Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

w~----------------------, Monster Mountain w ~ II: Walker Takes a Basketfull By S T EV E A ND P E GG Y C O RL E E TALlASSEE, AL, APR. 22·23 eam Plan et Hon da's Matt Wa lker was th e big winner when Monster Mountain h eld it s " E a s t e r on the Mountain" ev ent , with a full two da ys of moto cross and f a m f l y -or ient ed Eas ter activities. In add iti on to a super ra cing prog ram , an Easter sunris e serv ice an d an eg g hunt were held , and th er e were many specia l pri ze draw ings. Promoters Gary B l ac k w ell and Johnny Bord ers worked tirelessly to ensure that a great tim e wa s had by all , and immaculate track p reparation by Greg Cole 's Southern Di rt crew resulted in a super event for the more than 40 0 riders and their fa milies. Walker, now fully rec overed from th e injur i es he s u st a i n e d at th e Atlanta Super cr oss , led every lap of ev er y m oto in b oth the 125cc and 250c c Pro cl asses on both days, netting him th e lion 's share of the gi ant Pro purse. wh ich alwa ys attracts a full fie ld of fast Pro rid ers . In additi on t o Alabama fast gu ys Cl ark Stiles and J on Boy Monk . Fl orid a's Jarrett T ip ping , Geo rgia 's Derrick Fisher and a host of others were on hand to try for a share of l o ot , a n d this made for some very excit ing racing . A warmup rac e was held o n Satur day fo r the Pro r iders . Wal k er won both the 125cc and 250cc d ivision s, ahea d of St iles. Husky -mou nt ed Ch ad . Albritton finis hed th ird in th e 125cc cl ass, and Ka wasak i ri der David Kell y followed Wa lk er and Sti les hom e in th e 250s. On Sun d ay , th e r e w e re seve ra l new fac es in th e Pro cla sses. In the 125cc Pro cla ss, Walker im m ed iate ly grabbed th e lea d , fo ll ow ed by Stiles, Fish er and Tipp in g. Stiles went down o n the fi rst lap , but he rem ount ed and began a pu sh to catch th e fie ld. La p after lap , he co nti nued to ga in o n th e le ad group , a nd o n t he next-to-la st la p h e caug h t a nd p ass ed F i sher. W al k er to ok th e check er s first, fo llowed by St il es, Fish er , T ipping and North Caro lina 's Pau l Justus. In m oto two , Walk er ag ain took th e lea d out of the gate, followed by Tip. ping , F ish er , Stiles and Monk. As th e sec ond lap b eg an , Fi sh er made a move on Tipping and got into second place . For sev era l laps the positions rema ined th e sam e , but Stiles was beginn ing to put pr essure on T ipping. On lap fi ve, Tipping, press ured heavi ly by the chargi ng St iles, ma de a rnistake and went down, handing third to Stiles. Walker won by a substantial amount , follow ed by Fi sher, Stiles , Monk and Tipping. T The 250cc Pro action was exciti ng as well. W alk er put o n a magnificent dis play o f riding sk ill as he led eve ry l ap o f b oth mo to s. Walke r d i sap pear ed im medi ately on the first lap , foll ow ed by T ipping , Stiles , Fish er and Justu s. At th e start of the second lap, Walker already had a six -second lead . A rath er u neventful fi rst moto ended wi th Walker ta ki ng the nag by a 14 -seco nd m a r g in , fo llowed by Fishe r, Sti les, T ippin g and Mon k . Wa lk er again took the lead off the gate in the second ra ce , b ut Stiles seemed determined to m ak e Wa lker ea rn his m o n ey , and h e stayed on Walker's rear fe nder for the first la p or so . However, W alker m ean t business , and Stiles soo n bega n to drop off the pace . Meanwhile, Fisher was pres sur ing T i p p i ng fo r third place , and as the third l ap began , Fisher made the pass, and the rac e o r de r wa s set. Although Justus pressu red Monk for fifth late in the race, Monk h eld on , and the moto e nde d w ith Walker taking the win ahead of Stiles, Fish er , Tipping and Monk. In the Amateur division, a two-day total of 4 30 riders were o n hand to co m pete for the great awards g iven by Monster Mountain , and more than a few great battles were witnessed . T he Mini divisions normally run in the Saturday progra m, but a special for mat was run th is m onth t o coi ncide w ith the Eas ter Egg Hunt o n Sun day . More th an 2000 eggs were left by th e East er Bunny for th e kid s, and m an y co nta ined sp ecia l prizes. Fl orida's Col e Boutwell dom inated both th e 60 cc and ao c c cla sses, tak ing both m ot o w ins in each d ivision . In t h e 50 cc cl a ss , T y l er M o o r e sho wed the wa y , ev en doubling some of the j um ps norma ll y not cl eared by many of the big bikes. F l or ida 's lac k L u n dy w on the Unl imi t ed amateur cl as s but co ul d o n ly m anage second p l ace in th e 12 5cc B class, following fellow Florid ian Br ian Gray home in that d ivision . lack 's father, John Lundy , beste d Alabama's Darryl Heisler in th e O ver 35 A cl ass and managed an eig hth· place fin ish in the 250cc Pro class as wel l. John Bell overalled the Ov er 25 CN A and Over 30 classes. Monster Mountain Tallassee, Alabama R esutt. : A Z2· 23, 2000 pril Saturday 50 OIL·INJ: 1. Zachary Bell ; 2. Mi les Thom ton s; 3 . Jose ph J oin er: 4. Kyle Moon ; 5. Mason McCune. 50 ( 4 ·6) : 1. Heath Harr i son ; 2 . Tr en t on McMic he n; 3 . Mll son McCun e: 4 . Gray Vin son ; 5 . Mic hael Sta nley . 5 0 ( 7 · 9 ): 1. Tyler Moor e; 2. Luk e Devres: 3. Cody Hutc hings: 4 . Levi Bufkin; 5. Kolby Bea m . 65 ( 10 · 1 1) : t. Cole Boutwell; 2. J o sh ua Eure; 3 . .Jak e Lowry; 4. Eva n Cockre ll; 5 . J acob Patterson. 80 J R MINI (7· 1 1): I. Cole Boutwell; 2. Jake Griffis: 3. Bradley Wrig ht: 4. J esse Van Patten: 5. KllIri Harrison. t 25 B : 1. Br te n Gr e y: 2. Zacke ry Lundy; 3. Cody Watford; 4 . Jo n Sanders: 5. Charlie Walker . 8 125 PRO: I. Matt Welk er: 2. Clark Stiles: 3. Chad Albritton: 4. Je remy Noah . • Q. 250 0 : 1. Tom M it chell : 2 . o Joe Hippely : 3 . Jeff Elliott; 4 . z -c Shawn McMi chen . 250 PRO: J. Man Walker. 2. ~ W Clark Stiles; 3. David Kelley ; 4. 0Allin Sanders; 5. John Lundy. W >OPEN ; I . B .J. Sosebee; 2.

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