urseth pu ll ed off every j um p on th e tra c k exce pt the triple for a pe rfect tally of four moto wins . Cod y Wes tha f er cam e o u t of nowh ere to win th e 80cc B eg inn er class, winn ing the class the old -fas h io ne d way: b y work ing h ar d fo r it. Even though We sthafer ha dn 't been behind a st arti ng ga te since m id -February, he put on an incredible charge t o finis h second in t h e first moto . Juan Del Castillo was the onl y racer to beat Westhafer on this da y , as he went wire to wire in the first moto to score his first-ever moto win in 8 0cc competition. Nathan Holl ander raced in th e top three all day lon g , show ing newfound speed and determ ination. A sp ill l ate in the secon d moto ta r nished his othe rwise stellar p erfor m an ce, although h e still ma naged a third -pl ace trophy . Vet racing has grown bi gg er th an eve r in Ariz o na t his y ear , and th e racing w as on ce ag ain exce pti ona l. Cy cl es, Ski s & ATVs -b acked Mich ael Good ri ch , who is in h is m id -40s , was the m an t o beat in the O ver 30 Int er m ed i a t e c la s s , pull ing p er f e ct ho leshot s in both m otos and leadin g from wir e to wire. Go od rich also si ts ato p both points ra c es, leading the State Ch ampions h ip b y 10 and the E -Z Up by 49. Ed Foedish com pleted th e fi rs t moto in se co nd , b ut a thi r d - l ap fall in the se c ond m oto m o v ed h im bac k t o fou rth overall . Jeff Par r secured second overall with good sta rts an d t op -fi v e f in ishe s . going 4 -2 . eN O cotillo Raceway Eloy. Arizona Results: April 16, 2000 [Round 5/5J 50 BEG A : 1. Travis Hendrix (Suz); 2. Zak Lentz (Yam ). 50 BEG B: 1. And rew Ca m pag na ( KTM); 2 . Christo pher Wolfe (KTM); 3 . Taylor Russ (Cob ); 4 . Ed Foed ish (KTM): 5. Drak e Hallock (Hen} . 50 ( 0 · 6) : I. Cody T homa s (Co b ): 2 . J aco b Beech ina (Cob): 3. Jaco b Fox (Cob ). 50 ( 7· 8 ) : I. B ro di e Prat h er (Co b ) : 2. Col e Ma rtinez (Cob); 3 . Brya n Christe ns e n (Co b ); 4 . .Jece Murphy (ATK) . 50 OPEN : 1. Brodie Prath er (Cob); 2 . Bry an Christensen (Cob) ; 3. Cody Thoma s (Co b) ; 4. J acob Becchlna (Cob) ; 5. Taylor Russ (Cob) . 60 BEG: 1. Tyl er McHugh {Kaw) : 2. Paul DeSot o III (KTM ): 3. Tyler Neasham (KTM) : 4. Kyle Henry (Kaw); 5. Andrew Hughes (Ka w). nevvs 60 ( 0 -8): 1. Cole Martinez { Ka w ) : 2 . Jacque lin e Strong (Kaw) ; 3. Cory Sib ley (Kaw) . 60 (9 · 11 ): 1. Rhett Urseth (Ka w); 2. Cody Carlson (KTM) : 3. M itch Wise (Kaw) ; 4 . Chad McHugh (Kaw) . 60 OPEN : I. Cody Carl son (KTM): 2. Mitch WIse (Kaw): 3. Tyler McHugh (Kaw) ; 4 . Chad McH ugh ( Kaw ) : 5. J acquel in e Strong (Kaw ). 80 BEG: 1. Cody Westhe fer ( Yam ) ; 2. Jua n D el Cas tillo ( Ya m ); 3 . Nath an Ho llan der (Kew): 4. Digger Buntain (Suz); 5. Jimmie Genis (Yam) . 80 (9 - 11): 1. Rhett Urseth (Kaw): 2. Nick Ril ey (Su,); 3. Bre nt De ve y ( K a w ) ; 4 . T yl er John son (Suz); 5. Mich ael Loder (Yam) . 80 ( 12- 13 ) : 1. T re nt o n Stra ub ( Ho n) ; 2. Mik e Beave r (Suz): 3. Drew Murp hy (Hon): 4. J ames Rogers (Hon) ; 5. Steve Walker (Hon ). 80 ( 14 · 1 6 ) : 1. Ada m Ric ha rd son ( Yam) ; 2 . Ja ke Alexand er (Suz). 80 O PEN : 1. Jak e A lex ander (Suz); 2. Nick Riley (KoIIw); 3. Trenton Straub (Hon ); 4. Brent Devey (Kaw ); 5. Ad em Richa rdson (Yam ). WM N : 1. Ta rrah J oh n son (Yam): 2. J enny Cla rk ( Yam ) : 3 . Brenda Mon gol d (YoII m); 4 . Beth Cunningham (Yam) . 125 BEG; 1. Casey Creley (Yam); 2. Travi s Ec kert (Suz); 3. Dan Wilson (Yam) ; 4 . Dustin Glo ssop (Han); 5. Robbie Do llar (Kaw) . 