Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

BRIEFLY••• GNCC ace S ha ne W a tts sho w ed up at Southwick to take a shot at qualifying for an A MA National on a bone-stock KTM 125 that was fit ted with an enduro silenc er. W atts . a former 500cc Australian National M X Chernpion, made it throu gh Saturd ay' s qualifier, but laRocco 's crash re·tweaked the a n k le he twi sted at the opener in San Bernard ino , but not eno ugh to affect him in the seco nd moto . Robb i e Reynard post ed th e best 250c c ride of his career despite dislocating his shoulder in Sunday's morning practice. Despite taping and bracing the shoulder, the pain got to Reynard in moto one, though he soldiered on crash ed in Su nday morn ing 's qualifier and then also failed to transfe r through the consi. " lts a personal goal of mine, and this is the first one that wo rked into my schedule: Watts said. - \ wou ld have liked to have done High Point. I should have, really. It would have worked out we ll for me with the mud. " Stephane Roncada (26) wheelies off the start, while Tallon Vohland (711), Danny Smith (32), Casey Johnson (2 9 ) and Nathan Ramsey (24) follow suit. Roncada finished second overall. "I got a g ood s t a rt, but I just c o u ld n 't k eep th at pac e ," a bummed w a s back on Vohland followin g his every move, Ramsey said a fte r th e moto . "I got a Pa st r ana waited until the white flag little a rm -pump b u t I shou ld b e a ble wave d an d th en he went after Voh - to go t h at h a rd t h e e n t ire t im e . I just land . T he Annapoli s , Maryland, native don't und erstan d it." to a runner-up finish and a third overall. Chaparral /Mazda Yamaha ' s Tim Fe r ry knocked himself o ut in a Sunday-morning practice crash , going down hard enough that David Vu illemin sto pped and directe d traffic around him. ' During the whole race, ali i could think of w as him cra shing, - said V uille min. Ferry sucked it up and raced anyway, finishing ninth overall with 10-9 finishes. Cannondale was on hand for the secondstraight National, with team rider Keith Johnson doing batt le on the new thumper. Johnson wo n his qualifier on Saturday, made it through Sunday' s qualifier despite. a crash, and we nt 39-39 in the motos. Ca nnondale is headquartered in nearby Bethel. Con necticut. M X legend Tony DiStefano got a citation while riding his quad in the pits. Perhaps the cop was just too embarrasse d to ask for an made his pass fo r t he lead down o ne "T h i s is m y h ome t rac k a nd it went o f th e fas test a n d r oug h es t straights g ood, " B r o ckt on Cy cle -s po nso red o n t h e circuit an d m o v e d i nt o the Silv a sa id of his seventh -place r ide . " I le a d. T he c row d erupted, and w hen got a littl e c ra m p ed up in t he m iddle h e pu lled off a not her heel -cl icker at o f th e race but t h e finish feels good." th e fin is h , man y fr ie nds and fans g reeted th e t hrill e d t ee n a g e r. M OT0 2 V o h l a n d finished a clos e secon d Pingre e g r a b bed h i s firs t ho leshot of t he se r ies and c o ll ected $500 from T H Q . B eh in d h im w er e F on s e ca , L a m son , Pa s t r ana , Joh nson , Weya nd S ell a rd s . after s ta rting in a b ou t 17th a n d h ad his work c u t o u t for him . P ingree led f or a littl e o ver a l a p b efore F onseca got him . V ohland also p a s s e