November
2001 -- It used to be that fall was the worst time of the year
for motocross fans in America. After the Nationals ended in
September, there was never any racing to watch until Supercross
started back up in January. A lot of the riders did a few races
over in Europe, but they were never televised over here. Four
years ago, an event was put together that would not only give fans
something to cheer about in the off-season, but would also give
the riders some serious money to chase. It would pay $100,000.00
to the winner and invite the best Supercross and Motocross riders
in the world to compete. It was and is the richest motorcycle race
in the world; the U.S. Open of Supercross.
The first
three years of the Open saw mixed results. The first year saw all
of the big name riders show up and the fans came as well. Damon
Huffman was the surprise winner of that inaugural race. The second
year saw Jeff Emig, fresh off of a marijuana possession arrest and
dismissal from the Factory Kawasaki squad, pull off one of the
great underdog performances of all time and win on a privateer
YZ250. Last year, Ricky Carmichael came in and slapped his
competition around in what was the prelude to one of the best
years any rider has ever had.
|
RC
hoists his $100,000 expense account. |
The one
thing that riders and fans complained about in those first three
years was the track and more specifically, the lack of passing
opportunities. Basically, if you didn't get a good start, you were
finished. This year the promoters set out to improve the track
design and fill the seats back up like they were the first year.
They succeeded on both fronts.
The pre-race
hype got going right after the Steel City National and snowballed
all the way up to the opening ceremonies. When the American team
of Carmichael, Brown and Windham opted out of the MX des Nations
after the September 11 attacks, even more importance was put on
the Open. Then Jeremy McGrath announced that he would ride the
event for the first time since the inaugural race. After Ricky
Carmichael made his switch to Honda official, he stated that he
wouldn't race again until Anaheim in January. The week of the
event, though, RC changed his mind and the stage was set for a
huge battle. Fans from around the globe flocked to Sin City to see
how RC and MC would fair in their first showdown since May. Add to
all of that a 4-stroke class packed with talent and a new 125cc
Support class featuring the best amateurs in the country and it
looked like a can't-miss event.
"The
Thunder"
As mentioned
above, the 4-stroke class featured an unprecedented level of
talent. Names like Kelly Smith, Blair Morgan, Kyle Lewis, John
Dowd, Keith Johnson (both of them) and Greg Schnell made the class
a sure thing. Along with the 125cc and 85cc classes, the thumpers
would run a four-moto format. Conventional wisdom said that
consistency would be the key to success. Of course, total
domination always works as well.
The first
race was a sign of how things would go all weekend. The start was
very short and the first turn was extremely sharp and narrow. Last
year's class champion, Kelly Smith got an outside gate pick and
was shoved off of the track in the first turn. Craig Decker
grabbed the early lead and was followed by Blackfoot Honda's Blair
Morgan and John Dowd on the big KTM. On the first lap, Morgan
passed Decker going under the bridge jump and pretty much checked
out from there. The Canadian rider, who happens to be a 7-time
Snowcross champion, was definitely one of the fastest riders on
the track, especially through the nightmarish whoops. John Dowd
tangled with a tuf block and fell back to ninth place. Kyle Lewis'
YZ426 appeared to stall and he was never able to relight it. He
suffered a disappointing DNF as a result. Greg Schnell was a
no-show after he hurt his foot in practice.
|
Jeremy
McGrath held in their for a second overall, finishing
fourth in Friday's main event and second in Saturday's. |
In the
second race, Blair Morgan got the holeshot and as far as first
place was concerned, the race was already over. Morgan rode
incredibly smooth and was never seriously challenged for the lead.
Keith (East Coast) Johnson and Marco Dube started right behind
Morgan. Kyle Lewis survived the start this time and mounted a
charge from back in fifth place. Once he moved into fourth, Lewis
moved his Moto XXX Yamaha past Dube in the outdoor section of the
track. Then he made block pass on Keith Johnson for second. From
there he started making up time on Morgan, but a late crash ended
his chances. There were several times when Lewis was easily the
fastest rider on the track, but inconsistency killed him. Kelly
Smith got a horrible start again, but made a valiant effort to
ride all the way back to fourth place.
