Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

I I t .. Steve McQueen Memorial Vintage Motocross AHRMA Western Regional Vintage Motocross Series Round 6: Eugene Motocross Park ST O RY A N D PHO T O S By Voerm ans g rabbed th e le a d on her C L A Y LI GH T EUGENE, OR, JUNE 25 o n da -m o unte d Joe Casey came . out swinging and st ru ck gold three times , pulling off a three-class deci mation a t th e 15th a n n u a l Steve McQueen Memoria l Vintage Motocross at Eu g e n e Mo tocro ss Park, postin g wins in th e 125cc , 250cc and O ver 30 Expert cla sses . C a s e y t o o k advantag e of t h e a bsence of two key pla ye rs - pre viou s winners G ra y s on Hart and Dallas Nyblod - a nd em er ged as this yea r's d omin ant r id e r in t he Sportsm an E xpert clas s es a t th e e ve nt , whi ch al so do ub led as th e s ixth round of the AHRM A W estern Reg ion al Vint ag e Motocross S eries . While th e first McQueen Memorial in 1986 drew only ei ght r iders, a dec ade a nd a ha lf later the numbers h av e inc r e a s e d dr ast ically : This year's ev ent drew well over 200 ride rs from five states - Oregon , Washing ton , Californ ia, Utah a nd Nev ada - as well a s from Briti sh Co lumbi a a n d A lb e rt a, C an ad a, who c a m e to pa y tr ibute to th e late actor a nd m otorcycl e enthus ia st Stev e McQu een . Form e r AMA G r a nd Nati ona l Ch ampi on Dick Ma n n wa s a mo ng th os e at the ina ugura l e ve nt . Du e to rec ent h ea lth pr obl em s, h e h ad m issed th e past two e ve nts . Howe ver , the Ne vad an was on ha nd th is ye a r o n b eh a lf of A HRMA . A lle n We nz e l was a lso prese nt , coord ina t ing t he new ly imp le me n ted G ra n Pr ix and Hist o ric cla s s es . Casey ca me o ut s lugg ing righ t off t he b a t , as th e fi rst t o t a ckl e th e heavily wa tered 1.2-mile course wer e th e 250cc Ex p e rt an d Int erm ed iate co n te s ta n ts. Casey laun ched hi s 19 7 4 Ho nd a CR250 E lsi nore out in fro nt of Californi a ns J .P. Morgan and S c o tt S ilvia a t the start, but ne ith e r wa s a b le t o ke e p Case y in sig h t. Whi le S ilvia ke pt his 1974 Ka wasaki KX250 in se cond to the finis h, Orego n ian s Ch r is Cl ar k a nd J im Ro w shov ed the Penton-mounted Morg an back t o f ifth, wh er e he finished . Washington 's Ky le Webster he ld off Californian C a rlos Romer o to take a win in th e Inte rm ed ia te portion , Moto two was pr ett y much the s a m e sto ry , as Casey led from start to finish . Clark, wh o ag a in mounted a c ome -from-behind ride a fte r a po o r sta rt, na rrowe d the gap on Casey in the later s t a ge s , b ut C a sey put the hammer down to f in alize his 1 -1 sweep for h is first o f three ove rall wins. Clark (3 -2) netted second, while Silvia (2 -4) , Row (4 -3) a nd Morgan (5- 5 ) rounded out th e top five . 