Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

son Bernordino. CA Helcn Ed.ewoy MOTOCROSS Grant, Primm Josh Gront ond Biett Metcolfe top the lists ot the third onnuol Prim and Pro R requel er I osh Grant mav be contracted to I .u.. th" ,p.o.ing 2006 outdoor I Nationals Lites class aboard his I l.n".,.,. Honda 25OF- but the I t..n'. lor" affair with the 45OF is **:"::,lx m: il:.:::il',',l#; Prequel at Glen Helen Raceway Park, the bi8 warmup event before the start of the AMA Nationals at Hangtown. When the youngster from Riverside, California, won both small- and big-bore classes here at the recent Four_Stroke World Championships, it was his flight in the Open class that raised eyebrows as well as questions, such as whether he'd switch classes in the upcoming outdoor scene, More fuel was added to the specu- lation on this day when Grant iSnored the 250F entry and concentrated only on the 450E which he rode to a Pair of dominat- in8 moto wins en route to his $3500 vic- tor's share of the purse. "l like ridinS that bike," he said, smiling on the podium after shaking off an illness that had him bedridden only the day before. "lt fits my style and i!'s fun. Since I've been training with Ryno [RYan Hughesl and working on technique, it's made me feel more comfortable on the bike, and that really helps." Grant quickly carved out early leads in both motos against fields of three dozen opponents, building comfortable leads of l0 seconds within only a few laPs in each outing before putting it on "cruise" for the duration of the 30-minute-Plus-twoJaP motos, and leaving it up to those vying lor runneT-up to provide the action. ln that contest, Biazilian Antonio Balbi emerged in the final laps of moto two as the toP contender. Having arrived in America only a few months ago, Balbi admits he's strapped for sponsors; he rides out of local shoplohn Burr Cycles, and has some support from ASW and Orbital. Primm Prequel The linol 25O Pro molo get5 under woy ot the tfiird onnuol Primm Prequel 'A good start - that's all I want for the second moto," said }4etcalfe, and he got it, settling his Boost MobilefYamaha of Troy.com 250F into second, riSht behind lYartin Davalos' O'Neal/Star Racing/Big Gun/Lucas Oil entry A l0th-place finish in the first moto had destroyed Davalos' chances for the overall. but the lead had the rider from Ecuador constantly looking over his shoulder at Hetcalfe. "He was all over me," Davalos said- 'lAnd I was making mistakes. But he was making mistakes, and I thought he was goinS to pass me." Bur Metcalfe didn't even pull alon8side, "l iust had to sit there," lYetcalfe explained later. "The track was pretty rough, and to make a pass, you had to banzai. I almost made a couPle of big ones tryin8 to set something up. [Knowing he had the overall,] I was happy with second lin the moto].'' l'4cFarlane was not so happy. He'd moved his Yamaha into third early on, remaining only a few second behind his teammate for 20 minutes, only to be forced to retire due to me

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