Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

La s Ve g as Motocross Club Action Va lle y Motocross P a rk LaFountaine Gulps Down Two Perales Perishes Perales Prevails B y D ICK G OO DWIN B y D A VID AND J ESSICA S CREWS PARJS, TN. NOV. 5 LAS VEGAS, NV, NOV. 12 Some ev ents seem to spawn spon ta neo us competition . Th is was the ca se wh en riders from four states converged on A ction Vall ey Motocross Park. in Paris , Tennessee. It coul d h av e b een th e w id e , well -work ed sawdust loa m of the circuit. It could hav e been the sun shine and temperatures in the m id -60 s. Mor e than lik ely , it was the caliber of race r tha t was attracted to t h e in creasingl y p opul ar and Speedy Jeagher LaFountaine continued to im pres s the loc als at the Las Vegas Motocross Club , as he was the onl y double-class winner on dif fe rent-s ized bikes , topp ing the 80cc (9 -11) division and waxi ng the J unior Cycle (6-8 ) class as well. laFountai ne shot out in front of 9- to 11yea r-olds Robert Krause. Maxx Foster and Jena Ellis in th e combined J unio r Cycle race . racer-friendly but challeng ing tra ck of Kerry He qu ic k ly tu rn ed up the wic k , b u ild ing a king -sized lead befo re the first lap was co mpleted . Foster was run ning second while lead - and Rene Watkins. Suzuki-Honda of D ick so n , T enn es see sponsore d K y le an d Ma t Pera les provid ed so me of the sti ffes t com petition during th e da y' s events. Fo urt een -year-old Ky le contest- in g t he Se n io r d iv i sion . A s t h e ra c e p ro - gressed, laFounta ine contin ued to stre tch his advan ta ge , winning by a huge marg in a nd lapping mo st of the fie ld. Fo ster took a so lid second to lead the 9· to t t-yeer-c lds . Hots hoe 6 to 8 -y ear-ol d Dylan He nd e rson fo llo we d in third . laFountain e pulled off a n insta nt repla y , ed the 85cc Senior ( 12- 15) a nd 79-105cc Superm ini classes. Fift een -year -o ld Mat co n - te sted th e S c h o olbo y , 125 c c C and 250cc / O pe n C cla s ses . On e pe ris hed . One preva iled . With ag gressive riding, cha llenging dete rm ination , and a fl air fo r ta k ing risks, Kyle gave his com petiti on in the 85cc Senio r co ntest a reaso n to kee p looki ng back. In moto one , he ca me arou nd the hol eshot com er ser- starti ng race two out in fr ont of Lance Kinshel1 Fost er a nd Ellis. The second moto went 21. just as well a s the first, with laFountaine ca rv- ing up the trac k while bu ilding up an insur mounta ble le ad . Fo ster fo ugh t pa st to hold down a solid second , a hea d of Ellis and Kin- dined in the pa ck , After a little over a lap. he had wor ke d h is wa y into second , beh ind lead er Bryce Cowley. Pressing , he began to ma ke gearing mista kes a nd qui ck ly d ropped ba c k to fourth . behind Brett Cameron and Charles Cobb. However, Pera les regai ned his sheil a. Inevitably. laFountaine tore ac ross the finish lin e with ano ther monster win to sew up the 60cc (6 -8) class win , ahead of Henderson an d A ustin Scarlett. Fester's double victories race head and began another surge. He ove r- led the 60cc (9 -11 ) div is ion , besting Ellis . too k Cobb and began working on Cameron. In Kinshella and Andrew Iovino. Minicycl e ace Mic hael Parker was the m an in the combined 80cc race, but laFountaine th e Low lands (a sweeping , curve-infested area in the bottom of the valley ) , Ca me ro n a nd Perales both went down. Cameron rem ou nted fi r st and co ntinued, wi th Per ales still on his looked good on this size bike a s well, hanging ou t with the big boys as a 9 - to l l -yee r-old . Pa rker bla st ed ou t in front of Clay Cutler , Wes - heels. The moto ended with Cowley, Cameron and Pera les go ing