19 7 1 Honda SL125 in both motos, but each time Sprague soared ove rhead on her 1974 Honda CR 125 a nd hel d off Voerm ans' la st -d itch a dvances at the fin ish t o garn er t he victory . In the No vice portion , Yamaha -m ounted Tina Harl an scored a I - I sweep, ahe ad of Arola Cole and Julie Salsman. J on Wall wo n th e Sportsman 500 Novice cl ass overall, but it did n' t co m e witho ut a battl e from Maico rider Nick Ca ldwe ll, who pushed Wall thro ug ho ut the first moto , which ended in Wa ll's favor after th e two tangled . Caldwell co llected th e ho leshot la ure ls in m oto two a n d s c o red a c onvin c ing w in, ah ead of Wall a nd Danny Vinci , but the overall went to Wall (1 -2 ). eN l (A b ove ) Joe Casey (3 ) struck three tim e s , taking the 12Scc Expert, 2S0cc Expert and Over 30 Expert victories at the sixth round of the AHRMA Western Regional Vintage Motocross Se ries at Eugene Motocross Park. (Le ft) Larry Legarra (8U) placed third, behind Kelly Shane and runner-up Robert Doran (1 7 8 ), in the Premier SOOcc Expert c lass, but he won the Over 40 Expert c lass and p laced second in the Classic SOOcc Expert cla ss at the Steve McQueen M e morial Vi ntag e Motocross in Oregon. (B elow) Nicole Sprague topped t he Women's Inter m e diat e class w i th 1-1 finishes . Rom e ro , who rode a 1974 Ya maha YZ2 50 , nabbed a win in t he Inter m ediate class, fen d ing off first-moto winner Webster in a mote -two s hootout. Ch risto ph er J a m e s (3 -5) , Ric h Si lvia (6 -3) an d Mon te s a -m ount ed C h ris Wilk e s (5 -4) fille d o ut t he top five o ve ra ll. C as e y st orm ed b ac k on e mot o later to do similar da mage t o the large field of Ov e r 30 Expert/Interm e d iate and Over 4 0 Exp e rt c o n t e sta nt s, a lt h ou g h Casey in it iall y fe lt he at fro m Scott Silvia. Ho we ver , Sil v ia fell off th e pa ce a n d w a s then forced to fend off bo t h Morg an and Intermed iat e rider Romer o, a nd none of them cou ld ke ep Cas ey in si g ht. Perhaps t h e d a y 's m ost v a lia nt p erfo rman ce ca me from Wa sh in gton's Larry Legarra , who o ve rc a m e a series of obstac les to overta ke th e tr io of S ilvia , Mo rgan and Ro me ro . "Ma n, at first I go t stu c k in the gate," Legarra late r said . "And if that wa sn 't e no ug h, I fo rg ot to t u rn m y ga s on , so I was a half-lap behind o n th e firs t la p. " Legar ra reeled in the entire field with the exception of Casey at the finish to score a win in the Over 40 Expert cla ss behind Over 30 Expert winner Ca s ey, Eugene Motocross Park Eugene. Oregon Results: June 25, 2000 [Round 61 SPTSMN 125 tNT : 1. Sco tt Fi sher ( Han ); 2. J ames Neinsta dt (Han). SPTSMN 125 EX: 1. J oe Casey (Han). SPTSM N 250 NOV: 1. Ken Harl an (Yam) : 2. Jon Wa ll ( Yam); 3. Dir k Willia ms ( Ha n); 4 . A nd y McKeag (Hus): 5. Matt Kile (Han) . SPTS MN 250 INT : I. Carlos Rom ero (Yam); 2. Ky le Webs ter ( Han); 3. Christo pher James (Yam); 4 . Rich Silvia (Yam); 5. Chris Wilkes (Mon). SPTS MN 250 EX: 1. J oe Casey (Han) ; 2. Chris Clark (Han ); 3 . Scott Silvi a (Kaw); 4 . Jim Row (Han); 5. J.P. Morgan (Pen ). SPTSMN 500 NOV : I . J on Wall (Yam ): 2. Nick Caldwell (Ma i) ; 3. Danny Vinci (Hus); 4 . Dina Medina (Cl) ; 5. Kelly Proctn (Yam) . SPTSMN 500 INT : I. Je rem y Harwood (Hus): 2. Chris Wilkes ( Han); 3. Cliff Mee ( Hus): 4 . Reece Dengler (Cl ); 5. Mart in Spriggs (Cl). SPTSMN 500 EX: I. Chris Cla rk (CZ): 2. Jim Row ( Hus ) : 3. D ana Sal sm an (B SA ); 4 . J err y Wink elbauer (Han); 5. Neil Giertsen (Cl). 