Bonneur, Perry, Ward,
and Hall, Conquer Mothers Day at Fox Valley.....
Wedron,
IL – May 8
By Nikki
Dixon
The
12-rider 65
Beginner class kicked off the 2011 season at FVOR, with Autumn
Torres leading Kale Cline, Trevor Hughes, TJ Nees, and the rest of the pack
after the first lap. Cline 
moved
out front on lap three, chased by Torres, Nees, Mike Burtle (121), and Zach Green. Cline led the next five laps, with Nees
slowly chipping away at the lead. On
lap eight, Nees turned his fastest lap of the race with a 2:31 to pass Cline for
the lead, then sprinted ahead to complete 12 laps and take the win. Cline tried to regain the lead by
running the fastest lap of the class with a 2:29 on lap 10, but lost some ground
on his final lap and settled for second overall.
Torres ran a strong race, holding onto the third spot until late in the
race, when she had a tough final lap dropping back for sixth overall. Eli Otterbach (116) passed Burtle for third on
the last lap, with Burtle and Jay Pelka rounding out the top five.
85cc
riders Matt McDonald (345) and Mason Schuhler (301) 
drag raced down the starting line, with
Schuhler leading into the woods and through the first checkpoint, trailed by
McDonald, Jacob McCarrens, Justin Carr, Bryce Otterbach, and the rest of the
9-rider field. Schuhler was on the
gas, catching and passing the Supermini riders in the first few laps, and
running away for the overall win, while turning the fastest lap of the race with
an 8:41. McDonald
rode a solid race
to finish second in 85cc, and McCarrens looked to have the final podium spot
wrapped up, until he lost several minutes on the final lap, allowing Ryan Blake
to round out the top three.
Lake
Plowman led the 50 Junior class in the start and onto the kids motocross track,
chased by Ian Murphy, Kevin Huddleston, and the rest of the 8-rider field. Plowman was still the leader at the
first checkpoint, followed by Mason Greve, Nathan Mea, and Huddleston, with
Huddleston passing through the pack to take the lead by lap two. Once out front, Huddleston cruised to
finish nine laps and capture the win. Mea,
Greve, and Plowman mixed it up, with Greve and Plowman completing the top three
at the finish, both completing nine laps.
riders lined up for the morning big
bike race, with +50A, +50B, +30C, Open C, and 200 C running 90 minutes, and
Thumper, Women, and Vintage running 60 minutes.
The new combination resulted in less congestion than all big bikes
together, and also provided a
longer course for the Thumper, Women, and Vintage
riders, covering the entire property. The
new program appeared to work well based on rider feedback.
Wally
Mika grabbed the holeshot in the +50A start, with Rick Mahrt (6004) right on his rear
fender. Mika led through the
checkpoint on the first four laps with Mahrt just a few bike lengths back. Mika kept a steady pace to slowly pull
away, putting a little over a minute on Mahrt when the checkered flag came out
after nine laps. Mika’s fastest
lap was a 10:07 late in the race, compared to Mahrt’s 10:15 earlier in the
race. Gary Peterson held down the
third spot most of the race, until DJ Ryan and Kevin Finefield made their move
in the last two laps to finish third and fourth, followed by Peterson in fifth,
with all riders completing nine laps.
The
Women’s class is now running the full course too, with the big bike morning
race. Kelly Christman nailed the
holeshot, leading the ladies into the woods.
The whole class ran into traffic at the top of the first big uphill, and
had to find ways through the downed riders in the slippery twisty climb at the
top of the hill. Christman was the
first through, and led at the first checkpoint, followed by Dixon, Martin,
Chandler, and Gardner. Dixon took
the lead on lap two, with Christman just three seconds back through the scoring
towers, and Kim Chandler also in the hunt.
On lap four, Chandler moved into second, and Christman lost a couple of
minutes after getting stuck in a mudhole. Dixon
held on for the win, with Chandler, Christman, Martin, and Gardner rounding out
the top five.
The
Vintage class also raced one hour in the big bike morning race, with Clint
Schreiber picking up the holeshot and leading into the marked trail. Ron Daugherty was the new leader after
the first lap, with Schreiber and Gregg Sell within striking distance. Sell moved out front on lap two and led
the next couple of laps, followed by Daugherty and Schreiber. On the final lap, Sell then dropped out
of the race, while Daugherty regained the lead and captured the win, followed by
Schreiber and Sell.
