Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Competition A c c e s s o r-ies P r"'O E xtr-eme T r-ials S e r-ie s R ounds 3/4 A ...k Valle y Tr"'fals A s s o c iation ty of Satu rd ay's secti o ns. Th ose th at didn 't learned quickl y th at the roll ey po ll ey roc k s can pu t y o u o n your head in a heartbeat. Even Jess Kempkes fell victim to a loose ro ller in sec tion seven of th e first lo op , taking a one fo r his onl y point of th e day. Ka nsa s C i ty ' s J a son Ca rpe nter starte d the eve nt poorl y , tak ing tw o fives - once wh en he m issed a sp lit at the exit o f nu m be r f ou r and on c e again wh en h e k il le d h is eng ine in section fi ve . Th e number- three Gas Gas m an added thr ee m ore points for a first -loop tota l of 13 and the prov i sional third sp ot. Secon d afte r loop one w as local f avorite Loy Burn ett, on a Montesa, wi th six . Carpe nter bettered his next tw o loop sco res w i th a three-p o int se c ond l ap an d a c le a n f inal lap , By S HA N MOORE/TRIALS C OMPET IT IO N N EWSPA PE R WICHITA, KS, SEPT. 30-0CT. 1 a s Gas USA -spo nsor ed J e ss Kempkes ' motto m ight we ll b e "the harder I wo rk, the luckier I get ." An y on e t ha t p er son a ll y witnessed J e ss er ' s mo r e in cr ed ib l e r i des in Ka nsas , how ev er , would tell yo u that luck ha s noth ing to do w ith it , th at shear determ ination is K empk es' key to succ ess. K e mp k e s left th e co mpet it i on shaking the ir heads on more than on e occasion en route to wins at rou nd s t h r ee and four of t he Compet ition A c cesso ries Pro Extreme Trials Series held near W ichita , Kansas . On on e occasion , Kempkes threw a chain in a section and managed put the cha in back on wit ho ut da bbi ng or losi ng a p oint . In an oth er se ct i o n , Ke mpkes kill ed h is eng ine nea r the ex it, ba l a nc ed th e b ik e w h ile rest arti ng i t , th en rod e out for another cl ean. " T h at' s t he most in c red ib l e ri de I've ever seen , " one spectator said after Kempkes replaced his chain. T h e t wo wi n s g ive K e m p k e s a healthy lead in the seri es wi t h fo u r rounds rema in ing . Th e ser ies p ay s cas h to the top fi ve in th e final stand ing s, the first time ever tha t a U .S. N ation al T ri a l s ser ies has d o ne so . T he U.S. number-th ree -r an k ed ri d er Ray Pet er s on a Bultaco uSA-sp on sored Sh erc o finishe d a very close sec on d to Kem pk es o n Sunday w ith G 38 O CTO BER 1 8 . 2 0 0 0 ' cue • e (Top) Jess Kempkes won both rounds of the Pro Extreme Trials Se ries In Kansas. (Above) Dr . Marvin Edgington kept pace in th e series' Expert class. Kempkes' Gas Gas teammat e Jason Ca rpe nt er grabbing the show-spot. Carpenter was Saturda y ' s runner-up w ith Kansas State Champ Lo y Bur nett tak ing third. Rounds th ree and fou r of th e series w e re he ld in the Ark Va ll ey Tria ls Associ ation 's rock qu ar ry ju st east of Dougl ass, K an sas near W ic hit a. The club made excellent use of the m any rock outcro ppings and loos e shale cl imbs ava ilable an d were determ ined to take po ints from K em pk es after his perfect ride tw o w eeks be f o re i n Kansas City . Kempk es d id ta k e a po in t on Saturday , but ca me bac k to p ost h is third p er f e c t sc ore o f t he series on Sunday . SATURDAY Most riders exe rcised caution when att acking the loose, rocky cl imbs and tight tums, whi ch made up the m ajorine'lN's while Burn ett went the opposite d irec tion , a d din g 20 more p o int s t o h is total. Carpenter finished second for ro u nd t h ree wi th 16 po ints. Burnett wa s 10 m ore p o in t s back in third . Ga s G as-m o un t ed Sc ott Carp en t er fi nis hed fo urth with 29 , while Nati onal S enior co m pe t it o r David B l a ck grabbed fi ft h with 48. S UNDAY J es s Kempkes, wh o ha s m ad e a po int a ll year lo ng t o quickl y j u m p o ut ahead of eve ryone and ri de fi rst , cha n g ed stra t egies on Su nd a y an d elec t ed to lay bac k and wa t ch Ray Peters ' lines for the first few sections. Peters may have fel t the pres sur e and to ok a one on th e rocky exit of sec tion num ber five . With Peters d own by o n e p o in t , K empkes blitzed out ahead , w ith th e sati sf action of knowing that a clea n day would gua rantee th e win . On h i s fina l loop, K empk es ha d o ne of the more b izarre ri des of the ye ar in section one . T h e 2 3 - ye arol d's rear wheel dropped into a hole whic h dislodged the Gas Gas rider's chain . The rules used for the Co m pe -

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