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/128630
(Right) Jason Thomas (51 ) battles for the first-m oto holeshot with Mike laRo c co (5), K y l e Lewis (11 2) a n d David Vu illemln (behi nd T homas). ev en t u all y drop Vuillemin to fourth . Vuill emin grabbed the holeshot in the sec ond mota and looked comfortable out fr ont, but Carmicha el, who gated th ird and q uick ly moved past W ind ham for se cond , w as sim p ly on fire an d dove under the Yamaha pilot o n t he fou rth lap to tak e o ve r the lea d . A nother late -mota c ha rg e b y L aRo c co releg at ed Vuillem in to th ird . E nd in g his sea so n o n a st ro ng note wa s T ea m Suzuk i's Ro bbie Reyn ar d , w h o fi n i sh e d f if t h over all. Re yn a rd sta rted t h e fi rst mota just inside t he to p 10 and ~i' M g e d t hro ug h o ut t he r ac e , eve ntually f ini shin g s ixth . In w hat h a s beco me somewhat o f a t radem ar k fo r th e 23 -y ea r- o ld from Norman , Oklahom a , Reynard fared better in the second moto, batt li ng with Windham ear ly in the race before settling in for fourth . Sixth o verall went to th e aforementi oned Wi nd ham, by virtue of a con sis ten t 5 -5 r id e . Te a m C hevy Tru c k s/K aw a saki ' s J ohn Dowd fi nis he d seve n t h, w i th 10 - 8 m ot a scores, foll o wed b y M oto -XXX 's Kyle Lewis , w ho piloted his Suzuki to 8- ] 0 m o t a fi ni shes . Li n em a n Cycles/ Pro A cti o n ' s Jason Th om a s w ent 7 -]] , fo r ninth overall and T eam Suzuki's D am o n Hu f fm an f i n ish ed 12 -7 , for 10th overall. Carmichael finish es o ut hi s amaz in g se ason with a fi n al to ta l of 5 35 poi n ts . To rtell i fin ish ed seco nd with 45 3 poi n ts, followe d b y h i s Hond a teammate, Wind ham, who tallied 4 26 po ints . Vuillemin fin ished o ut t he year in fourth , wi th 414 points , fo llowed by LaRo c co, with 381 poi nts. Rey nard is sixt h in th e seri es w ith 345 p oints , fo ll o w ed by Rey nard' s Suzuk i t eam m at e and last y ear' s Nati o n al Cha m pi on Greg Albertyn, w ho sco re d 3 15 p oint s . D owd fini sh ed e ig h t h , with 299 po ints and K aw a sak i t ea m m ate L arry W ard fini sh ed ninth, w it h 276 po ints . M a zd a /C h a p arral Ya m ah a 's Tim Ferry round ed out th e top lO in th e ser ies, w ith 269 p oints . T h e Race r Produ cti on s -prep ared Steel City U SA track w a s i n gre a t sh ape fo r Sund ay ' s National. Satu r d a y -n i ght r a in s , co m b ined wi th the saw dust rec entl y added t o th e t rack , l eft th e s u rface m o ist a nd t a c k y t hrou gh out most o f th e day . B y th e t i me th e Na ti o na l m ot o s w e re t o beg in, th e overcast m ornin g sk ies h ad given in to bright suns hi ne, h igh h eat and op p re ss ive h umidity , re ward in g w ell -c ondition ed ri ders and se verel y pe n ali zing th os e who we re not. MOTOO NE Jason T h o m a s blas t ed fr om th e ga te to tak e t he holes h ot, narrow l y beating fell o w Yam ah a rider Vu illem in to th e fir st t u rn. Windham started third , foll owed b y T ortell i , LaRoc c o and Albertyn . Ca rm ichael g ate d po o r ly and got p in ched o ff on t he sw it ch b ac k- st yle startin g area, sta rtin g the m ota we ll o ut of the t op 10 . " I don 't r e a ll y k no w wh at h ap p ene d ," sa id Ca rmichael sh ortl y after th e m ota . " I thi nk I just bo g g ed the bike d ow n ." Honda's Sebastien T o rtelli w o n the fi rst moto but c ras h e s in the second took him out o f contenti on for t h e win. B y t h e end o f t he first lap free- forall , Vu illem in had t ak en o v er t he top spot, n ow p ursued by T ortelli , LaRoc c o an d A l be rtyn . Th om a s w a s fift h , fo llow e d c losely b y Rey nard a nd Wi ndh am . At the] O-min ute m ark , the c harg ing C arm ichael caught Wi ndham and Reynard, w ho were n ow ba ttl in g for fourth . Not w anting th e leader s to get a way , Carmic hael q uic k ly shot past th e battling pa ir, first p assi ng Rey nard on the lon g uphill ap p ro ac h to a te chni cal jump se c tion a n d , a f ew moments later, taki ng W indham with a g utsy in s id e m ove ex iting th e track' s g rass-cove red ' E u ro ' sec t ion . Al b ertyn , wh o g at ed we ll an d was r u n ni ng wi th the lea ders early o n , crashe d h ard and was fo rced to ret ire from th e ra ce . KTM's GNCC-series points leader Shane Watts qualified for his first-ever AMA MX National at Steel City, taking sixth - the final transfer position - in Sunday's 125cc Consolation race. "It's just been a personal goal, to qualify for an outdoor National," said the friendly Australian. " It's the hardest form of motor sport you could say - possibly in the World definitely in America. I grew up riding motocross and I've always followed the moto cross series, so a goal of mine has been to qualify for a main. I've tried twice before [at Southwick and Red Bud] and missed out because I made too many mistakes. Today , I j ust snuck in, but I'm in there - that' s all that matters. I've had a littl e trouble picking my way through the field when I get a bad start, but, other than that , I've totally enjo yed the three outdoo r Nationals I'v e done. I hope to do a few mo re next year." Watts looked good in the National , but pulled out early . '" sta rt ed to o verhe at and the fun started to go away : said Watts. "I figured it better to pull in rather than risk it, since we still have four more GNCCs to go this year." Fill ing in as Watts' mechanic for the day was KTM' s North eastern Regional Sales Manager, Dan Salomone. "These woods guys are pretty much us ed to do ing eve r y t hi ng for th em selves: said Salomone. "But I thought Shane could pr ob abl y use som e help here today." cue I e n e _ S • S EPTEM BER 1 3 , 2 0 0 0 15