Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

AMA/NATC National Championship Trials Series: Rounds 5/6 TRIALS ~. ~ Young clinches fifth title By Don Williams Photos by Kelly Callan NORDEN, CA, JULY 11·12 yan Young clinched a record fifth consecu ti ve NA TCI AMA National Observed Trials Championship with a come-from-behind victory at Donner Ski Ranch on Saturday, and stretched his National win streak to 13 with a dramatic victory the following day. Young, the winningest rider in North American Trials Council history, tied Marland Whaley's record of five championships by winning the first five rounds of this year's series. Whaley's titles were not consecutive. The NATC championship is decided by the best of five finishes in the nine round series. After two loops on Saturday, Aprilia's Young trailed Belgian expatriate Oliver Clamagirand, who is riding for Gas-Gas USA, and Fantic's Mark Manniko. "On my third loop I just went all out," explained the Aprilial Tryals Shop/Pirelli/WES Mufflersl Alpinestars/Bieffe Clothingsponsored Young. He turned in a fivepoint final loop card, the only singledigit score of the day, and won by a dozen points over Clamagirand. After securing the championship, Young acknowledged that there were still a few mountains left for him to climb. "I've still got some records I want to break," Young said. "If I win the rest of them this year, that would make it, 16 in a row, which will tie Scott Head's streak." Also, no rider has ever won six championships. Although Young has topped Clamagirand in all six rounds this year, he was not happy about competing with a Belgian for the championship of North America. "I don't' think it's really fair. I think we should make some changes," Young said. "I think it's fine now because an American has won the championship every year, but when we have a Spanish or Italian champion that rides here and leaves and we never see him again, and our riders are number two and can't get sponsorship, it hurts everybody." This was the second time during Young's reign that he has had to vanquish a tough European for the title. Swede Jonny Andersson dogged Young as he won his first two #1 plates in 1988 and '89. , Colorado's Mark Manniko, who had two third place finishes over the weekend, had mixed feelings about the foreign competition. "I think he shouldn't be allowed to score points in our championship, (but) he should be allowed to ride," Manniko said. "He's an excellent rider and I learn something by watching him ride. I think overall it helps the level of the sport." Manniko is currently fourth in the standings, but doesn't expect to ride the remaining three rounds on the East Coast. Clamagirand held on to second place in the standings despite a DNF on Sunday. He holds a 16-point lead over Geoff Aaron, who followed a disappointing fifth on Saturday with a strong second on Sunday. R Saturday As occasional showers were dropped by the remnants of Hurricane Darby, Clamagirand followed Young around the five-mile, 16-section circuit. "Oliver was riding a little differently than he usually does. He was waiting to watch me ride every section," said Young. "He wouldn't ride in frent of me." "We ended up taking four hours on the first loop. He ended up picking up some points on some fives I got. That's how he had the II and I had the 17 on the first loop," Young said. Clamagiran's strategy paid off, as his score was three points ahead of Mark Manniko, who was in second at the end of the first loop. On the second circuit, Manniko and Young scored matching 17-point loops and Clamagirand allowed the pair to close when he dropped 19 points. Saturday's sections concentrated not on Donner's spectacular huge granite slabs, but instead on more technical challenges among the jagged rocks in the many crevices throughout the area. Most of the spectator interest was centered around the final section of the loop, which ended at the front door of Donner Ski Ranch. In the section, riders traversed logs that ranged in diameter from one to three feet, and were laid across each other at awkward angles. Geoff Aaron wowed the crowd in this section when he leaped his Aprilia directly from a small log onto a larger one, when most riders used a detour onto the ground. Ron Commo, who finished fourth, put in the most rousing ride of the day when he decided to attack a log that was approximately four feet high and had no helper-rock. Commo blitzed the log and hopped his Beta onto the top. He then grabbed a handful of throttle and launched himself 10 feet through the air and out the exit gates, to the roar of the