The A/B
big bike noon start race had 75 riders, for AA, Open A, +30A, +40A, 200B, Open
B, +30B, and +40B all running one hour and 45 minutes. New this year, FVOR is paying a 100% purse to the AA class. The split program had positive feedback,
especially for cutting down on congestion and lapped traffic.
with five of the seven riders leading at some
point in the race. Kyleer Vance
(14) led
the 7-rider field down the start and into the timber, but Steve Willis was the
front runner through the first checkpoint, with Adam Bonneur(98) (157), Ryan Moss, Vance,
and Matt Dissell in the hunt. Bonneur
then led through the scoring tower on lap two and three, with Willis on his rear
fender, as both riders turned their fastest laps of the race on lap three,
Bonneur with an 8:49 and Willis with an 8:50.
On lap four, Bonner crashed on the motocross track and lost almost two
minutes, dropping back to fifth place, while Willis regained the lead, and Moss
and Dissell pushed each other for the second spot. Dissell (90) and Moss (24) caught up to Willis(33)
on
lap six, with less than 10 seconds separating the top three. Dissell topped the leader board on lap
seven and eight, while running bar-to-bar with Willis, and Moss right behind. Dissell logged his fastest lap of the
race just past the one hour mark with an 8:58, then he stopped for gas on the
next lap, only to get a flat tire shortly after and drop out of the race with
four laps to go. Willis regained
the lead, but Moss kept pushing, and got around Willis up a hill through lapped
traffic. Moss became the fifth
leader of the race, as he topped the leader board on lap 11, but had company as
Willis and Bonneur were both within five seconds of Moss. Getting close to the one hour and 45
minute minute mark, the Moose, Motosports Factory, Enduro Eng, G2, and One
Industries backed Moss pushed it on what he thought would be the final lap,
trying to become the second double class winner at the opening FVOR round, along
with 50 Senior/65 Beginner rider TJ Nees. But
Willis got Moss back through lapped traffic, then Bonneur got around Moss coming
out of rock creek, and Moss slid out before the kids motocross track. Bonneur rallied behind a late race charge to regain the lead
on lap 12 and hold on to the 13 lap finish.
Willis finished just nine seconds back at the checkered flag, and Moss
ran out of gas on the final lap with about 0.2 miles to go, and started pushing
his bike to the finish, although he was the final rider to make it out for a 13th
lap, so he had third overall locked up. Jeff
Kaylor and Dissell
rounded out the AA top five, despite late race DNFs.
John
Siekmann, Grant Bodmer(153), and Alec Perry(124) were up front through the 11-rider
86-Open A first turn, with Bodmer, Siekmann, Perry, Shane Harmon, and Joel
Mertes running top five at the first checkpoint.
Perry was the new leader on lap two with Mertes on his rear fender, as
Steven Daniels and Josh Stevenson also moved into the top four. Perry held off an early charge by Mertes,
who matched his pace through the first four laps. On lap five, Stephen Stuenkel registered first through the
scoring tower, but Perry regained the lead on the next lap, and slowly opened
the gap over Mertes, on his way to the victory. Mertes had his hands full with Josh Stevenson late in the
race, as Mertes edged him out for the runner-up spot by just seven seconds at
the finish line. Stevenson,
Daniels, and Timothy Reid wrapped up the top five, all completing 12 laps.
In +40A
action, Jim Perry (686) 
grabbed the holeshot, chased by Gregory Gourley, Kenny
Otterbach (603), Joe Pearson, and Shawn Lee. Perry
was still out front at the first checkpoint, with Gourley, Otterbach and the
rest of the 9-rider class all within about thirty seconds of the leader. On the second lap, Perry snagged a low
hanging tree and went down at the top of a ridge, while Jay Hall charged from
fifth place to the front of the pack on lap two. Once out front, Hall logged five laps in a row just under the
10 minute mark, to pull away from the field.
Steve Perkins (622) was on the move, coming from last place on the first lap,
to pass Gourley for second around the one hour mark. Hall checked out for the win, and was the only +40A rider to
get in 12 laps. Perkins and Gourley
rounded out the podium, with Otterbach holding off a last lap charge from Perry
to finish fourth, and Perry fifth.
