On The Fast-Trak 2-16-01

Santamarina beats the Americans to win the Argentina Beach Race
AKA — Enduro del Verano 2001, Cup Pirelli
Nineteen year old Jorge Santamarina of Argentina recently took home his biggest win ever when he won the legendary Argentina Beach Race. He out rode all entrants including the Americans (Doug Gust and Joe Byrd) on his CT Racing 250R. Santamarina’s team, Santamarina Graphics (his fathers place of business) arranged a plan with Motorrad of Carilo’ City (an ATV rental and tours company) to sponsor the team of himself, Gastón Caserta and Joe Byrd. Doug Gust was put on the Dompa Team (another ATV Rental outfit).

After a week of sunshine, beautiful women, countless hours of ATV riding, including cruising on the streets (all ATVs are street legal in Argentina), Santamarina and his American counterparts of Gust, Byrd and Wes Miller, who was on hand to capture the action for his newest video project, made their way to the beach to try to win the unlimited ATV class. Byrd and Gust rode stock Honda 400Exs, which were a bit underpowered against the peppy 310Rs. No complaining from Digger Doug or Flyin’ Joe Byrd, they were happy to just be able to ride in such a great event. 40,000 spectators gathered while ESPN camera crews rolled tape from five different helicopters. The 4-mile long track had a wide variety of terrain to cover. There was a motocross section, a fast straight section, and an extremely whooped out section. This was the kind of track that Gust and Byrd call their specialty.

200 ATVers revved up and prepared for the all-mighty god starting position. In an instant sand blasting start, Flyin’ Joe Byrd launched the bone stock rental out of its hole and in the front of the pack. All the while Digger Doug jockeyed for position, settling for the four spot with young Jorge Santamarina hot on his tail. Byrd hammered the hell out of his borrowed 400EX and led the race for five laps! Gust rode his borrowed EX stocker with the same kind of relentless pounding. Unfortunately, his quad didn’t hold up as well as Byrd’s. Gust coasted to a stop on the second lap with a stuck piston. A few laps later in the 35-minute race, Santamarina his way up to Byrd’s rear fenders. Wes Miller filmed from one of the helicopters while his bros. below waved up at him on occasion. Eventually Santamarina motored past Byrd and pressed on to take the victory while Big Byrd nailed down the two-spot.

Unlimited (Pro) Class Results:

Jorge Santamarina

Joe Byrd

Alejandro Patronelli

Javier Altieri

Mauro De Fransesco

Hard luck for Heather Rose
Joe Byrd tells us that former women’s class national champion Heather Rose (Byrd’s girlfriend) was supposed to try her hand against the men at the Argentina Beach Race. Unfortunately, she was forced to stay home. “I feel really bad for Heather”, Byrd tells us. “Her flight got cancelled in Memphis. She went to get back in the Surburban only to find that someone tried to rip it off. The window was broken and the steering column was ripped off so she couldn’t even drive it. Needless to say there was no time to make it back to the airport. She had to get a tow truck and spent the night in Memphis. So she decided to stay at home because the next flight left the next day. She would end up traveling 24 hours there, stay 48 hours and travel back 24 hours. All that would mean no practice on the track. She really got cheated out of a great time”.

Doug Eichner conquers the mud for the win.SFX Formula USA Pro Quad Championship Series – Round 5
Edison International Field — Anaheim, CA
Jan 27, 2001
Doug Eichner wins mud-race

Heavy rains fell on Anaheim the day before the event. After many hours of track prep, qualifiers got underway in the heavy soup-like mud that made up the track, which was another oval with a few jumps here and there. Because of the time spent on getting the track somewhat race-able, racers would have to settle for a two-lap hot-lap as their only form of practice.

“Hey buddy we’re not running a senior class here,” says SFX’s Jimmy White to 36-year old Doug Eichner (Duncan/Roll/Golden West) as he lined up for his heat race. “I’m going to make you eat those words, you’ll see,” returned Eichner smiling to White as he rode to his starting position plowing gobs of thick gooey slime along the way. Eichner ended up winning his heat race, as did David Diver (Lost Creek/TC), Greg Little (Nac’s/LRD), Kory Ellis (Bill’s Pipes), Ben Jackson (Duncan/Roll/Golden West) and John Natalie, now an official team Nac’s rider.