crowd. On the third loop both Clamagirand and Manniko faded in the rain and scored 21 and 22 points, respectively. When Young turned in his card, however, the crowd was shocked to see an astounding score of five points posted, giving Young the win and his fifth-straight title. "On my third loop I made little changes, trying to pick up some of the fives and points I had," said Young. "It all worked out and I got a lot of cleans." Geoff Aaron had his worst finish since 1990, with a score double that of his teammate Young. "The trial wasn't that difficult. I just wasn't all there mentally," he said. Ron Schmelzle dominated the Expert class with a 28-76 win over Chuck Sutton, and Howard Galbreath turned in the best overall Sportsman score while riding in the Senior 35+ division, scoring an lI-point win. Jess Kempkes beat his nearest High School class competitor by 58 points, and moved up to the Expert class for Sunday's event. Sunday The rain that had been off and on during Saturday's event decided to stay for a while the following day. The area was soaked, but most riders said the sections remained in good condition and that traction was still abundant. Young got off to a strong start as he didn't have Clamagirand to contend with. The Belgian's hydraulic clutch Ryan Young used come-from-behind performances on both days to extend his win streak to 13 and notch his record fifth consecutive National Championship. malfunctioned and he dropped out before finishing the first loop. A battle raged for second as Commo, Aaron, Manniko, Kenny Leduc and Canadian Tom Farr were separated by only four points after the opening circuit. The second loop saw soaring scores, among the Championship class riders, with only Aaron managing to lower his first-loop tally. This moved Aaron into a three-point lead over Young, with the rest of the competitors floundering 20 or more points behind. The reananged final log section was again the focus of spectator interest. A new daunting obstacle, along with a more slippery surface due to the rain, combined to form a section that every rider except Young fived. When Aaron turned in his final loop card, his' total of 80 points looked tough for Young to beat. Over an hour later, Young came down the hill from' the ski lift to ride the final two sections. After scoring a tentative three in section 14, Young needed better than a five in the final section, which no rider had been able to ride all day. Young showed grace under pressure as he turned in a brilliant ride, and as he leaped from the final obstacle five feet in the air through the exit, the crowd was delirious. Young had cleaned the unrideable section. When he turned in his loop card, Young had a score of 18 points, which gave him a five-point win over Aaron. Aaron, who dropped to the runnerup spot; was still happy with his day's performance. "I felt a little bit more on the ball today," he said. "I got more motivated once it started to rain. I felt like I was riding the Scottish Six-Day." Chuck Sutton won the Expert class by a point over Kenny Mosteller, but the ride of the day was turned in by Kempkes, who was riding in the class for the first time, after clinching the High School class title Saturday. He finished third and had the best final loop score, after a shaky start. Geoff Aaron redeemed a poor first day by finishing second in Sunday'~ event. Keith Adams clinched his Senior 35+ class title with a convincing 12-38 win over Jay Terry. Senior 40+ class rider Rod Tomson picked up his fourth win of the series and was pleased with the event. "These guys did a great job," Tomson said. "They were some of the best sections I have ridden in a long time. CN Results SATURDAY C'SHlP: I. Ryan Young (Apr) 39; 2. Oliver Clarnagirand (G·G) 51; 3. Mark Manniko (Fan) 53; 4. Ron Commo (Bet) 75; 5. Geo£[ Aaron (Apr) 80; 6. Kenny Leduc (G-G) 87; 7. Tom Farr (Apr) 95; 8. Andy Saum (G-G) 106; 9. Todd Roper (Apr) III; 10. Raymond Peters (Apr) 116. SUNDAY C'SHIP: I. Ryan Young (Apr) 75;·2. Goo£[ Aaron (Apr) 80; 3. Mark Manniko (Fan) 96; 4. Kenny Leduc (G-G) 106; 5. Ron Commo (Bet) 117; 6. Tom Farr (Apr) 120; 7. Raymond Peters (Apr) 121; 8. Todd Roper (Apr) 136; 9. Kip Webb (Fan) 149; 10. Andy Saum (G-G) 144. UNOFFICIAL AMA/NATC OBSERVED TRIALS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS: I. Ryan Young (150) 6 wins; 2. Oliver Clamagirand (117); 3. Geoff Aaron (110); 4. Mark Manniko (103); 5. Ron Commo (82); 6. Tom Farr (74); 7. Kenny Leduc (71); 8. Raymond Peters (65); 9. Todd Roper (62); 10. Andy Saum (56). 25

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