T
here was a lot of hype coming into round
nine of the AMA/Toyota Motocross
Championship, presented by FMF. The
Spring Creek track in Minnesota is a
rough-and-tumble track. The champi-
onship battle between Mike Alessi and Ryan Villopoto
was heating up. And a pair of factory-supported rook-
ies - Yamaha's Josh Hill and Makita Suzuki's Ryan
Dungey - were making highly anticipated debuts.
None of the pre-race talk seemed to mention Broc
Hepler, but by the end of the day, the Pennsylvanian
had let his riding tell the story, as he scored his first
overall win of the season.
"This is about pride, not points, for me," said
Hepler. "I knew I could still win, but I knew it was going
to take time. You can't be out that long and think you're
going to kick everyone's butt."
Hepler's win was actually aided by a major appear-
ance from Mother Nature, who brought down heavy
rain in the second moto. After finishing a solid third in
the first moto, Hepler made passes early in moto two
to take the lead. Then the skies opened up, and it all
came together.
"I knew it was going to be tough," said Hepler. "I
passed for the lead on the first lap when it was dry, and
then I knew it was going to be a long moto, because
those guys were right on me. I was actually pretty
thankful it rained, because we had the mud setup with
the tires, and the suspension was dialed in for the rain.
I think my last mud race was Anaheim 1 in 2005, and
that was horrible. I was glad to redeem my
Pennsylvania mud skills."
Spring Creek MX Park
Millville, MN
Round 9
August 13, 2006
AUGUST 23, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S
24
2006 Toyota AMA Motocross Championship Presented by FMF
Broc Hepler rises again
STORY BY JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN
Broc Hepler recorded his first win of
the season.
Andrew Short (29) leads Josh Grant (24) and
series points leader Mike Alessi (800).