30 + I NT: 1. Rich ard Sil v ia (Ya m) ; 2 . Ca rl o s Rom ero (Yam); 3. Dan Fogert y (Cl). 30+ EX: 1. J oe Casey (Ho n) ; 2. Scott Sil via (Kaw); 3. J .P. Morgan (Pen); 4. Monty Price (Han) . 40+ NOV : 1. D an Gil kiso n (Ya m); 2. D i rk Williams (Hus); 3. Mike Ramone (Yam ). 40+ IN T : I . Bil l Crage r (Ya m); 2 . Cliff Mee ( Hus} : 3. Kei th Webs te r ( Ha n); 4. Da rry l Alcorn ( Hus}; 5. Guy Schindle r (Hus) . 40 + EX: 1. Larry Legarra (Suz): 2. J.P. Morgan (Pen) ; 3. Jerry Winke lbauer (Han). 50 + NOV: 1. John Wilkes (Man ); 2. Kit Vercelle (Cl) ; 3. Dona ld Miller (Hus): 4. Bill Rianda (Trt): 5. Dave Mykalbust (Hus). 50+ tNT : I. Marti n Spriggs (Cl); 2. Reid Saerlo (C l); 3. Rob Iverson (Yam) : 4. Larry Beatty (But): 5. Dean Newt on (BSA). 50 . EX: I. Bill Row (CZ): 2. Tom Street (Han); 3 . Terry Hyde (Ric). 6 0 + NO V : 1. Hank Co sio ( BS A ); 2 . Harv ey Willia ms (Yam ): 3. Charles Burchinal (Yam ). 60 + INT : 1. Rod Brasel (Bul); 2 . George Ces s lals (CZ): 3. Don Richardson (AJ S). 60 + EX: 1. Steen Hansen (Ric). 12 5 NOV: 1. Nolso n Thompson (Hus) ; 2. Bry son Willi am s (Hus); 3. Mart y Karadoni s (e l ); 4. Dave Coill ett (Cl ); 5. Dave Medin a (Cl) . ci.sc 125 (NT : 1. Erik Glertsen (Bul) . ci.sc 125 EX: 1. Rob ert Borg (Cl); 2 . M ik e Falcioni (Suz). ct.sc 250 INT: 1. Do n Rich ard so n (A J S) ; 2 . Loui e Hamil (Oss}. CLSe 500 NOV: I. Chuck Bradford (BSA) . CLSC 500 INT: I . J im Cole (Tr i) : 2 . Russell Blow (Mat) : 3. Jo hn Laugh lin (Due). ClSe 500 EX: 1. Neil Giert sen (Hus); 2. Larry Legarra (Bul ); 3. Dana Salsm an (BSA). PR EM 5 00 tN T: 1 . St ee n Han sen ( Ric ); 2 . Russell Blow (Mat ). PREM 500 EX: I. Kelly Shane (Che); 2. Robert Doran (Eso): 3. Larry Legarra (A ri ). WMN INT: 1. Nicol e Sprague ( Hon ); 2. El len Voermans (Han). WMN NOV: 1. Tina Harl an (Yam) ; 2. A rola Cole (Yam ); 3 . J ulie Salsman. HSTRC 125 EX : I. Robert Borg (Suz). HSTRC 125 1NT: I. LaFaye McCarver (Suz). HSTRC 250 EX : I. A llen Wenzel (Hus) . HSTRC OPEN INT: 1. Christop her James (Yam) . GP NOV : 1. Eva n Mykel bu st (Hu s) ; 2. Sc ott Howland (Yam ). GP I NT: 1. Gu y Sch i ndl er ( Hus ) ; 2 . Marvi n Newton (Mai); 3. LaFaye McCarver (Yam) . GP EX: 1. Mont y Price (Yam) . GP 30+ INT : 1. Andy Scheen (Suz) . OP 30 + EX: 1. Monty Price (Yam) . GP 4 0 ... INT : 1. Dan Matt hews (Cl ). GP 50 . EX: I. Bill Row (CZ). crs c but a head of S ilvia , Mo rg an a nd top pla cing Intermediate Romero. Casey a lso enjoy ed a comfortable lead in m ot o two and netted his second overa ll win, trailed by Legarra , who finish ed four seco nds behind Casey; both rider s earned ove rall cla ss wins. Ca sey finis he d off his day by winning both 125cc Expert/Intermedi ate motos . Scott Fisher - the only rider to put a whe el a he a d of Casey all day nabbed th e holeshot in m oto two , but it on ly took Casey half a la p to overtake the four-stroke p ilot . Fis her remained in second to net the Interm ed iate victory , ahead of J a m es Neinstadt. One of the day ' s c losest battles cam e in th e Women's d ivision , waged between AHRMA regula r E llen Voermans a nd O regon 's Nicole Sprague. co U CO I e n e VV S • A UGUST 2 , 2000 53

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