 

The main event got underway as the twenty rider field roosted their way to the first turn with Raymond, Ohio’s Ben Jackson heaving heavy coats of mud on the rest of the field as he led the way. Jackson’s Duncan Racing teammate, Doug Eichner followed in a close second. Instantly the entire field was covered in mud as they spun their wheels and sat back on the seat trying to find a bit more traction. Coming from way back in the pack, was Ohio’s Tim Farr (Baldwin/Ferrell/DG). (Farr got to the main via a last chance qualifier win after his mighty Yamaha YZ 426 stalled due to a tangle up with another rider in his heat race). Farr, John Natalie and several other racers collided in first turn havoc.

Natalie chased Farr as the two picked off a whopping 14 riders in their charge to the checkers! Meanwhile Jackson bobbled and drifted a bit wide, allowing Eichner to slip by for the lead. From then on the two red Duncan quads followed one another to the 1-2 Duncan Racing win. North Carolina’s Chad Lohr, yet another Duncan Racing teammate, also found his way to the front of the pack. Kory Ellis eventually passed Lohr and stayed true to his consistent finishes by holding on to third place even though he rode over his own leg in a muddy mishap while cornering in closing laps. At the time of Kory’s mishap, Farr tried to pass but slowed in thick mud that banked the one-liner muddy trail. At the checkers an enthusiastic Eichner took home the honors with Jackson and Ellis in tow. Chad Lohr held the four spot all the way until only a few feet from the checkered flag double jump, where Farr passed him in mid air when a lapper forced Lohr to slow for a second.

After the race Duncan Racing’s Lenny Duncan said, “this brings back some great memories, the last time Doug and I teamed up for a stadium race was 1995. It was in fact the last Mickey Thompson stadium race ever held. It was in Seattle. Randy Howard (a Duncan racer as well) had just passed on and they were devoting the event in his name. We wanted that race bad! I’ll never forget it. We won it on a Banshee in front of a sell out crowd. It was great and so is this! Looks like him and I might have to team up for more events for sure.

Pro Class Results:

Doug Eichner (Duncan/Roll/Golden West)

Ben Jackson (Duncan/Roll/Golden West)

Kory Ellis (Bill’s Pipes)

Tim Farr (Baldwin/Ferrell/DG)

Chad Lohr (Duncan/Roll/Golden West)

Anaheim Notables
Jeremiah Jones was a no show. Money issues, track layout and rumor of inverted starts all added to his decision of not coming out west. A huge dirt pile, which was indeed the material used for the supercross event only a week prior, was pushed off to the side. This left room for the monster truck course, but didn’t showcase the highflying, quick turning maneuverability of quad racing that entirely well.

SFX Formula USA Pro Quad Championship Series – Final Round 6
Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego, CA
February 3, 2001
Natalie spanks the field while Farr nabs another championship

“Hi mom. I won my heat race and spanked them all in the main”, said John Natalie Jr. on his cell phone outside Qualcomm Stadium after winning his first Pro Quad stadium event. Natalie (Nac’s/LRD) looked unstoppable right from the start. Natalie was the first to tame some of the wicked doubles that had landings higher than their take-offs. The SFX Formula USA Pro Quad Championship Series ended in San Diego in style. The track was considered the best of the series by many of the riders. Again it was an oval layout with several technical double-double sections. Not all the competitors had the talent to pull off these high-speed doubles. This caused for plenty of tense moments for racers as they raced through lapped riders in the main. At the same time this was a hit for spectators, as the extreme bar-banging quad action was non-stop.

Reigning Pro Quads Champion, Tim Farr headed into the final event with a thirteen-point series lead on second place Kory Ellis. Jeremiah Jones was right there in the point’s race, but decided to skip the last two rounds of the series. With that, Kory Ellis moved into a comfortable two-spot in series’ points. Farr, Ellis, Natalie, Jackson and Creech won their heat races. Ellis set the fast qualifier by a 3-second margin.

