Diamondback
Motocross
"RP" Report: by Rich Price
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Diamondback
Motocross |
ACE Motocross Club
Moto-Fest 2000
Modena, NY
October 8, 2000
With temperatures in the lower 40’s, and a crisp wind blowing throughout the Hudson Valley, the racing action at ACE Motocross Club was hotter than ever. The turnout was great, with plenty of riders looking to do some serious battle. The ACE members put on Moto-Fest every year. Holeshot prizes are given out, as well as pay-back all the way to 12th position in each class.
The always-consistent Carlo Coen was in attendance, and everyone was wondering who would step up to the plate and challenge him. Coen had won 18 consecutive motos coming into this round of District 34 action. Coen would be Suzuki mounted this race, and was very confident that he could push his moto winning streak to 24 by the day’s end. He accomplished his task, and won every moto in the 250, +25, and +30 Expert classes. The question is, when will the streak end?
Local boy James McNeill showed up with his Yamaha in tow, and was ready to show everyone that they grow their racers fast in Monroe, NY. His day was not a very good one in terms of taking home cash, but he learned many valuable lessons. James cleaned up both moto wins in the Schoolboy class, but had a tougher time of it in the 125 Expert ranks. He would only be able to muster a 6th overall in that class.
Mark Costa made his return to the District 34 scene in impressive fashion. Mark won every moto that he entered, taking the overall in the +35 and +40 Expert classes. Mark piloted his Yamaha YZF thumper along at a rapid pace, and no one even came close to dicing with him.
Stamford Motorsports/Maxima-backed Kyle Hutson put his Suzuki 80 on the top of the podium in the Senior Mini class. Kyle rode smooth and didn’t make many mistakes en route to his 1-1 performance.
Cocheton, NY native, Phil Nicoletti, made his presence felt. He took both motos of the Junior Mini class with ease aboard his RRP/Action Photos/O’Tooles-backed Honda. Phil then had trouble in moto one of the Super Mini class. He ended up in the third spot after getting a bad start and going down twice. He redeemed himself in the second moto by putting on a go-fast clinic for the rest of the riders. This 3-1 would only be enough to give him second overall in the Super Mini class.
Charles Fox rode his KTM 65 machine like a kid possessed, and handily won both motos of the 60cc 6-9 year-old age group. He also jumped into the Junior Mini ranks on his YZ 80, but was unable top put together two good motos. Fox was one of the only riders to jump the dreaded Murphy’s Law on the small 65cc machine.
Newcomer to the District 34 scene, Ivo Camacho, put his Honda out in front of the field as they hit turn one. In tow were #428 “Jumping” James McNeill, JB Grafx/Moroney’s-backed Andrew Pingotti, Darren Edsall, and the Orient Express-backed Yamaha of Ryan O’Malley. As they came up over the big spectator tabletop, Pingotti had moved into second, with Sterritt in third. McNeill was still running right behind them in fourth. O’Malley had some trouble and was not in sight. Camacho wanted to make it his race and he pulled out to a 3 second lead over Pingotti by lap 2. Further back in the field, Mark Waldele and Dave Ginolfi were charging to the front after getting bad starts. Waldele was fifth, with Ginolfi in sixth.
With Camacho pulling away, the real battle was for second. Pingotti, Sterritt, and McNeill came across the finish line tabletop 3-wide and went drag racing down the front straight. Pingotti was holding his ground, but there was still plenty of time left. This 3-rider pack was already 8 seconds in front of the fifth place Waldele.
As they hit the woods section, McNeill was all over the back tire of Sterritt’s Honda. When they came back into view, McNeill was up into the third spot. He was immediately giving Pingotti some heavy pressure for the runner-up position. This battle would last for a lap and when they blasted over the big double McNeill kept his Yamaha closer to the ground and motored away. Sterritt lost contact with Pingotti and looked as though he was settling into fourth. The battle for fifth was shaping up nicely. Ginolfi looked much faster than Waldele, but could not get the right line to get around him.
The white flag came out for Camacho and he thought had plenty of time to spare. McNeill was trying to make a charge for the lead, but time was dwindling. McNeill was using every line that he could think of, but at the checkers he was still 2 seconds behind. Pingotti was in a lonely third place, and Sterritt took home fourth. Ginolfi blasted by Waldele as they came up out of Death Valley. They both battled through the whoops with Ginolfi taking home fifth by a few feet. Waldele was shocked as he took sixth spot. O’Malley ended up seventh after running strong in the first lap. He was 12 seconds behind Waldele.
James McNeill wanted revenge for his second place in moto one and he could take the overall with a win in moto two. He had a great start and took the holeshot aboard his Engine Ice-backed Yamaha. He was followed into turn two by Ivo Camacho and Josh Sterritt on the #529 Honda. Ryan O’Malley was running fourth, with Dave Ginolfi in fifth, both looking to improve on their moto one results. “Smokin” Joe Beatty lost traction with his Honda and lay on the ground while the rest of the field motored by him. Rock Hill, NY, native Dave Olsen moved into sixth after Beatty’s wreck, and Andrew Pingotti was now seventh.
As they entered the back woods section, Ginolfi was putting the heat on O’Malley. O’Malley cracked and Ginolfi was up into fourth as they came up over the spectator tabletop. Pingotti was also quick to make the move around Olsen, sliding into sixth.
McNeill hit turn two for the second time, and then disaster struck. He slid out on his Yamaha as he rubbed plastic with Camacho. This gave the lead, and control of his own destiny to Camacho. McNeill would take awhile to remount, and was riding in dead last. This moved everyone up a spot and Pompton Plains, NJ-rider, Mark Waldele was now running seventh. McNeill was fuming and got up with fire in his eyes. He would have to battle with the best in the business to catch up with the leaders. The younger Waldele disposed of Olsen as they entered the back part of the track. Running order, Camacho, Sterritt, Ginolfi, O’Malley, Pingotti, Waldele, and Olsen.
