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they were so far ahead," Alessi said. "It's just hard when you're so far back, when there is no one in front of you and no one behind you." Alessi struggled and fell into the clutch- es of Yamaha of Troy's Brett Metcalfe late in the race, which cost him valuable championship points. Meanwhile, Short, Grant, Villopoto and Red Bull KTM's Nathan Ramsey were putting on an incredible show up front. On one lap, all four riders passed each other back and forth, swapping the lead numerous times. "It was almost like cycling for a while; it was like whoever was drafting was going to rocket to the front," Short said. "I almost ran into Nathan Ramsey going up those whoops going up the hill. I had some close calls. We would hit in some of the one-lined corners, and our feet were coming off. We were doing anything we could, just all going for it. That's what it's all about." Short and Villopoto finally busted free from Ramsey and Grant, and the race for the win was on. "The first moto, I was basically on Mike, and I got dropped," Short said. "I couldn't stay on his wheel. It was frustrating. We don't put that work in for noth- ing. We all want to win. So in the second moto, we didn't change anything, but mentally, I just gave it everything I had - especial- ly when I was battling with those guys. I just sprinted and didn't give up." But Villopoto was still able to make the pass to take the moto and overall win. "I need to work on my starts," Villopoto said. "I almost had the holeshot in the second moto, but I missed a shift. I just take different lines. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. I'm just going to try to keep it going." CN UNADILLA VALLEY SPORTS CENTER NEW BERLIN, NEW YORK RESULTS: JULY 16, 2006 (ROUND 6 OF 12) LITES MOTO 1: 1. Mike Alessi (KTM); 2. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw); 3. Andrew Short (Hon); 4. Andrew McFarlane (Yam); 5. Brett Metcalfe (Yam); 6. Josh Grant (Hon); 7. Broc Hepler (Suz); 8. Ryan Sipes (Suz); 9. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw); 10. Nathan Ramsey 11. Martin Davalos (Yam); 12. Sean Collier (Yam); 13. Troy Adams (Kaw); 14. Steve Boniface (Hon); 15. Matt Walker (Yam); 16. Paul Carpenter (Hon); 17. Christopher Pugrab (Kaw); 18. Kelly Smith (Hon); 19. Jake Weimer (Hon); 20. Justin Brayton (Yam); 21. Richie Owens (Yam); 22. Justin Keeney (Hon); 23. Robert Marshall (Hon); 24. Trevor Monks (Kaw); 25. Charles Castloo (Yam); 26. Kevin Brodsky (Hon); 27. Stephen Stella (Kaw); 28. Jason Lawrence (Suz); 29. Zach Osborne (KTM); 30. Nicolas Evennou (Yam); 31. Brian Gray (Suz); 32. Tucker Hibbert (Yam); 33. Bryan Johnson (Yam); 34. Joaquim Rodrigues (Hon); 35. Cory Green (Hon); 36. Robert Kiniry (Hon); 37. Willy Toth (Suz); 38. Matthew Goerke (Yam); 39. Danny Smith (Hon); 40. Michael Brown (Suz). Race Time: 36 min., 32.32 sec. LITES MOTO 2: 1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw); 2. Andrew Short (Hon); 3. Nathan Ramsey (KTM); 4. Andrew McFarlane (Yam); 5. Brett Metcalfe (Yam); 6. Josh Grant (Hon); 7. Mike Alessi (KTM); 8. Martin Davalos (Yam); 9. Troy Adams (Kaw); 10. Matthew Goerke (Yam); 11. Ryan Sipes (Suz); 12. Steve Boniface (Hon); 13. Broc Hepler (Suz); 14. Jason Lawrence (Suz); 15. Paul Carpenter (Hon); 16. Matt Walker (Yam); 17. Brian Gray (Suz); 18. Robert Kiniry (Hon); 19. Jake Weimer (Hon); 20. Zach Osborne (KTM); 21. Richie Owens (Yam); 22. Christopher Pugrab (Kaw); 23. Tucker Hibbert (Yam); 24. Sean Collier (Yam); 25. Justin Keeney (Hon); 26. Cory Green (Hon); 27. Trevor Monks (Kaw); 28. Willy Toth (Suz); 29. Charles Castloo (Yam); 30. Kelly Smith (Hon); 31. Robert Marshall (Hon); 32. Stephen Stella (Kaw); 33. Justin Brayton (Yam); 34. Kevin Brodsky (Hon); 35. Bryan Johnson (Yam); 36. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw); 37. Danny Smith (Hon); 38. Nicolas Evennou (Yam); 39. Joaquim Rodrigues (Hon); 40. Michael Brown (Suz). Race Time: 37 min., 24.37 sec. LITES OVERALL: 1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw); 2. Andrew Short (Hon); 3. Mike Alessi (KTM); 4. Andrew McFarlane (Yam); 5. Brett Metcalfe (Yam); 6. Nathan Ramsey (KTM); 7. Josh Grant (Hon); 8. Martin Davalos (Yam); 9. Ryan Sipes (Suz); 10. Broc Hepler (Suz); 11. Troy Adams (Kaw); 12. Steve Boniface (Hon); 13. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw); 14. Matt Goerke (Yam); 15. Paul Carpenter (Hon); 16. Matt Walker (Yam); 17. Sean Collier (Yam); 18. Jason Lawrence (Suz); 19. Brian Gray (Suz); 20. Jake Weimer (Hon); 21. Chris Pugrab (Kaw); 22. Robert Kiniry (Hon); 23. Kelly Smith (Hon); 24. Zach Osborne (KTM); 25. Justin Brayton (Yam); 26. Richie Owens (Yam); 27. Justin Keeney (Hon); 28. Trevor Monks (Kaw); 29. Charles Castloo (Yam); 30. Robbie Marshall (Hon); 31. Tucker Hibbert (Yam); 32. Stephen Stella (Kaw); 33. Kevin Brodsky (Hon); 34. Cory Green (Hon); 35. Willy Toth (Suz); 36. Bryan Johnson (Yam); 37. Nicolas Evennou (Yam); 38. Joaquim Rodrigues (Hon); 39. Danny Smith (Hon); 40. Mike Brown (Suz). 2006 TOYOTA AMA MOTOCROSS LITES CHAMPI- ONSHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 6 of 12 rounds): 1. Ryan Villopoto (240/4 wins); 2. Mike Alessi (237/1 win); 3. Andrew Short (208/1 win); 4. Josh Grant (199); 5. Andrew McFarlane (197); 6. Brett Metcalfe (193); 7. Nathan Ramsey (121); 8. Matthew Goerke (95); 9. Troy Adams (94); 10. (TIE) Paul Carpenter (79)/Jason Lawrence (79); 12. Sean Collier (76); 13. Broc Hepler (75); 14. Steve Boniface (72); 15. Danny Smith (62); 16. Grant Langston (61); 17. Kyle Chisholm (56); 18. (TIE) Matt Walker (53)/Billy Laninovich (53); 20. Martin Davalos (48). C Y C L E N E W S • JULY 26, 2006 29 MY OWN RACE 25 Nathan Ramsey 10-3 6th Place Nathan Ramsey was a big part of the amazing four-rider fight for the lead that broke out halfway through the second moto. "Those guys wouldn't give me a break out there," Ram- sey said. "I finally got a good start. It's fun to be able to run with those guys. They set a strong pace, and I got a little tired. The fans were yelling, and it made me dig a little deeper. The younger generation just keeps coming up and going better and better. And I'm trying to learn with them. Each week I go back and watch tapes and try to figure out what they're doing to go so fast." 36 Ryan Sipes 8-11 9th Place Ryan Sipes broke his foot during the Supercross season and then broke his wrist preparing for the Nationals. In his first race back from injury, he rode well, garnering a top-10 finish. "It was just good to get back at the races," said the Kentucky native. "It [the wrist] started to get tired toward the end, but otherwise I felt pretty good." 60 Broc Hepler 7-13 10th Place Last year's Unadilla winner, Broc Hepler, didn't have a good start to his day. A rider fell in front of him during his morning qualifier and he crashed, resulting in a trip to the LCQ. This resulted in a terrible gate pick in the first moto, which led to a terrible start. "My mom counted me out at 29th place going into Gravity Cavity on the first lap," Hepler said. "The riders were already into the mechanics' area." From there, he would climb all the way to seventh. He started a bit better in moto two, but a first-lap run-in with Matt Walker left both of them on the ground. Hepler remounted and fell again, and by then he was way, way back. "Too many crashes," Hepler said. 124 Andrew McFarlane 4-4 4th Place After taking third overall at the previous race, Andrew McFarlane rode solid at Unadilla and nearly made the podium again. While he was just a notch off the lead trio in moto one, he was in the hunt in the second moto, battling hard with Ramsey and Grant for third. He split them, finishing fourth. Late in the race, his fellow Aussie teammate Brett Metcalfe closed in, but McFarlane held him off. Alessi (800) ran off with the first-moto win but couldn't match that performance in the second moto. Josh Grant (24), Nathan Ramsey (25), Villopoto (51) and Short (29) had a great battle in the second moto.