RP Report

Diamondback Motocross
"RP" Report: by Rich Price

COEN DOES IT AGAIN

Diamondback Motocross

Modena, NY

September 24, 2000

Story and Photos By: Rich Price

With threatening skies looming over the Hudson Valley area, well over 200 diehard District 34 motocross riders showed up to try and tackle the Diamondback Motocross course. The biggest thrill is seeing the riders soar over the huge spectator tabletop. As the racing got underway, the black clouds would prove to be nothing more than regular clouds, as no rain fell whatsoever. The track was so dry that it needed to be heavily watered after the practice sessions.

Carlo Coen decided to bring his Suzuki machine to enter the fray. He would dominate and win every single moto that he competed in, and take home some cash for his efforts. Coen did the same thing the previous weekend, winning all six motos.

Ivo Camacho, a newcomer to District 34, made his presence felt. He would pilot his #88 Honda to the overall win in the Collegeboy and 125 Expert class, beating many of the fast local boys.

Stamford Motorsports-backed Kyle Hutson was also perfect in the Senior Mini class, going 1-1 for the overall. He was fast in the Super Mini class as well, but crashes hindered his efforts. Kyle is currently leading the season point standings in both the Senior and Super Mini classes.

125 EXPERT MOTO# 1

Jumping out into the early lead was "Mighty" Mike Leavitt aboard his #113 Kawasaki. He was be passed by the J.J. Cassone/Hunter Racing-backed Yamaha of "Tenacious" Terry Finkle before they made it to the 2^nd turn. Ivo Camacho would round turn one in third, with Pat Mahan behind him in fourth. Dave Olsen on the #492 Yamaha was holding down fifth.

By turn two, Camacho got by Leavitt, but it wouldn’t last long. Leavitt would leap by Camacho as they headed towards the uphill triple jump. Leavitt was on a mission, and he blew past the #570 of Finkle as they made their way towards spectator row. Finkle was not to be deterred. He was not letting Leavitt pull away at all. He was all over the track trying to get back into the lead.

Olsen was dicing with Mahan and it wouldn’t take him long to get around. Olsen was now in fourth, but he was way off the pace of the three leaders. Dan Grimm would get around Mahan and move his Kawasaki into fifth. It wouldn’t last but a few corners, as Joe Beatty and Mahan both got by him. Beatty was now running in the fifth spot. The bad news for Beatty was that Mahan was charging hard. Mahan put the move on the younger Beatty and moved into fifth.

Camacho was ripping, trying to intimidate Finkle, but Finkle wasn’t having it. Finkle put the hammer down and closed up on Leavitt’s back tire. Camacho then made a few mistakes and fell behind by seven seconds. It seemed as though running the fast pace with the leaders was getting to him. Finkle was still all over Leavitt. They both threw their 125 machines sideways over the huge spectator tabletop. With the battle on, they both tripled through the whoops with ease. Further back in the pack, Mahan roosted past Olsen and moved into fourth. Mahan was determined to get back into the mix with the leaders. The only problem is that Camacho had pulled away and was not even in sight distance.

Then, disaster struck for Finkle. He was looking down and didn’t like what he saw. It was a flat tire, and there were still a few laps left to go. Finkle was only able to roll through the whoops section, and couldn’t get much air on any of the jumps. This gave Camacho a great chance of getting back into the runner-up spot. Finkle was a sitting duck and Camacho got by with ease by out-jumping him on the first turn tabletop. Finkle’s troubles were not over.

Leavitt was on cruise control out front with a 10 second lead. Olsen got back by Mahan, and he was closing up on the third place Finkle.

The white flag came out to greet Leavitt, and he would not disappoint his fans. He did a sweet trick over the big spectator tabletop. Camacho was lonesome in second, and took home the runner-up spot in moto one. Mahan got around both Olsen and Finkle as they headed towards the spectator tabletop. Mahan would take third, with "Flat Tire" Finkle in fourth. Rock Hill, New York native Dave Olsen rounded out the top five.

125 EXPERT MOTO# 2

Ivo Camacho would take the lead out in front of the pack, with Pat Mahan’s #200 Moroney’s-backed Honda behind him in second. "Tenacious" Terry Finkle was in third, donning the old JB Grafx-painted helmet. Dave Olsen was holding fourth place at the moment. Behind him was the #113 of Mike Leavitt, Dan Grimm, and "Smokin" Joe Beatty. Once again, Finkle had trouble and dropped back into dead last. He would have to pass many riders to get back into overall contention.

With Finkle’s misfortune, Olsen inherited the third spot, and Leavitt was into fourth. Leavitt was bulldozing through the uphill rocker section and he used all the muscle he had to get by Olsen. He would now have a new target, in Mahan. Mahan would feel the heat as Leavitt motored around him after the finish line double. Olsen was still holding fourth, with Finkle charging in fifth. Finkle waited until the biggest jump on the course to make his move on Olsen, as he used an inside line over the spectator tabletop and moved into fourth.

Leavitt had a tough task ahead of him in getting back to the premier spot. He was riding hard and almost went down in a few turns. Camacho had four seconds over him. Finkle was on Mahan like white on rice for third. As they headed towards the sweeper after spectator’s row, Finkle cut inside of Mahan and made the clean block pass. Mahan tried to come back as they entered the uphill rockers section, but Finkle was a roadblock and wouldn’t let him by. Olsen was ten seconds behind this battle in fifth, all alone.

The white flag came out for Camacho. He seemed to have the race in his grasp. Leavitt was not challenging Camacho at all. He was still three seconds off of the pace. Finkle was five seconds behind Leavitt, and time was running out. Finkle had problems again, and Mahan got by him. This would be a battle down to the wire, but Finkle would take back the position and the third spot.