The big twenty-rider field, the narrow track, combined with its tricky double sections would make lapped traffic a serious issue. Ellis and Natalie shot off to take the lead. Natalie quickly wicked up his finely tuned LRD motor and ignited by Ellis in the double-rhythm section to take the lead. From then on Natalie distanced himself from the pack and toward lappers. Farr, who faired a sixth place start, passed Jackson for the three-spot by never letting off in the back rhythm section. Creech also followed Farr around Jackson for fourth place but later crashed into a lapper. Meanwhile, Natalie hammered through the jumps at warp speed. It was obvious from practice, heats and now the main – that he wanted the win badly and would not let a lapper stand in the way of getting it. He carved his way through traffic like they were standing still and marched off to the win. Anaheim’s winner Doug Eichner saw a bit of ambulance time, as he too collided with a lapped rider.

Amazingly, Natalie, Farr or Ellis didn’t crash. They all had several close calls as they weaved in and out of lappers going less than half their speed! At the checkers, it was Natalie followed by Ellis and Farr. Ben Jackson and Tavis Cain rounded out the top five. Farr’s third place finish easily earned him yet another championship, (that’s 3-GNC’s and 3-Pro Quad Stadiums).

Pro Class Results:

John Natalie (Nac’s/LRD)

Kory Ellis (Bill’s Pipes)

Tim Farr (Baldwin/Ferrell/DG)

Ben Jackson (Duncan/Roll/Golden West)

Tavis Cain (Duncan/Roll/Golden West)

SFX Pro Quad Overall Points

Tim Farr (699)

Kory Ellis (688)

Ben Jackson (664)

John Natalie (649)

Dana Creech (636)

Johnny Hale (625)

Josh Frederick (596)

Greg Little (514)

Dave Diver (494)

Brad Warner (492)

Jeremiah Jones (469)

Nate Frees (401)

Keith Little (316)

Chad Lohr (315)

Josh Starrett (302)

Bill Balance (295)

Doug Eichner/Jason Dunkelberger (212)

John Bartosek/Tavis Cain (202)

Jeff Bertyzzi (201)

Nick Dehner/Allen Below (196)

Desert MX Winter Classic AMA National Hare & Hound
Lucerne Valley, CA.
Jan 28, 2001
Thanks to Jeff Waldaias for this news. Round one of the National Hare & Hound Series got underway in a tight rocky and whooped out fashion. The 40-mile course was far from the fast dusty freeway that many expected. Charlie Lamson pulled away and took the overall as he often does in this kind of racing.

Expert Class Results:

C. Lamson

J. Lyndol

G. Giles

Set your VCRs — Sunday MTV at 8:30 (Eastern).
Come Sunday February 18th at 8:30 PM (eastern time), tune your cable or satellite system to MTV. No stunt double involved here. Matt Coulter’s senseless act of jumping his specially built ATV over a flying airplane for the new world record ATV jump. MTV just called us to license additional footage from previous “senseless acts” to make the segment that much cooler. MTV says it’s about their best footage ever captured on the show! In shot, this segment is a must see! Program those VCRs if you can’t tune in.

ATVA Update
As many as ten people have been interviewed for the leadership position of the all ATV sanctioning body. They have also consulted a start up marketing company to speed the ATVA to a good business start. You might have noticed that the March 2001 issue of American Motorcyclist Magazine, which features the 2001 rulebook, does not mention anything about the new 440cc fourstroke rule. Apparently there was a mistake and the update never made it into the magazine. Keep in mind that the 440cc rule is in fact a done deal regardless of it not being printed in the annual rulebook issue of AM.

Jeff Stanton goes ATVing
Story and photos by: John Arens

What do you do for fun if you already have six number one plates on the mantle? Pretty much anything you want to if you are Jeff Stanton.