d P in gr e e qu i ck l y and then m a d e his m o ve o n F ons e ca fo r t h e lea d o ver t he f in is h li ne at the b eg in ning of la p thre e . P a s tr ana fol l o we d Vohland but then had a strange goggl e problem . "My g oggl es fogged up on th e third t h i rd . C a sey Joh n son was f i f th w ith F onsec a , Pin gree , Wey , Pl ano Ho n d a 's Paul Currie a n d FMF /H o n d a 's D a n n y " W o w , th at was cool , " Pastra na sa i d . " M y due l with T a ll on was t ight , th at was a w e so m e . " " I th ought h e b rok e m y an kl e wh en we hit , " V oh l and sa i d. " H e is am a z - series." eN Motocross 338 Southw ick , Massachusetts Results: June 11, 2000 MOTO 1: 1. Travis Pastrana (Suz); 2. Stephane Ron ceda (Yam) ; 3 . Bro ck Sellards (Han) ; 4. Steve Lam son (Han) ; 5. Nat han Ram sey (Kaw ); 6. Casey l ap," h e said . " It w as so wei rd that I J oh n s on (Ya m ); 7 . Wally S ilva ( Kaw) ; 8 . Ta llo n Vohland (Kaw); g. Nick Wey (Kaw); 10, Greg Schnell but I cou ldn 't see. " Vohland d istan ced h imsel f a b it from Pastrana wh ile that was going o n and Fonseca, Lamson and C asey Johnson cl osed in on the goggleless Suzu k i r ide r. (Yam ) ; t 1. Scott Cart er (Han ); 12. Ton y LoRusso (Suz); 13. Dann y Smith (Han); 14. Em esto Fonseca (Yam) ; 15. David Pingree (Suz); 16. Michael Bran des (Han) ; 17. Bar ry Carsten (Suz): 18. Rand y Valad e (Han); 19. Ca sey lytle (Han ); 20. Brand en J es se ma n (Suz). MOTO 2: t . Tra vis Pa stra na (SUI ); 2 . Ta llon v ohlend (Kaw ); 3. Steve Lamson (Han) ; 4. Stephane Roncede (Yam ); 5. Casey J ohnson (Yom ); 6. Eme sto Fo nseca (Yam) ; 7. David Pingree (Suz); 8 . Nick Wey (Kaw); 9. Peul Currie (Han ); 10 . Danny Smith (Han ); 11. Scott Carter (Han ); 12 . Travis Preston (Suz) ; 13. Keith J ohnson (KTM); 14 . Brock Sellard s (Han); 15. Ro n c a d a wa s now up to si xth on Jiri Dostal (Hon); t 6, Greg Schnell (Yam): 17, Matt the s ev enth lap o f the 3 0- m i n u t e- Wli lke r (Han) ; 18. Michael Brandes (Han ); 19. Barry Cers ten (Suz): 20. Chris Wheeler (KTM ), O / A : 1. Travis Past rana ( Suz) ; 2 . St eph en e plus -two -Iap moto and wa s look ing strong, Pa strana f igured o u t how to duck Vohland's roost and was soon b a c k on V ohland's r ea r fender. P astran a mad e his move shortl y th er e aft er a n d g ot b y V ohland , once again , b y making co n t a c t. In the proc ess , h e b ent hi s r ea r brake d isc and h ad li tt le r e ar br akes from that po int on. V ohland seemed bothered by th e p as s and c h a r ge d right af t er his n ew e st riva l. The two battl ed for s e ve r a l more laps and the o v er 12 , 0 0 0 fans in attendan ce c h ee r e d w ith thei r appre ciation . V oh land recap tu red the l e a d a n d looked to be a b it stronger a few laps later , b u t w hen t h e tw o - lap board came out severa l laps l ater, Pastrana Ju st day s after ove rco ming his biz arre flu problems. Team SplitFire/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Shae Bentl ey injured his ankle while practicing during the week before Southwick, and had to sit out another round. A msoi l/ Fac t o ry Connectio n/ Com pe ti t ion Acce ssorie s/ Jack in the Box Honda's C hris Goss el aa r , who broke bones in his left foot at the last round, was absent at So uthwick, According to his father Mi ke, G osselaar will see a doctor on