one, two, three. Perale s cam e out scream ing in m oto tw o and was on his way to bu ilding a com fo rtable lead when he misca lc ulated his ap proac h to ley Harr is, laFou ntaine end the rest of the field, as he so frequently does . By the end of lap one, the rac e wa s essent ially o ver , as Pa rke r had a hug e lead . Harris , Anthony Hart the 9iant ste p-up tabletop and hit a ha y bale , taki ng a ha rd tumble . The crash too k him out and laFou nta ine were all ove r each other for seco nd place. Parker smoked the competitio n fo r a m o to -on e win, while Harris and Hart of th e co ntes t and the upcom ing Supermini cl ash. Cowl ey went on to take th e overall win , stayed clos e all the way to the finish , with Harris ju st getting the nod. laFountaine stayed with Cameron and Cobb finishing second a nd third, respectively. with th e leaders, flashing ac ross fourth for firs t Mat Perale s too k no prisoners as he m an - aged to sling the silty loa m of Action Valley in every d irecti on . In Sc hoolboy co mpe tition, he ga ve E.J . Cox a nd Blair Mille r all the dirt the y 9 - to l l -yea r-old. laFountaine surp rised the wh o le g ate as race two beg a n, leading Ha rt, Harris a nd 80cc ca red to eat. Cox shut down Pera les ' atta ck B eg in ner win ner Ronn ie Go odwin dow n t he wit h bot h m oto win s fo r t h e overa ll, bu t Per ales slated a 3 -2 finish to ta ke the se co nd c hu te . Parke r qu ic kly wh ipp e d th rou gh t he pa ck, la ndi ng in fir st at th e off-camber co rner/ j ump . LaFounta in e w as in sec ond, but Harr is and Hart were applying heavy pressure in a bid to get by . Harris was able to m ak e the pa ss, as the du eling got m or e intense. Late in the race, Hart was also able to m ak e a pass , but the three stayed close for seco nd. Mea nw hile, Parker too k anot her runaway win to overall spo t. Miller pla ced third with a well deserved 2-3 moto finish. The I 25cc C a nd 250cc C racers weren't so lucky. Perales fed the who le bunch-a-lunch of roos ter tail s. The older Perales prevailed as he raced to ov era ll victories in both cla sses. Re s u lt s so (7 -8 ): I. ~J. Ray (Cob ): 2. Devid lassiter (Hus ); 3 . Cody Mod'er (Yam) . 65 (7· 9): I. 8tadley Griwnti (KTM); 2. Allen Brady (KTM): 3. Spencw Cook (KTM): 4 . ChristianWabCln (taM): 5 . AkJ. RlIY(Kaw). ~ (I0-11); I. Tykor Coll(KTM) 2. EDiotlBarber (Iffi'\) . ; r S5 (7 . 11): L Branden1'\i ler (Yam ); 2 . Brandon Crw»by (Sul); 3. E1 lion Barber (Ke w); 4 . Brandon Burrow (Hon ); 5. z.ack Thrower (Kaw). M (12-15): I . Bryce Cowtey (Yam) ; 2. Brett Cameron (Han) : 3. CharWsCobb (Kaw); 4. Brian Huckslop (Yam) : 5. Jake Harper(Han) . 5/1'\11'11 : 1. Brondm Moille.. (Ya m); 2. 8ry« Cowley (Yam): 3. Brandon Crosby (SuI) : 4. lad Thrower (Kaw): 5. Bnan Huckstop (Yern ). SCHBY I. E.J. Cox (Yam ); 2. Mat Pera les (Hon); 3. Blair Miller : (Yam ); 4 . ROM Pruitt (Yam) : 5 . Breu Cameron (Hon). 16·24 : I. J u an McCa skill (Ya m): 2. Tony Singleton (Han ): 3 . Josh Fams (Kaw'); 4. Jon Thomcson(Sul) . 125 BEG: 1. Jusm M.cCaskill (Han): 2. ~ Covm (Hon); 3. Jon Taylor (Hon ); 4. Sean BarthoIomtw (Kaw); 5. J a .... Kurrmerow (Suz). 125 B: 1. Blair MIller (Yam); 2. Adam Lynn (Kaw); 3. Josh Croley (Su1 ); 4. E.J . CO (Yam ); 5. Tyler Brown (Sul ). li 125 C: 1. Mat Perales (Hon) ; 2. Brett Perry (Yam ); 3. Pat Bomar (Yam ); 4. Ton y Singletan (Hon); 5. Joah f arris (Kaw). ~ BEG; 1. Ste ve Wes t (Hon): 2. KeIth Huckslop (Ya m); 3. David Walker ( Hon) ; 4. Todd Gla ss (Hon ): 5. J erem y Brad sh aw (Hon). 250 I\:. 1. Jordan Moneyma ker (Kaw); 2. Don Rice (Yam) . 250 B; I. Adam L)'M (Kaw): 2. David Young er (Yam ); 3. John Wnght IHon ). 