Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

the American Hondy'Precision Concepts/ FoxlO'Neal-sponsored CRF450R, fol- lowed by Ward and Esposito, "Every time I left the pits I would just pin it and try to make something happen," Norman said. "l came around the corner after the pits and Esposito was straighten- ing his bars. Whrd was right in front of me and "Hikey" Childress was just ahead of him. Right after we left the drag strip Ward was setting up to lap and pass Mikey, and I iust held it wide open around the outside when they both went to the inside. That put us in first!" "l got behind a lapper and took a line I hadn't taken all day, caught a rock in the dust and it took out the front end." Esposito said. "l didn't go down, but the bike stalled and twisted the bars. I stopped to straighten the bars and watched both Ward and Norman go by.'' On the penultimate lap, Garrison saw his opportunity to move into second place, "Tilley and lSot back on the motocross track in a whoop section, and he started swapping out and I iust got by him,'' Garrison said. l''leanwhile. Bell and Norman had their heads down and were charging the final two laps to secure the win. Norman crossed the finish line and was congratu- lated by a very excited Bell. "Today is all about this win, not the money, nothing else but Kendall and I winning togetherl" Bell said. Garrison and Esposito finished second, while Tilley and Ward closed the gap, but could not move any hiSher than third. When the riders lined up for the start of the Open/0-200cc/LightweiSht Four- Stroke race on Sunday afternoon, they had no idea a storm was about to hap- pen. Once the flag dropped, Norman not only grabbed the holeshot, he owned the course and the win in the Open Expen Division. Norman's lap times averaged four minutes and 33 sec- onds, while second-place finisher Garrison averaged four minutes and 40 seconds. Tilley finished third, followed by Nick Brazovich in fourth. While many riders in the Expert class- es complained about having to deal with lappers on the extremely short course, Norman summed it up best: "l was a little nervous at the start ofthe race because Garrison and Tilley were both riding really well this weekend," Norman said. "l iust rode smooth and stayed on the gas, I had some trouble with the lappers, but everyone had to ride the same course and pass the same peo- ple. I want to thank all the fans that were cheering for me, lt motivates me to go that much faster and not give up. I was having fun!" Every round of the Big 5 Grand Prix Series has a race for bikes classified as Vintage, Classic or Evolution. Some of the best racing action occurs when the old bikes hit the course, and everyone watch- ing cringes when they see riders hining the iumps and landing with no more than three inches of travel in the suspension, Rick O'Donnell currently holds the num- ber-one plate in the Evolution Class ( I980- 1985/no-disc brakes/no water- cooled). O'Donnell made it clear this weekend why he holds the number-one spot. After nabbing the holeshot for his class on his 1985 CR500, O'Donnell set his sights on the two divisions that started ahead of him and quickly made his way through the pack to the first overall spot. "Getting to the front is always the goal! ldid have a scare out there today," O'Donnell said. ')r\bout the third lap going down the paved straiShtaway my bike seized, it iust locked up! lwas literally skidding in fifth gear on the pavement. I pulled the clutch in, got it rolling and bump started it before it fully quit. I iust babied it the rest of the race and survived." Los ANGrr:s CoUNTY nacEwAY Par*rDAu, CALTEoRNTa REsurrs: MAY 6.7, 2(Xr6 (RouND 4 or 7) The Shamro$ I.,: a LI r t.1-t !". 1 I ! C \ ) , - -i!-:r CYCLE NEWS . MA\24,20o6 45

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