Camacho started to open up a gap between himself and Sterritt. The lead was now 4 seconds. Ginolfi was pulling up on Sterritt fast. The bad luck of the leaders continued as Camacho made a huge bobble and allowed Sterritt and Ginolfi to pull up on his back tire. The battle for the top spot was on. It was anybody’s race at this time.
The trio bulldozed through the whoops, timing was not on their minds. It was simply hammer-down time. Sterritt made his move and as they hit turn one, he slid to the inside, but Camacho had the momentum to hold him off. In turn two, Sterritt made a block pass, but it didn’t stick and Camacho was again in the lead. While this battle was shaping up, Pingotti was hounding O’Malley for the fourth. Since the two are friends, O’Malley let Pingotti around without any collisions. Pingotti was charging from a bad start and it was evident that he was the faster of the two at the moment.
The battle for the lead let Ginolfi close up to within feet of Sterritt. As they soared over Murphy’s Law, Ginolfi got to the ground first and motored past Sterritt moving into second. O’Malley had more trouble as he let Waldele get by, moving into fifth.
As the white flag waived, it was Camacho with a 2-second lead over Ginolfi. Sterritt was still battling with Ginolfi for second. Pingotti had no challengers anywhere near him in fourth. Waldele was holding down fifth but O’Malley was still riding hard right behind him.
Camacho would take the win in moto two by 2 seconds and the overall victory to go with it. Ginolfi would take home runner-up honors, with Sterritt in third, right on his back fender as they came across the line. Pingotti had a lonely ride home in fourth after battling in the early going. He could have contended had his start not been so horrible. Waldele would take home the fifth spot with O’Malley in sixth. James DePatto, would take home seventh, with Olsen in eighth. DePatto just turned Expert a few races ago and is still learning the ropes of the Expert ranks. McNeill would take home tenth spot after going down on lap 2. He would end up taking sixth overall on the day via his 2-10 moto scores.
Visit MX East for the 250 Summaries !!!
PeeWee (4-8): 1. Dominick Guastella (Yam) 2. Connor Price (Yam) 3. Alec Eccleston (Yam)
PeeWee (4-6): 1. Nick Christie (Cob) 2. Troy Davis (Cob) 3. Tylzer Wozney (Cob)
PeeWee (7-8): 1. Jesse Kuzbyt (Cob) 2. Henry Rojas (Cob) 3. Tom Sharkey (Cob)
60cc (6-9): 1. Charles Fox (KTM) 2. Michael Stryker (KTM) 3. Henry Rojas (Kaw)
60cc (10-11): 1. Johnny Murphy (Kaw) 2. Anthony Dombrowski (KTM) 3. Joe Sharkey (Kaw)
Junior Mini (7-11): 1. Phil Nicoletti (Hon) 2. Cory DeJong (Kaw) 3. Jamie Lawrence (Kaw)
Senior Mini (12-15): 1. Kyle Hutson (Suz) 2. Ron Rothkranz III (Hon) 3. Manelous Borgades (Suz)
Super Mini (12-15): 1. Michael Hallinan (Kaw) 2. Phil Nicoletti (Hon) 3. Ron Rothkranz III (Hon)
125cc Schoolboy (12-15): 1. James McNeill (Yam) 2. Dane Coon (Hon) 3. John Lawrence III (Yam)
Collegeboy (16-24): 1. Ivo Camacho (Hon) 2. Josh Seguine (Hon) 3. Josh Sterritt (Hon)
125 A: 1. Ivo Camacho (Hon) 2. Dave Ginolfi (Yam) 3. Josh Sterritt (Hon) 4. Andrew Pingotti (Suz) 5. Mark Waldele (Kaw)
125 B: 1. Gregg Myers (Yam) 2. Jesse Whitnell (Yam) 3. Dane Coon (Hon)
125 C: 1. Robert Johnson (Kaw) 2. Chris Meier (Yam) 3. Tom Vitale (Yam)
250 A: 1. Carlo Coen (Suz) 2. Ivo Camacho (Hon) 3. Mike Spear (Yam) 4. Josh Seguine (Hon) 5. Dave Ginolfi (Yam)
250 B: 1. Tom Stinson (Yam) 2. Dylan VanOrden (Yam) 3. William Aubertin (Hon)
250 C: 1. David Casguarelli (Yam) 2. James Mazza (Yam) 3. Jeff Fialkovich (Yam)
+25 A: 1. Carlo Coen (Suz) 2. Mike Spear (Yam) 3. Chris Clark (Kaw)
+25 B: 1. Garofalo Antonio (Yam) 2. Jeremy Altamuro (Yam) 3. Scott Greer (Hon)
+25 C: 1. James Mazza (Yam) 2. Tierney Santiago (Kaw) 3. Michael Bender (Yam)
+30 A: 1. Carlo Coen (Suz) 2. Mike Spear (Yam) 3. Chris Clark (Kaw)
+30 B: 1. Jerry Troy (Yam) 2. Robert Weiss (Hon) 3. Richard Dubarton (Suz)
+30 C: 1. Thomas Sweeney (Kaw) 2. Eddie Hurn (Suz) 3. Sam Austin (Hon)
+35: 1. Mark Costa (Yam) 2. Steve Reid (Hon) 3. Tom Hall (Yam)
+40 A: 1. Mark Costa (Yam) 2. Steve Reid (Hon) 3. Tom Hall (Yam)
+40 B: 1. Ron Rothkranz Jr. (Hon) 2. Frank Murphy (Yam) 3.
Rees Firestone (Suz)
