Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128616
AMA/Ch e vyTru c k s U .S. M otoc r oss C h ampionsh ip Series Sm;~ Kelly By D A VE DER IN GER P HOTOS B Y K ARL O CKERT MOUNT MORRIS, PA, MAY 28 fte r comi ng so close to victory on tw o sepa ra te occasio ns la s t year, Lud ington , Mich iga n's 20-yea ro ld Kelly Smith finally had things go his way , res ult ing in his first Nat ion al mot ocr os s overa ll win . Aboa rd a fa c t ory -ba c k e d , St e ve Ma tth e s -t un ed KTM 1 25 , Smith poste d t he m os t consistent score of the da y with a 1-4 t all y in t he m otorcycle -s wa llo wi ng s lo p at High Point Rac ew a y. In m ot a one, Smith battled through the fie ld after a m id p a c k sta rt a nd avoi de d dow ne d r id er s and any mec han ical fail ures to c a p t u re the win. Sm ith was ever so close la ~t year at th e m u d-infe ste d Bu dds Creek Natio nal, bu t wa s overtaken by 125cc s uperstar Ricky Carm ichael with only . t wo la ps remain ing in th e seco n d mota. In m ot a tw o at Mount Morris , Smith , o nce ag a in, gat e d a ro u n d 15th, bu t he worked his wa y to the front a nd finis he d in th e fourt h positio n, which made for th e best c ombined finish of the day. The win a lso mark ed KTM's firs t 125cc National victory on American soil. "I was just p ick ing off riders all day lo n g, " sa id th e Thor/HJC /Sm ith sponsored rider. "I got fair s tarts but I just pu t t ogethe r two great motos. A 16 JUNE 7. 2000ยท cue I e ( ICTM First Wins Mos t of the tim e I d idn 't even know wh ere I wa s but I k ept going. The track wa s gett ing stickier a nd my hel met was rea lly heavy but it a ll worked out." Sec ond overa ll on the da y we nt to a not her mem ber of t h e Mic h ig a n Mafia, Smith's good frie nd Nic k Wey . Th e SplitFire /Pro Circuit/ Ka wasak iba cked rider took a fifth in m ota o ne and came out to finis h a strong sec ond in mot a two . We y sta rted well in both m otos a nd h ad little prob lems th ro ug hout the day to take his firs t outdoor podium finish of the year. O n t he podium a t da y ' s end, We yand S mith ha p pil y s pra y e d ea ch other with the cha mpion's champagn e . "I guess that all the pr a cti c e I'v e been do ing in the m ud has paid off," We y s a id. "I ha d two dec ent m otos tod ay and th a t pu t s me som ew hat ba c k in the hunt. I'm real happy for Ke lly, to o . The Mich iga n Ma fia p re va iled toda y." We y 's teammate Ta llon Vohl and took the final podium positi on wit h th ird . Voh land fe ll num ero us t im e s and was looking to have a rou gh outin g , bu t he took advant a ge of the other rider's problems to sa lva ge his day . Vohland went 7 -3 in t he two motos . "T h e cond itions we re b ru tal today," Vohland said aft er th e second mota. "I'm happy with the points I got n e vv s today, so me g uys d idn 't e ve n sco re a ny po ints, so I c a n' t co m p lai n to o mu ch. I just co u ld n' t get it ba ck togethe r in the first mota a fter fallin g. I'll jus t g ive it s om e extra effort fo r th e rest of th e seaso n." Fourt h we n t to Works Conn e c tion / DGY/Troy Lee 's Steve La m s o n. The Ha ngto wn winn er on e week earli e r scored a consiste nt 4 -5 in th e mu d a nd he ld o n t o the p oints lea d, as we ll. "I've done fa ir in the m ud in the pa st," Lamson said at th e end of the day. "The bike almost did n 't m ake it to the finish the second tim e out , S<;) I' ll take wha t I got . I'm sti ll in t he points le ad , tha t's wha t matter s ." Yam aha of Troy ' s S teph a ne Ron c ada took fift h . Ro nca da finished a remarkabl e s econd in mot a one after sta rti ng in abo ut 20th. Th e Fr en c h m a n is no stra nge r to mud and h e p ro ved it wit h th at rid e. A ninth in m ota two , h ow ev er , h eld Ron c a da ba c k fro m ma king the podium. The 20 -year-o ld Menifee, California , resident s ti ll ho lds o n to second in the po int stand ing s going into rou nd four at Southw ick in two weeks . "I ha d tw o b ad s t a rt s t od a y and thought tha t I was way back," Ronca da ex pla ined . "I passed a lot of riders wh o we re down o n th e ground or stuck. I gu ess th e day went okay." Annapo lis, Maryland 's Travis Pas - An i nc red i b l e come-trom-behind charge in the second moto rewarded both Kelly Sm ith and KTM w ith t h eir first 125c c Nationa l overall v ictory. tra na had a another int ere st in g da y a nd finish ed sixth over a ll. Th e Te am Suzuk i/No Fear/Sp y-supported ride r led mu ch of th e firs t mota o n ly to hav e a n od d m echan ic al fai lure stop him fro m cross ing th e finish up fro nt. In m ot a two Pa str ana c a me o ut and conquered th e mud a nd th e field, as he took his first e ver Natio na l ou tdoor mota win as a Pro . Pa strana late r sa id, "I wa s ha ving fun a ll day today. I love p layi ng in the m ud . Th e first m ota was very dishe arten ing though. 1 th ou gh t that I had it. I'm rea l ha ppy with m y performance in mota two. I he ard th e fa ns c heering the who le tim e a nd I wanted it. " Flor idian Paul Cu rrie finish ed s e venth via 6-6 mota finis he s aboard his Plano Honda , while Bill's Pipes/AXO's Robb ie Horton t o ok eighth (9 -7). Ida ho 's Danny Smith (8 -8 ) took ninth overall , w ith Husqvarna 's Robb ie Skaggs rounding out the to p 10 with a 3 -28. La m s on ca rries the po ints lead into Southwick ov e r Roncada 117 -114 . Vohland holds on to third with 111, wh ile Pastrana and Wey sit in fourth and fift h with 90 and 82 points , respectively .