Tuesday. in g . Th is is goi ng to be a grea t j ust t o ok th em o ff . I knew that i t w ould b e a l o n g r a c e w ithout them , w he ther or not he can retu rn S tat eside to finish o ut the seaso n. S un d ay mo rn ing qualifiers saw Plan o Hond a' s Paul C ur rie and , Yamaha of Troy' s Ernesto Fonseca ta ke t he 125 cc heat race wi ns, while KTM 's Shayne King and Planet Honda' s Jean-Sebast ien Roy took the measure of the 250cc heats. FMF/ Honda's Casey Lyt le and Seki Racing's Akira Narila too k the 125 cc and 250cc c o nso la ti on rac e win s , respectively , w ith Lamson h o ld ing off Roncada for Sm it h ro unding o u t th e top 10 . Ro n cada wa s ba c k i n t he pack Accord ing to Fast by Ferraci/H usqvarna team manager Eraldo Ferraci, 125cc World Champion Alessio C h i o d i is st ill back home in Italy with an injured wrist. C htodi contested the first National but was in too much pain to ride we ll. He is sc heduled to undergo sur ge ry next w ee k, after w hich i t w ill be det erm in ed auto gra ph in the no rmal manner. Roncada (Yam ); 3. Steve Lams on (Han) ; 4 . Tallon Vohland (Kaw); 5. Casey Johnson (Yam ); 6 . Brock Sellard s ( Hon) ; 7. N ic k Wey (Kaw ) ; 8 . Ern e st o Fo n seca ( Yam); 9 . Dav id Pingree (Suz) ; to . Sc ott Carte r ( Han ); 11. Dann y Smi th ( Hon) ; 12 . Gr eg Schnell (Yam) ; 13. Natha n Ram sey (K aw); 14 . Wally Silva (Kaw ); 15. Paul Currie (Hon); 16. Travi s Preston (Suz) ; 17. Tony Laru sso (Suz); 18. Keith J ohn son (KTM ); 19. Michae l Brandes (Han); 20 . Ivan Ted esco (H an ) ; 21 . Ba rry Carsten (SU1) ; 22 . Mlitt Walk er (Han ) ; 23 . Ran dy Valade (Han) ; 24 . Cesey Ly tl e ( Ha n ) ; 25 . C h r is Whe eler ( KT M) ; 2 6 . B ran de n J essem an (Suz). AMA/CHEVY TRUCKS U,S. 125 cc MOTOCROSS C'SHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS (After 4 of 12 rounds) : 1. Steve Lam son ( 155/1 win); 2. Stephane Ronc ede (154/1 win) ; 3 . Tellcn Vohla nd (1 46) ; 4 . Travis Pastrana (1 40/1 win) ; 5. Nick Wey ( 107) ; 6. Casey J ohn son (97); 7. Danny Sm ith (9 1); 8. Brock Sellards (87): g. Nathan Ramsey (84): 10. Paul Currie (75): 11. Rodrig Thain (67); 12. Gre Schnell g (6 5); 13. Kell y Smith (6 3/1 win ); 14, Ernesto Fonseca (5 1): 15, Robbie Skaggs (24); 16. Justin Bu ck elew (3 7 ) ; 17 . Br anden J essem an (3 3) ; 18 . Travis Preston (30 ); 19. Michael Brandes (28) ; 20 . David Pingree (28) . Upcoming Rounds: Round 5 - Bud ds Creek, Maryland, June 18 Round 6 - Buchanan, Michigan, July 2 W hen asked w he n Ya mah a w ould intro duce the 200 1 YZ250F fou r ·stroke to profe ss io na l co m p e ti t io n . t e am m anage r Kei th McCarty replied , " I don 't know yet. ' In order to better learn th e Southwick track, National circuit rookie David Vuillemin came out to Sout hwick early to ride the previous wee kend's amateur day (Emes to Fonseca, Ju stin Buckelew , John Dowd and Shayne King' were also on hand). Vuillemin also put in some midweek time at New York 's Binghamton and Unadilla track s. which will host Nationals later thi s summe r. O ne of the more int er estin g vendo r di sp lays in the pit area was that of Easy Wider, which makes (in the wo rds of a company represe ntative) - rolling paper for tobacco ,' Easy W ider claims t hat ma ny of it s cust o me rs en j oy mot orcycle raci ng, and it had a bike decked out in Easy W ider