FINAL ROUND/DECEMBER 7-8, 2013
PALA RACEWAY/PALA, CALIFORNIA
OFF ROAD
P182
AMA DISTRICT 37 BIG 6 GRAND PRIX SERIES
BAD TO
GOOD
Saturday rain turns into Sunday
perfection at Big 6 finale
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK KARIYA
S
ince he'd previously wrapped up the championship
in the featured AMA West Coast Grand Prix Series
and was still recovering from his pre-running crash
before the Baja 1000, Timmy Weigand opted to skip the
Vikings Motorcycle Club's Ninth Annual Vikings Grand
Prix. But one of his teammates on that Baja 1000-winning Johnny Campbell Racing/Rockstar Energy/Lucas
Oil Honda team filled in admirably, Mark Samuels winning the eighth and final round of the AMA District 37 Big
6 Grand Prix Series. Italian motocrosser Nico Gobbi and
Vet Pro champ Rowan Trefz rounded out the top three
overall in that end-of-Saturday event that ran during a
cold storm, with conditions turning perfect by the final
race on Sunday at Pala Raceway.
The 90-minute feature race saw JCR Honda-supported Evan Kelly adapt best to the hand-on-helmet start,
and he rocketed to the front, staying there for a couple
laps until he stopped to investigate a noise that turned
out to be his skid plate coming undone on his Pro Circuit/Dunlop/Fly Racing-backed CRF450R.
"That put me way behind; the race was pretty much
over [for me]," he said. "I just kept cruising around."