Any avid motocross fan knows Jeff Stanton was the last of Hondas great motocross titans, one of the few riders ever who could will himself into a win, and one of the last to carry the Red Riders banner to the checkered flag so many times. These days Jeff still works as a consultant and coach to the Honda team. He’s also a development rider for the factory, and with his racing resume, there’s no wondering why. When he’s not on business for Honda, Jeff lives with his wife and two kids back at the family farm just outside of Athens, Michigan, and even in the winters he finds time for riding. Actually he rides year round, and in the summer many of the Honda team riders stay at his house between races to train with the man who became famous for a grueling work ethic that carried him to the top of the motocross world. Even Jeff admits a few other riders were blessed with more skill or natural ability, (such as teammate Jean Michele Bayle) but absolutely no one wanted to win more, or would try harder. Just a look around the property will tell you that, the tell tale mounds of a supercross track. Actually he’s got two tracks; one is for local riders to practice on. A quick snowmobile ride into the woods reveals an outdoors style motocross track, and behind it all is a lovely lake. On this day however, the lake has become another racetrack, and other friendly riders stop by to play on the ice. Today we’ve hitched a ride to this private playground with Dave & Beck Reynolds, the owner of a Lifecycle in Kalamazoo, MI. Dave loves to get out on the ice and play, and that’s just what the Stanton’s let people do here. Just the way it should be everywhere! Today Jeff would take a few laps on half the bikes here, and we managed to get a few shots of him on Dave’s 400EX. Just like the rest of us, Jeff loves to take a spin on everything at least once, and ATV riding is never left out.

New Rides:
Unofficially, Travis Spader and his wrench/buddy, Paul Turner are going the direction of McGrath, in that they are allegedly campaigning the GNCs under their own private team. We’ve heard a few rumors that say K&K ATV, CT Racing and Lonestar will help the duo out with their needed equipment. No official word on this from Travis or Paul yet.

Gust sticks by Carlson and Hinson
Digger Doug will not ride out of the big team Nac’s semi trailer. Instead he’ll campaign the GNCs with major help and backing from Wayne Hinson (Hinson Racing) and Tom Carlson (TC Racing). “Top Cat” Tom Carlson has a secret weapon up his sleeve for “Digger Doug” to ride in the Pro thumper class. It’s a Suzuki DR 400 fourstroke. It should be interesting to see how the TC Racing Suzuki motor will fare against the bark and bite of the many Yamaha YZ 426s that seem to be popping up in many of the pro thumper quad frames.

Team JPMX
Seasoned veteran James Perry of JPMX Bikes and Parts has formed a hard-hitting Kentucky based team to promote his business. He’s recently enlisted the help of Jeremiah Jones, Josh Starrett, Brook Perry, Bret Harper, Brian Macintosh, Blake Wright, and Jon Woodard. James is spreading his attention over several classes to show his support for professional as well as grass roots racing. This is the first year for Team JPMX and they are already off to a great start with Jeremiah scoring a win at the Pontiac, MI stadium event. Team JPMX will contest all GNC Nationals as well as local MX and XC, and some select GNCC Nationals.

Dallas continues the legacy
Nathan Dallas takes over Jeremiah Jones ride at Legacy ATV.

Seegott, Gallagher, Nac’s, One Stop Cycle and Trinity Racing prepare for GNCC battle.
Jeff Seegott and Johnny Gallagher are teaming up to do battle for Team Predator/One Stop Cycle/Trinity Racing. Bill & Jeff Cole from One Stop Cycle will be taking care of the technical end of things. Serm over at Nac’s Racing is seriously considering signing the team as Nac’s Racing’s major cross-country effort. If it goes like they plan Seegott and Gallagher will be decked out in the full blue Nac’s team look and represent them in the GNCCs. The duo will fully concentrate on chasing points at the GNCCs and shy away from GNC racing.

American Honda reports record motorcycle and ATV sales for 2000
American Honda Motor Company’s Motorcycle Division reports an increase of 44,743 motorcycles over 1999. Honda sales grew at an unprecedented rate of 34.5%, putting them number one in market share. American Honda’s ATV sales also soared in 2000, ending the year with an increase of 29.6%. Honda is also the number one in the market share with a 32.6% slice of the total market.