graphics. Southwick has had nine different 250 cc class winners in the past nine years. The last repeat win ner wa s Jeff Stanton . w ho w o n fr om 1989 to '91. If you don't count Irish-born Jeff Ward , who won in '88, the last (and only) non-Ameri can 250cc class winner at Southwick is Dutchman Pierre Karsmakers, who won in '76. Mik e laRocco 's firs t-m ot e collision with Ricky Ca rmic hael re sulted in a huge hol e in his ex pansion cha mbe r. LaRo cc o remoun te d and ro de several no isy laps bef ore pi tting . His team quickly installed a new pipe, but still lost a lap to the competi tion, so laRocco only salvaged one point for his efforts . To be safe, This week' s THQ H oleshot Awards wen t to SplitF ir e/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki 's Nathan Ram sey and Bil l' s Pipes/M otorious.com/ AXO 's David Pingree in the two 125cc motos and KTM 's Shayne King for bo t h 2 50 cc mo tes . The 125c c ride rs rec eive $5 00 from t he video game make r. while the 250cc class gets $ 1000 for eac h holeshot. M anc he st er Ho nda ' s Scott C a rt er and Motoworld of EI Cajon/T hor's Greg Schnell we re the top' placing privatee rs in the 125cc class and were th e rec ip ien ts of the U.S. Toba cco T op Pr iv at eer Awards. Carter rode to 11-11 finis he s. while Schnell finished 10 - 16. Th e 250 c c c lass saw Moto XXX/ O 'Neal' s Kyle Lewi s and Fact ory Connection's Mike Treadwell take the honors . Lewi s went 12-12 in the two motos and Tread well w ent 15- 10. The top privateers take home $1000 for first and $500 for second. Plan o H o nda' s Ivan Tede sco ret urned t o actio n at So uthwi ck . making for his first race of 2000 . Tedesco was injured early in the season: he t hen healed up only t o get inj ured again. At Southwick. Tedesco qualifi ed w ell S unday morni ng and raced to 25 ·15 moto sc o res in the N at ion al . Ivan Tedesco 's brother Gio Tedesco also mad e hi s return at So ut hw ick , Th e A lbu querque , New M exico , resid ent suff ered a severe head injury at the firs t Anaheim Supercros s and wa s sa id to be done w ith raci ng entirely. The younger Tedesco failed to qualify at Southwick but rode well and will most likely be at se veral more N at ion als in his co me back. Team KTM 's Andy Harrin9ton aiso made his ret urn to rac ing afte r be ing sidelined for nearly the whole season due to a nasty shoulder injury . The C alifo rnia nativ e was injured at th e firs t Pontiac Supercross ro und back in February and went through major surgery to fix the injury. "I tore a tendon off the bone and had full shoulder surgery and just started riding about three wee ks ago," he said. ' It' s so rough here. I can' t believe I picked this one to co me back to , I' ve been training and riding wit h Kelly Smith [his KTM teammate] and it is to change a rear flat tire in the sec ond mo ta . grea t for my c onfide nce. especially since he is co mi ng off the overall win two w ee ks ago [at M ount M orri s] and is on the same bik e. " Harringto n q uahfied but did not have the best of the race had somewhat of a NASCAR feel . days as he raced to 29·30 moto score s. LaRo cc o ' s team c ha nged m o t o r s bet we e n motos. What with laRoc co' s pit stop and that of Team Chevy Truck s/ Kawasaki's Larry Ward c ue I e n e .... S • JUNE 21 , 2000 29

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