Tyler
Heitzler and Matt Walsh raced side-by-side through the first turn in 201-Open B,
chased by Devon Fredrick, Jordan Bill, Nathan Schmid, and the rest of the
10-rider field. Fredrick led the
way as they completed the first lap, followed by Nick Blacklaw, Heitzler, and
Nate Hornung, with the rest of the class in striking distance. Fredrick was on the gas, as he clicked
off consistent laps around the 10 minute mark, his fastest a 9:54, as he charged
to the checkered flag, and was the only Open B rider to get in 12 laps. Walsh, Brett Holmes, Heitzler, and
Hornung mixed it up all race for the top five spots, with Heitzler reeling in
Walsh for second on the final lap. Walsh,
Holmes, and Blacklaw rounded out the top five, all completing 11 laps, while
Hornung dropped out of the race while running top five with two laps to go.
In
86-200B action, Travis Ward(351) had the inside line on Nolan Schuhler (345) as they
entered the timber. Ward was on the
gas as he checked out for the win, running several laps in the nine minute
range, his best a 9:33 late in the race. Ward
completed twelve laps, and was the top finishing B rider, finishing 8th
overall based on total lap times, out of the 75 bikes in the afternoon A/B race. Schuhler and Schaffer Finney(326) had a close
race for the runner-up spot, with less than 20 seconds separating them for the
first hour and a half of the race. Finney
edged out Schuhler in the final two laps, with Schuhler rounding out the top
three.
John
McCarrens
nailed the holeshot in the 13-rider +30B class, but went in too hot
through the first turn, and went off the course. Garry Gardner moved into the lead as they entered the marked
trail, with JJ Cones and Nicholas Desautels in tow. Cones was out front after the first lap, followed by Gardner,
Ryan Gusewelle, Jerimy Hanlin, McCarrens, Desautels, and Brian Smith, with only
20 seconds separating the top seven riders.
Gusewelle moved into second on lap two, and set his sights on leader
Cones, reeling him in and taking the lead on lap four. Guswelle ran his fastest lap of the race
with a 10:11 around the one hour mark, increasing his lead to 40 seconds. But Cones chipped away at the lead, and
took back the top spot just before the white flag, with Gusewelle a couple bike
lengths back. Cones logged a speedy
10:22 on the final lap to secure the victory, with Gusewelle, Smith, Hanlin, and
Gardner completing the top five.
23 quads
lined the staging area for the final race of the day. A-rider Scott Burkitt started near the back of the entire
field on the first lap, but weaved through traffic to move into third in the A
class on lap two. Next lap Burkitt
turned a blazing fast 7:10, the fastest lap of the race, to move into the lead. Once out front, Burkitt clicked off laps
in the mid-eight minute range to complete 11 laps and the overall win. A-rider Riley Brueggeman led the first
three laps until Burkitt’s charge to the front, then held down second while
completing 10 laps, and Todd McGuire outlasted DNFs by Chris Breitwieser and Ken
Filtz to finish third in the A class.
There
was tight racing in Quad +30, with Kevin Johnson out front through the first
checkpoint, chased by David Johnson, Dan Burkitt, Timothy Storey, and the rest
of the 7-rider class. Dan Burkitt
took over the lead on lap three, but Brad Holder passed Burkitt for the lead on
the next lap. Holder looked to be
pulling away, until he lost a minute on lap nine, and dropped back to second
behind Burkitt, with a lap to go. Holder
turned his fastest lap of the race with an 8:09 on the final lap to regain the
lead and take the win over Burkitt. David
Johnson trailed Kevin Johnson through the checkpoints the entire race, but
pushed hard on the final lap, with his fastest of a 8:55, to finish third, while
Kevin had a bad lap but still finished fourth.
Roger Brown wrapped up the top five, and was the final +30 rider to
complete 10 laps.
Quad B
was a battle between brothers Craig and Calvin Young. Craig led through the checkpoint on the first two laps, but
Calvin was the new leader on lap three, with Craig just one second back. They stayed close through about the one
hour mark, but Calvin slowly pulled away late in the race for the win. Craig finished second, a minute back,
with both riders completing 10 laps. Jacob
Bill, Michael Davis, and Arthur Hirata wrapped up the top five, all finishing
nine laps.