American Honda announced recently announced that beginning with the 2002 model year, Honda would only mass-produce four-stroke powered on and off road motorcycles, ATVs and scooters for the US market. Honda claims that their four-stroke engine designs will set new industry standards for quiet, efficient, power, and that four-strokes are a responsible answer to environmental issues. In other words don’t hold your breath while waiting for a new 250R. Looks like they are set on making thumpers.

More Honda news
Kihachiro Kawashima, founder of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and special advisor to Honda Motor Co., Ltd., passed away Dec. 25, 2000, in Japan due to complications from acute pneumonia. Kawashima was 81 years old.

High Speed Dirt (HSD Racing)
Enter HSD Racing — Exit EP Racing. Mark LoScerbo of HSD Racing, the pioneer who developed independent rear suspension for high performance racing use, has taken over Mike Elsberry’s EP Racing fame and along with it the rights to continue with the trademark Strong Arm Racing Product’s name. HSD will carry a complete line of suspension components including A-arms, swingarms PEP suspension and much more. HSD Racing wants to establish a bond with ATV racers throughout the US and Canada. So they have set up a “Quad Bucks” contingency program. LoScerbo explains, “Every National event class winner that is using a Strong Arm Racing product will receive a credit on their next purchase. The rider can bank his contingency wins for substantial savings at year’s end if he or she so elects. We’re also giving a discount to all ATV racers that send or fax us a resume.”

HSD Racing
1356 Spruce St.
Winnipeg, MB Canada
R3E-2V7
204-779-9728
fax 204-779-9730
www.hsdracing.com

 

And now a nice write-up from George Wolf of C&G ATV…..
Affordable Racing for ALL!
by George Wolf of C&G ATV
We have to get our sport into populated areas, just about every track I have ever been to is down some back road in the middle of no place. That part of the series could just disapear as far as care, but I dont want to hurt any companies who base their business on TT machines – so it should still continue.

 

I think the biggest thing to hurt our sport is the thing that has also kept it alive for this long — the Honda 250R! Without a doubt it’s one of, if not the best quad ever made and still rules today at just about any race. Every time a new costomer comes in and asks me how to make his 400EX beat his friends 250R I get annoyed. I often go to a race, local or national and meet somebody in the bleechers (new to the sport) and they ask me “what kind of quad is that leading the race and how much does it cost?” I tell them its a 250R but you cant buy them any more! What I’m getting at is maybe we need a new pro class, maybe current production bikes with stock frames or something. I believe the two wheel nationals do not allow aftermaket frames and nobody would even think of racing a bike made 12 years ago. I think that if the pro starting gate line had 400EX’s and RAPTORS and CANONDALES on it and Cannondal took the win, more people would by Cannondales and then maybe Honda would finally have to put out something new and updated.

 

The 2 stroke and 4 stroke thing, well we know where thats going. I have no problem with 4 strokes. I sold my 250R as soon as i saw the 400EX. It’s time for an update and with the power and technology in todays 4 stroke motors its only going to get better. I could go on about this and a lot more problems I believe are holding us back but I just wanted to give my 2 cents.

Quotes of the Week
“Didn’t you used to race with Jesus” – Brain Hinson to Doug Eichner (age 36) after his Anaheim win.

“This thing is better right out of the box than my racer!” – Veteran cross county star, Steve Holbert after riding the new Cannondale FX 400 ATV.

“I spent December riding and testing with my friends and sponsors in Louisiana, January with my good friend Doug Gust racing snow-cross and snow-skiing, and now Feb in Argentina soaking up the sun. We raced the Argentina Beach race and filmed with Wes Miller. Life is great!” – Joe Byrd’s comments on his last few months of his life while in sunny Argentina, where he, Gust and Miller are representing the USA in Argentina’s big beach race. (Look for a full interview with Joe when he gets back to the States).

“Luckily no one was hurt or killed out there. It’s obvious that they don’t care. They’ve been running events for many years now. They know how to build a track and they know how to use a blue flag. It’s ATV racing – they just don’t care.” – PEP’s Wayne Mooradian’s opinion of the SFX Pro Quad Stadium Championships.

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