125 NOV : 1. Eri c Ram irez (Suz): 2. Matt Madden (Suz); 3. Ch r i s Ch e vre tte ( Su z) ; 4 . Jos hua Sch uetta (Hon) ; 5. A.J. Petrucci (Kaw) . 12 5 I NT : 1. N ick Bea v er ( Su z) ; 2 . T ayl o r Vanderpoo l (Yam ); 3. Brent Denton (Suz) : 4 . Ja mes Stra ub (Yam ) : 5. Ed Foedish (Yam) . 250 BEG: 1. Carson Ditsch (Ka w): 2. B.J . Smithson (Hon) ; 3. B rende n Wa lla c e (Suz) ; 4 . T o by Wa ls h ( K ll W) ; 5 . T o m Ocotillo Raceway: Ted Campbell (96) do minated th e 250cc Stanton (Hon) . Pro class at the double-serie s even t In Elo y, Arizona. 250 N OV : I . C hr i s La y (Sua): 2. J eff Parr (Hon); 3. Tim Joh nson (Hon): 4 . Curti s Veste I (Yam): 5. Todd Smith (Yam ). 30. VET INT: I. M;chael Goodr ich (Kaw): 2. Je ff 2 50 INT: 1. N ic k Bea v er ( Su, ) ; 2 . Ta yl or Parr ( Hon ) ; 3 . Tom Fran tz ( Hon) ; 4 . Ed Foed ish Vanderpool (Yam) ; 3 . Ju stin Myers (Kaw); 4 . Mich lle l Goodrich (Kaw) : 5. Brent Denton (Suz). (Yam) ; 5. A. J ay Harty (Yam) . 250 PRO : 1. T ed Campbell ( Su a) : 2. Rya n 3 0 . VET PRO: 1. Karl Adam s (Hon ): 2. Shawn Mortense n ( Yam ); 3 . Ju stin McMurric h ( Yam ); 4 . C i sc o ( Yam ) ; 3 . Wa de Mo rl o c k (Y am ); 4 . D an Ja son Matthew s (KTM ); 5. Shewn Cisco (Vern) . Bohna m (Kaw) . 30 . VET BEG: 1. Chris A lt (Hon) ; 2. J ohn Dollar 40. VET AM : 1. Don Kr is k e (Hon) ; 2. Brian (Ka w); 3. Chri s Fossa (Hon) ; 4 . Doug Ganis (Yam); Zimmer {Suz}. 5. Shawn Rose (Kaw ). 40 . MS T R: 1. M ic h a el Goo dr ic h ( Kll W) ; 2 . 25 . VET NOV : 1. Ton y Walters (Yem) : 2. Ti m Randy Clark (Yam) ; 3. Tom Frantz (Hon). J ohnson (Hon ). B / SK OP EN : 1. Ju st in Myers ( Kaw ) ; 2. Ch ri s 30 . V ET NOV: I. Paul Bo wmen (Suz); 2. Tod d Smi th ( Yam ); 3. Tim Wusson ( Kaw); 4 . T . Carlson C hev re tte (Su z) ; 3 . M att M ad den ( Suz) : 4 . Eric (Kaw): 5. Mike Kelly (Kaw) . Ram irez (Suz): 5. J am es Cle rk (Yam) . AMA USA MegaSeries R ound 5: Camp Coker MX Neese, Riddle Win the Sandbox Wars B y B A RB A RA W I LLI A M S SOCIID HIll, SC, APR. 16 i m N e e se , Ben Ridd l e , Kev in W a l k e r a n d J im Chest er h ad t h em selv es a good o ld- f a sh i o n ed pla yground rum b l e at Camp Cok er MX . si t e o f ro u n d five o f th e AMA USA MegaSeries. Walker and Chest er have been strong in th e sand , but at Co ke r, Neese and Riddle p layed j ust a little harder. Neese ended up with th e J 25 c c A and Ov er 25 A overall wins , and Riddle took the m arbles in the 250cc A class. J J ust over 450 riders m ade the trip to Cam p Coke r fo r Pe r f o rm an c e Honda -Suzuk i of Charlotte Day. T he t op A mateu r r iders w ere award ed p roduct by Performance Honda-Suzuk i of Charl otte, and J oshua Summ ey won a $500 Shoei helmet that Performance put up fo r a hol eshot prize. Pro ri ders split th e gua ran te ed $3 00 0 Victory Sp orts purse, and more than $4 0, 0 0 0 in contingenc y bucks we re on the line . It rain ed on Saturday and cond i tions were wet for practice , but by race t im e the trac k w as com ing around. Lot s of sun and warm temperatures made for a great day of raci ng. Tho r /FM F / Po d i u m One /Scott i Bell 's Riddle dom inat ed the 250cc A contest with double m oto wi ns . gra bb in g the ov era ll. Suzuk i -Kawasa ki of Ga st on i a/ Sin i sal o /Ba r r ' s Comp et i tion/ C Cycl e Su spens ion /Bil lis Pipes ' Chester turned in co nsistent 2 -2 fi n ish es for runn er -up . Walker, Neese and Jered Blac k co m p let ed the top fiv e.

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