Camacho took the checkers aboard his #88 Honda machine. Leavitt would nail down second spot, with Finkle taking third after having trouble all day in the 125 class. Mahan would come across on his Honda in fourth, with Olsen way back in fifth. Grimm would round out his day taking the sixth spot.

250 EXPERT MOTO# 1

"Tenacious" Terry Finkle would take holeshot honors aboard his YZF 426 machine. The other contenders right behind him were Carlo Coen, Ken Vanhorn, and Kenny Blackwell. "Mighty" Mike Leavitt had a horrible start and was eighth. Ivo Camacho had tough luck and went down in the first turn. He was running dead last. Pat Mahan was holding true in the fifth spot as they headed towards the back straightaway. Coen would waste no time, and when they hit the uphill triple, he was into the lead.

Mahan and Sager’s Cycle-backed Dave Olsen got into another tight battle for fifth. Olsen got by, and "Jammin" Josh Seguine followed suit and moved his Stamford Motorsports-backed Honda into sixth. Seguine also wanted Olsen, and he made the pass with ease. Blackwell slid into the third spot, moving Vanhorn back to fourth. Blackwell now set his sights on Finkle.

Coen was not pulling away like he usually does. Finkle was keeping him honest. Seguine also moved past Vanhorn moving into fourth, as they headed towards the big tabletop. Leavitt put his Kawasaki in front of Vanhorn and moved into fifth. Leavitt was on a war tour, trying to get back into podium contention. Vanhorn started like a man possessed, but lost much of his steam once the other riders started to blaze by him. Olsen figured that Vanhorn was easy pickings, and he moved by without much of a fight.

The top 5 riders were in a league all by themselves. Seguine and Leavitt were battling for the fourth spot. These two are known for their bar-to-bar battling. They have come together on several occasions throughout the year. Leavitt had trouble and the battle for fourth was over. Seguine was showing no mercy, he decided that he would try a battle with Blackwell for third spot. Seguine was able to triple through the whoops, while Blackwell could only double, and that was enough to put Seguine into third.

The white flag came out with Coen in complete control out front. The only battle going on was between Leavitt and Blackwell. Leavitt showed Blackwell that he may be young, but he is no joke, as he set a blistering final lap pace and got by moving into fourth. Coen took the checkers with ease, with Finkle in second, nine seconds off the pace. Seguine rolled across in a solid third, with Leavitt charging all the way back to take fourth. Blackwell would round out the top five all alone. Mahan would come by another 14 seconds later in sixth spot. Olsen took home seventh place in moto one.

250 EXPERT MOTO# 2

Carlo Coen stormed out front with the holeshot aboard his #691 Suzuki. Following closely was the J.J Cassone/Hunter Racing-backed Yamaha of "Tenacious" Terry Finkle, the Stamford Motorsports-backed "Jammin" Josh Seguine, Ivo Camacho, and Dave Olsen. #200 Pat Mahan and #113 Mike Leavitt went down in a second turn log jam. In only his second race back from retirement, #38 Cameron Eccles was holding down 6^th as they hit the uphill triple, but Ken Blackwell motored by him taking over sixth. Blackwell then tried to make short work of Olsen moving his Stamford Motorsports-backed Honda into fifth. This would be short-lived, as Olsen fought tooth-and-nail and got back by on his 2001 Yamaha machine.

Coen pulled 3 seconds on Finkle in second, during lap one. Camacho got by Seguine as they headed towards the step-up section. Seguine then lost pace with Camacho and faded to seven seconds behind him by the end of lap 2. Camacho was looking for a piece of Finkle. Finkle is not one to back down, and the battle for second was on. Camacho put the pass on Finkle as they hit the sweeper section after spectator’s row. Camacho was now in second and he wasted no time pulling away from Finkle. He wanted the top spot and Coen was four seconds ahead of him. He would need to ride smooth and flawless if he were to have a shot at the lead. Seguine was riding alone in fourth, with Blackwell all alone in fifth.

When the white flag flew, it was evident that Camacho just didn’t have the speed to catch Coen. Coen was in his usual cruise control mode. Finkle was closing back up slightly on Camacho, but time was dwindling. As the checkers came out for Coen, he crossed the line in style. Camacho sewed up second spot, and Finkle had to settle for third. Seguine rode his Honda across in fourth, ten seconds behind Finkle. Blackwell finished up in fifth, another fifteen seconds behind Seguine.

In sixth was the #492 of Olsen, with Eccles in seventh. The Cycle Motion-backed Leavitt had another lightning quick race, but his second turn crash hurt him. He was still able to muster an eighth place finish.

RESULTS

P/W 50: 1. Dominick Guastella 2. Connor Price

50cc (4-6): 1. Nick Christie 2. Troy Davis 3. Tyler Wozney

50cc (7-8): 1. Jesse Kuzbyt 2. Justin Barcia 3. Tim Sharkey

65cc (6-9): 1. Charles Fox III 2. Henry Rojas 3. Jake Beebe

65cc (10-11): 1. Joe Sharkey 2. Kyle Laird 3. Bobby Bertrum

Junior Mini (7-11): 1. Jamie Lawrence 2. Corey DeJong 3. James Wild

Senior Mini (12-15): 1. Kyle Hutson 2. Joe Belmore

Super Mini (12-15): 1. John Lawrence 2. Michael Hallinan

125 Schoolboy (12-15): 1. Dan McMahon 2. Ryan Dempsey 3. John Lawrence

Collegeboy: 1. Ivo Camacho 2. Josh Seguine 3. Ken Gennett

125 A: 1. Leo Camacho (Hon) 2. Mike Leavitt (Kaw) 3. Terry Finkle (Yam) 4. Pat Mahan (Hon) 5. Dave Olsen (Yam)