Going into
Saturday night, Morgan held a ten-point advantage over Keith
Johnson. In the first heat of the night, Kelly Smith got his first
holeshot of the weekend on his KTM, but Morgan and Kyle Lewis were
right behind him. Lewis stalled on the first lap again and took
quite a while to get going again. When the lead duo approached the
whoops for the first time, Morgan again had the best timing and
passed Smith for the lead. Smith stayed right on him, though and
passed him back under the bridge jump. Keith Johnson had settled
himself into third place and was able to fight off a challenge
from Craig Decker. In one of the final laps, Morgan made a pass on
Smith in the outdoor section and held on for the win. At that
point, he held a commanding lead in the class.
In the final
4-stroke race of the weekend, Craig Decker got the holeshot and
was followed by Kelly Smith and Blair Morgan. Smith made a quick
pass into the lead while Morgan was obviously more complacent than
in the first three races. John Dowd came up from a mid-pack start
and was a factor for the first time all weekend. He quickly moved
past Keith (West Coast) Johnson and then blocked Craig Decker to
take over second. From there he began to put pressure on Smith and
passed him in a rhythm section. The crowd went nuts as the two
KTMs battled. Smith came back and made a pass in the same spot and
was able to hold the "Junkyard Dog" off the rest of the
way. For Smith, winning that final moto was a nice way to end his
tenure with KTM. He will be riding for Planet Yamaha next year.
Dowd and Decker rounded out the podium in that race. Taking the
cautious route was Morgan who finished fifth, but still had plenty
to win the overall in the class and the $10,000.00 that went with
it. Kelly Smith's gutsy rides from the back of the pack earned him
second overall and Craig Decker got third via great consistency.
When all was said and done, the thumper class featured some great
racing and allowed American fans a chance to see just how fast
ex-Canadian National Champ Blair Morgan is. Now if we could just
get him off of those snowmobiles and into the Supercross
series?.
"The
Screaming"
New to the
U.S. Open this year was the Engine Ice 125cc Support Class. The
top amateur riders from around the country were on hand to add a
little spice to the event and get themselves in front of some
major sponsors.
From the
drop of the gate in the first heat for these guys, it was evident
that physical racing would be the theme of the weekend.
Kawasaki-mounted Ryan Spies got the holeshot and was followed by
Josh Hansen and Gavin Gracyk. Suzuki's Shane Bess moved into third
for a time as did Daton Beavers. These guys were out there
hammering each other and there was some nasty passing going on.
Spies and Hansen continued to battle for the lead. Right at the
finish line, Hansen (the son of former National Champ Donnie
Hansen) gained the advantage and won the race. Gracyk managed to
get his original position back and finish third.
|
McGrath
attempts to hitch a ride with the Rock, ultimately going
down but still finishing second overall for the weekend. |
Ryan Spies
again got the best start in the second race, but fellow Team Green
member, Gavin Gracyk, quickly passed him. Ryan Mills and Daton
Beavers weren't far back either. Shane Bess got a mediocre start
on his Suzuki, but quickly began to move forward. He moved past
Beavers into fourth. Then Spies and Mills went down and he had
second locked up. A bobble in the whoops was almost costly, but he
had enough of a gap on Beavers to hold his position. Gracyk won
pretty easily while Josh Hansen had to fight hard to get fourth.
Gracyk held
a two-point advantage over Hansen going into Saturday's two races.
Hansen got the holeshot in the evening's first heat, but Michael
Blose and Shane Bess were right on him. Bess made quick move to
get into second and then took the lead from Hansen in the whoops.
Hansen retaliated with a block pass to regain the lead, but Bess
took it back when they headed outside the arena. By that time,
Gavin Gracyk had moved into third and was giving Hansen fits. He
made a pass, but crashed soon after. Bess cruised to the win while
Hansen and Beavers completed the podium. It was a good ride for
Bess who will join the Factory Suzuki effort in January.
The final
race was a little less dramatic than the first three. Josh Hansen
got the advantage on the start and never looked back. Ryan Mills
and Shane Bess took position in second and third. The biggest
excitement came when Gracyk came out of nowhere to pass Bess for
third place. Not content to just let it go, Bess stayed right on
Gracyk and pressured him into a mistake. Gracyk went over the bars
in the whoops and was done. Bess reoccupied third while Michael
Blose moved into fourth.
Hansen's win
got him the points he needed to win the class overall. Still a
year from turning pro, Hansen looks like he has the goods to be a
national level contender in just a few years. Bess sewed up the
second spot while Ryan Mills took third for the weekend. This
class was a great addition to the weekend and the quality of the
racing showed the fans in attendance that there is plenty of
talent coming up through the amateur ranks to keep our sport going
for a long time to come.
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