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/128639
California S tate Champions h ip G le n Hele n R a c e w a y P a r K ho rd e thr ough the ho leshot tu rn for th e start of th e second moto . A slowe r sta rt cost Maxwell va lua ble time , and t h is pr o b lem was com pou nded when he bec a m e entangl ed in some down ed ride rs in the fifth turn. Yama ha of Cuca m o nga / MC Ra c ing' s Stewart was a b le to detach hi mself fro m th e re st of th e pa c k , taking th e num be r-one pos itio n at the finis h. "It wa s a lot of fun," s a id th e triumph an t St ew art. Ball ca ptured second , and Gonz a lez gra bbed t hird . Maxwell m ade his way thro ugh 10 ride rs to cla im l Oth. A t h ree-way tie fo r firs t greeted Sunday's fi rst-moto contestants. Stewart, Ba ll and Go nz a lez all had five points ap ie ce, However . it was Kris Higdo n who t u rn ed the throttle into t he first turn. Stewart a nd Ball were o n Higdon 's ba c k tire . Higd on h eld t he lea d fo r the first lap , a nd then Stewart a nd Ball too k co ntrol. B y BETH AND BOB L A R o CK P HOT OS BY B ET H L AR o CK SAN BERNARDINO, CA, OCT 14·15 o uthe rn Ca lifo rni a is well -k nown for its p ro life ration of m ot o c ro ss e nth usiasts, s o wha t better pla c e to hold the p restig ious Ca liforn ia State Champions h ip tha n Glen Helen Race way Park? More than 400 riders con verged for t he fo u r- moto, two-day event. Ma ny of t he cl asses we re so t ightly matched tha t the overall was won by a s ing le po int. O ne such closel y conte ste d e ve nt wa s th e 12 5cc Pro cla ss . At S a t ur da y' s c oncl usi on , th er e wa s a three wa y poi nt s tie for first pla c e between Honda /FMF / Ra c e t e c h/ 9 0 9/ S p ybacked Tu rbo Reif, with 3-1 finis hes; Sean O ' Conno r , who fin ished 2 -2 ; and Bra nd o n Morgan , who had 1 -3 finis hes. Then, just to add to the cha llenge, Yamaha of Troy's Justin Buckelew showed up on S unday for some off-season pra ctice . "I'm just gett ing some extra prac t ice a n d ha v in g some fun ," said Bu ck e lew. " He [E rik Keh o e ] knew th a t I wa nted to keep rac ing in the off-season and he gave me a c a ll a nd said ' He y, let's go to Glen Helen. " S unda y 's m oto on e found Bu ck el ew in th e numb e r -on e p os it io n go ing throu gh th e h o les h o t t urn , S 26 NOVEMBER 1 5 , 2000· cue I (Above) Turbo Re if seized the 125cc Pro w in and the Californ ia number-one plate, and he also pla ced th ird in the 250 cc Pro class at the Ca liforn ia State Championship eve nt in Sa n Be rnardino. (Right) The 250cc Pro-class win went to Tim Beatty. closely followed by O'Connor and Jake Elkins . Reif got an uncharacteristic fifth -place start. Reif claim ed third on the second lap and set his sig hts on O 'Connor. The two riders d ic ed for th e s ec o nd -p la c e position . with Re if trium pha nt on th e th ird lap. Buc kele w c ruised to the finish , with Re if, O 'Connor a nd Elk ins taking s ec ond through fourth. Thi s put Reif one poin t in front of O 'Connor tow ard th e o ve ra ll. Buc ke le w a ga in s howed th e fiel d h is back t ire co m ing throu g h th e ho leshot turn , with O 'Connor and Reif in p urs uit. O 'Connor and Re if put on a s how , sparring in ev ery tu rn . Re if ga ined dom inanc e toward th e end of th e second la p. Buc kelew looked like he had a nother moto wrapped up but t h en h e pu lled o ff th e t ra c k aft e r p ass ing th e whi t e flag . Susp e c t ed c a rbu re to r p rob lem s c a u s e d Bu c k e lew to record a DNF . Re if s e ized th e win and th e Ca liforn ia num b e r- o n e pla te. O'C onn or captured second. Some tight racing also occurred in e n e _ so -.- th e 12 5cc Be g inn er c la s s . In Saturda y's first m oto , 22 riders ch a rged to th e first turn with Mitch Maxwe ll in th e le a d . Micha e l Ba ll, Jimm y Gonzal e z a n d J o sh Stewart g a v e chas e . Ma xwell q uic k ly distan c ed hims elf, lea ving Ball , Go nza lez a nd Stewart to battle for posi tion . Go nza lez co m pleted the pa ss on Ba ll but was una ble to clo s e in on Maxwell , who secured the fir s t - m o to win . Gon zal e z , Ball a n d Stewart took the ne xt thr ee pos itions . Stew art, Chad Erl a nd Ba ll le d the Coming from s ixth place a t the sta rt was Maxwel l. At th e e nd of la p two , Maxwell h ad p o sit ioned h im se lf in third , be hind Stewart and Ba ll. During the wh ite-flag la p , Maxwell not on ly completed a p a s s o n Ba ll, h e a ls o to ok a dva ntag e of a m iss e d s hift by St ewart to take the win. " It was h ard - I co u ld n ' t g et by e ith e r o f t h em ," Ma xw ell a d m itt e d , "I'm luc ky he m iss ed a s hift going up the ju m p o r I wouldn 't have pa ss ed him. "