250 C: I. Derek Capps (Han); 2. J a y Brasfldd (Han) ; J . Toby l Kimbro (tIT M); 4. Don F"ke (Yam ): 5. Mel Peraln (Hon). 25+: 1. Shane Vaughn (Hon) ; 2. David YOlA'Iger (Yam ): 3. J ay Brasfield (Han) : 4. eng HlImmond (Han): 5. l.onnie Evam. (Yam ). 30. A: I. Shane VaugM (Hon): 2. Tim Riley (Hon): 3. Ronme Ray (Hen ): 4. Mih Tayb ( Han) . 30. SIC: I. lAnnle Evans (Yam): 2. Mark Thurmon (K.rw); 3. ~ letwnen (Yam ); 4 . J 8:IOf'I Aningtoo (Hon): 5. Don f'lke (Yam) . 40. : 1. Tim R ~ (Hon ); 2. ~onnte Ray (Han) ; 3 . M.ike Tayb (Han ); 4 . Keith Hudtstop (Yam) : 5. Bobby Capps (Yam) . Willow S p rin g s International Race w a y Graves Sets Another One In Stone By ERIC V ,NCEI'fT ROSAMOND, CA, NOV. 18-19 Chuck G rave s cli n c he d the Toy o t a Cup Unlimited Form u la One Grand Prix cl a s s Gobert , who recently signed to race in the AMA 600cc Superspo rt and Superbike series in 2 00 I , competed in several WSMC races. including the F orm u la O ne main event, all aboard a Yama ha VZF-R6 . Heading into tum eight, Gobert drafted a nd passed Palazzo , but Palazzo retook second in the long tum-eight sweeper. Earlier in the day, Palazzo's YZF-RI blew its motor. and the tea m had to qu ickly repla ce the engine prior to th is race. Despite further atte m pts b y Gobert to catc h Palazzo, th e race ended w ith Graves ta king the win, followed by Palazzo in second a nd Gobert th ird. In the Onta rio Moto Tech Tea m Hewitt For m ula Two race. J eremy Toye gr abbed the ho les hot o ff t he lin e , fo llowed by Kenny Ko pec ky . Rounding turn two , Kopeck y wa s passed by Pa lazzo a nd Go bert. On the ba c k stra ight, Gobe rt d rafted a nd pa ssed Pal azzo a nd then set his sig hts on Toye. Completing lap o ne , Gobert pulled alo ngside Toye on the front stra ig ht a nd pull ed into the lead go ing int o th e fi rst tum. While Gobert began to pull a way , Pa lazzo closed the ga p on Toye . Rou nd ing tum two on the th ird la p, Palazzo powered a ro u nd T o ye to ta k e over second . A t tha t point, th e top three positions were lock ed in . leaving Gobert with th e race win , fo llowed by Palazzo in seco nd and T oye th ird . In the L&L Motor sports 750cc Su pe rbike rac e , a t ight. race -lo ng ba ttle de velo ped betw een J eff Stem a nd Fred Eike r. Stem was o ut front earl y on, but he was pa ssed by Eiker on the outside of tum eight near the end of lap two. St ern sat righ t on Eiker's rea r ti re and a tte m pted to draft and pass him on the back st rai g ht o n lap t h ree. Whi le that effort fell short, Ste m was a ble to reta ke the lead goi ng into tu m one on the next la p. On the final lap of the six- lap event, Eiker closed o n Ste m in tu m eig ht and the two racers were: side by side exi ting tum nine and headed for the checkered lIag . Eike r pulled ahead of Stem; then S tem edged up alongsi de Eike r. At that point, one of th e riders m o ved over and their rnotorcy - c1es actually touched. While Eiker c rossed the line j ust ahead of Stem. a postrace protest over the collision resulted in Eiker bein g disqualified. A s a resul t, Stem was awa rded the race win , wi th Eric Habennehl taking second and John Pearson finishing third. cham pi onship in convincing style d uring th e Results 11th round of Willow Springs Moto rcycle Club f · l : I. Chuck Gravu (Yam): 2. fo\an: Pa lauo (Yam ); J. Anthony Goben (Yam ); 4. Jeff Stem (Suz ); 5. Eric Habern"IehI (Sull. F·2; I. Anthon y Gobert (Yam) ; 2. Moan: Patauo (Yam) ; 3. ~ my Tay e (Yam) ; 4. M.ark Watts (Yam ); 5 . Kevin Mw'ray (Yam ). F-3; I. Stephen BowIiM (Han ); 2. Chris PM. (Hon) ; 3. Kem Murra y (Yam) : 4. Erik Dodej (Hon ); 5. Joel HMmOSO(Hon) . 550 S/BK, t . - . . . Sol~ (S (....); 2. """"'" Compb

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