Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

sMOTOCROSS By Davey Coombs HURRICANE MILLS, TN, AUG. 11-15 lorida's Tim Ferry rode into the AMA record books as the most successful amateur motocrosser ever. The 17-year-old Pro/Am racer and high school senior from West Palm Beach won his sixth and seventh career titles at the 11th Annual AMA Amateur/Youth National MX Championship Finals at Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch. The previous record of six amateur titles was held by Arizona's Jimmy Button, who is now competing on the professional motocross and supercross circuits. "It feels really good to get Button's record after hearing about it for a year," said Team -Green/Boyesen/Rossini Racing Products/Fox/Yokohama/EK Cbain/Bell/Scott/Sunoco/Renthal/Inn ovation Sports/Karcher Pressure Washers-backed Ferry. "There were a few times when I thought I might come up short, but I just kept pushing and pushing and everything worked out great." Ferry's pair of wins came in the 125 and 250cc A Modified classes. The 1992 event marked the third time in as many years that Ferry has won both the classes that he entered, a record that may stand longer than his seven wins. In fact, the latter title may be surpassed as early as next summer by Oklahoma schoolboy sensation Robbie Reynard, who won the fifth and sixth AMA National titles of his young career in 125cc (12-15) Stock and Modified action. Reynard won five of six total motos on his way to the winner's circle. Other double-class winners in the 27-division tournament included California's Craig Decker (250cc B Stock and Modified), Team Green minicycle ace Kevin Windham (85cc 14-15 Stock and Modified), and Honda-mounted Jason Mathews (250cc C Stock and Modified). Decker, Windham and Mathews all went the entire five-days of racing without losing any of their six motos. Since 1982, Loretta Lynn's Dude· Ranch in central Tennessee has played host to the championship finals of the AMA Amateur National Championship program. After a series of area and regional qualifiers, the 42 best riders in 27 classes were invited to compete in the finals, which run from Tuesday through Saturday and include three 20minute long motos for every class (Riders are limited to participating in two classes.) The event drew more than 1000 entries, which meant that the flat, sawdust-covered course would be rough and rutted from start to finish. Said race veteran Kevin Foley, who won his fifth career title in the Plus-25 class, "This may be the roughest track we've ever had here." After a six-hour-Iong practice session, the racing began on Tuesday afternoon with the first 125cc A Modified moto. Santee, California's Tommy Clowers immediately established himself as a force to be reckoned with when he blitzed the field for a start-to-finish win. Clowers pulled away from Team Green cohort Jason Edwards, while prerace favorite Ferry battled through the field after a poor start. "1 didn't get off the gate well; then I had some trouble on the whoops," said Ferry, who eventually climbed to a fourth-place behind New Yorker Scott Sheak. Ferry corrected his early flaws before Thursday's second moto, stealing the holeshot along with California Kawasaki KXl25 pilot Derek Natvig. It was Sheak's tum to inheri Ferry's bad luck of the first round, as his Kawasaki F Ferry breaks record at Loretta Lynn's , ~ ~ Q') Q') ~ Tim Ferry (1) beat Hayden Richards (48) and Scott Sheak (20) in the 250cc A Stock class. Ferry also won the Modified division. grinded to a premature halt with a broken shift shaft, while Edwards and Clowers were beset by bad starts (Edwards was 35th after two turns) and early spills. "1 fractured a knuckle on my right middle finger and just couldn't hold on," said Clowers, who dropped his motorcycle in the Rhythm Section, a difficult multi-jump stretch at the finish line. He picked himself up and finished ..fifth, as Ray Crumb, Natvig, and Ohio's Hayden Richards followed Ferry home.. "I'm still pretty much even with Ferry going into the last moto, so I'm going to do my best to just hold on and go," Clowers said. Clowers' injury eventually forced him to drop out of the 250cc A Modified class after a ninthplace finish in moto one. The 125cc Modified A-class final moto was somewhat anticlimactic, as Ferry bolted past Richards for the early lead and rode uncontested to the checkered flag. Early contenders Clowers and Jeff Curry both went down in the Rhythm Section, opening the door for Edwards to score second overall via his 2-6-2 moto tally. Clowers posted a 1-5-4 score for third overall ahead of Ohio's Richards. The 250cc A Modified competition began with Ferry posting two uncontested wins ahead of Edwards and Sheak in the opening races but neither Edwards or Sheak could finish higher than fifth in the second moto, leaving Ferry with a wide berth going into the last race. The excitement was not over, however, as Ferry entered the first turn dead-last in race three. "1 collided with Davey Yezek off the start and we both got messed up," said Ferry, who would need a fifth-place finish or better to clinch his record-breaking title. "At first I didn't think that I was going to be able to do it because there are so many fast guys here, but I guess 1 passed 20 or 25 people on the first lap and then just worked my way up from there. After a few laps my mechanic Mike Rossini let me know that I was in position to take the title so I just cruised to the finish and celebrated." With the victory, Ferry also earned a place on the starting line for the 1992 Tokyo Supercross,'courtesy of his sponsor, Yokohama Tires. Sheak finished second overall with a 5-2-1 tally while Edwards was.a happy third overall after ending the final moto as the runner-up. "It feels great to come out here on the last day and finish second twice," said Team Green-sponsored Edwards. "It proves to everyone that I can ride with guys like Ferry and Clowers and Sheak." In the 250cc A Stock class, Minnesotan Corey Keeney rode well enough that some were comparing him to 1985-86 Loretta Lynn's Champion and current 250cc World Champion Donny Schmit, who also hails from Minnesota. Keeney battled Florida's 29year-old hero Kevin Foley throughout the first two races before taking the lead in the late stages. In the final heat the Team Green-backed Keeney followed Nebraska's Brian Deegan across the checkered flag to clinch his first-ever Loretta Lynn's title. Foley was a popular second overall via his 2-2-3 ~ally while Deegan accepted the third-place prize with a 7-4-1. Absent from the overall tally in the class was California's Ryan Carlisle, who earned great notoriety for being the unnofficial recipient of the 1992 Hard Luck Award. Carlisle was battling at the front in every moto of the 250cc A Stock class, but was torpedoed by three flat tires in as many motos. "1 don't know what the problem is, but my dad's taking a lot of teasing about it down in the Kawasaki pits," said Team Green's Carlisle. "I'm probably landing too hard off the jumps. With my weight and the square edges and rocks on some of the jumps, maybe it's just too much for the tires." Carlisle did finish the first 125cc A Stock moto but it was behind Hondamounted upstart Damien Plotts and 13

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