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/128617
.Big Valley For d Classic Short Track Lodi Cycle Bowl (Above) Jeff Gabhart (12HI was the victor in the Pro Sport main event at the Lod l Cycle Bowl. B y MIK E L A W PH OT OS BY STEWART B ARBE R tom, CA, MAY 13 tiiI or th e third time in two rac es JYiI Rotax-mounted Tony Souza ha~ proved that he is the ride r to beat in the hotly contested Pro Expert class in Northern Call forn la's District 36 racing action . Souza led only four of the 15 laps in the ma in event, but when th e checkered flag flew , Souza was sailing in first. Stockton 's Jeff Gabhart sound ly aced the Pro Spo rt main with a wire -t o -wire w in, als o aboard a Rotax . Matt Proto won th e first Pro Sport heat race ah ead o f his riva l Steve Hall , while Mart y We isler bested the second heat ove r his nemesis Mickey Lane. All othe r riders wer e se nt to th e 's e m i to d etermine sta rt ing po sitions on the m a in-event grid . Gabhart feathered the clutch perfect ly in s ync with the starting light , a nd he ra n s ide by sid e into th e first turn with Lane and Proto , the thre e of them rubbing elbows . Coming out of the sec ond turn Gabhart ha d th e lead , followed closely by Lane, Proto and a hard -char g ing Anthony Giamma nco . Back in m id p a c k , Pa c ific a 's Da n ny Casey be gan to shovel on the coal , picking off riders o ne by one , and he worked h is wa y into seco nd by the th ird la p . With Ga b har t com fo rt a bly ou t in fron t, the ba tt le intens ified for second place , as Lane pressured Casey with every ou nce of his Rotax's horsepowe r. Casey p la yed it cool and 36 '-.JUNE 14. 2000' cue I e (A bove) Tony Souza (22Y) won the Pro Expert event at the f o u rth annual Big Va lley Ford Classic ST In Lodi , California. (Right) On the victory podium, the trophy g i rls congratulate Tony Souza (c e nte r:l. runner-up Robert Damron (rig ht) and third-place f inisher Shawn Raggio (left). he ld the ins ide line, refusin g to yield the gro ove to Lan e . For th e re maining la ps , Gabhart ro d e s mooth ly a n d extended his lead , while Casey a nd Lan e waged their own war , but whe n the checkered flag flew, Ga bhart wa s the le a de r, fo llowed b y C a s e y a nd Lan e . "I made a few adjustments to m y b ike after th e heat race , beca use I wa sn 't totally s ati sfied afte r the he a t ra c e , " s aid an o b viously p um p ed Gabh art o n th e v ictory podiu m . "I g ot out ' th ere and k ind of pu t it o n cruise co nt rol, a nd it was a ctua lly pre tt y e a sy ." In the Pr o Expert e ve nt, Lonni e Pau ley served notice th at he wo uld be a force to be rec koned with when he won the firs t heat rac e over Shawn Raggio . Not to be outdon e , la st ye a r's winn er , St ev e Mayfield, ca me out of his so -ca lled retirement and won th e seco nd h e a t ra c e ov er th e a lways ha rd -c ha rg ing Ke vin Bricker. n e vv s Te n-t ime numb er -one di strict ch a mp ion Rob Dam ron ca me out of h is s ho rt- lived retirement to grab th e hol eshot, ahead of Nation al number 56 , Pa uley , befo re Paul ey applied th e pressu re an d pushed Damron aside to ta ke th e lea d . With Damron now out of the way , Pa uley exte nde d his lead with every lap , wh ile Souza settled in to th ird place, followed closel y by Bricke r. By the halfwa y flags . Mayfie ld and Ra ggio had moved into contention a s th e battl e for th ird p lac e inte nsified , with all riders swapping pos itio ns on what s ee m e d lik e e ve ry lap . Th en Pau ley a ppea re d to slow somewhat, whi ch allow ed Damron a nd Souza to close to we ll within s triking dis tance . Pau le y again cranked up the throt tle to ward of f hi s chall eng ers , but Lad y Luck had ot he r plans: Pauley crashed hard in the so uth tu rn, bringing out the red flag and a single-file restart. With a s ix-lap trophy das h a head , the la rge Lodi crowd was on its fee t, equ ally divid ed betw een favor ites Da m ro n and Souza . Once again , Da m ron shot into th e le a d , and once again he re linquished the le a d to the second -placed r ider ; this tim e , though , that rider was Souza, a nd he held on to the lead all the way to the winner's circle for a hard -fo ught victory. Damron was second and Ragg io third. "Ro b [Damron] was doing a great race, and I was looking for any litt le room I co uld get, " beamed an absolutel y ecstatic Souza . "He gave m e th e smallest room , and I took advantag e of it." With the fourth annual Big Valley Spring Classic ST now in the record books, the qu estion on th e minds of ra ce rs a nd rac e fans alike is whethe r th e race will continue. George Booth, the man behind th e sponsorsh ip of the race, gave his prognostication . "I fee l that the re is a very good chanc e of th e Big Valle y Fo rd Spring Class ic c o n t in ui n g in th e fut ure ," Boo th s aid . "T h e rac er support is he re , and the fan ba se will come out to see great racing on a great ra c e tra c k. We ar e very ha pp y to be a part eN of to day's race ." Ladi Cy Bowl cle Lodi, Calilom ia Results: May 13, ZOOO PRO SPT : 1. J eff Gabhart (Rtx ); 2. Dann y Casey (W -R); 3. Mic key Lane (Rtx ); 4. A nthon y Giamma nco (Rtx); 5. Paul Sanburn (Rtx ). PRO EX : 1. Tony Souza (Rtx ) ; 2. Rob Damron (Rtx ): 3. Shawn Raggio (Rtx) ; 4 . Kevin Bricke r (Rtx ); 5. Steve Mayfield (W -R). ' DFC: 1. Rob Dam ron (Rtx) ; 2. Tony Souza (Rtx) ; 3. Steve Mayfield (W· R); 4 . Marty Weisler (Rtx): 5. Mickey Lane (Rtx).