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Fernley Hosts SupermotoUSA 2007 Series Opener
Allen Yarrow Honored
Round 1 Supermoto USA Nor-Cal Championship Series, March 24,25 2007
Reno-Fernley Raceway
Fernley, NV
Story and photos by Bob Stokstad
You could tell it was going to be a great weekend of racing. A whiff of the Nevada desert air, cool and sweet with the start of Spring, and a look around Fernley's beautiful rolling hills was enough to convince anyone that they'd come to the right place. Brightly colored tents against a blue sky lined the two main drags through a full paddock area while people of all ages were running and riding everywhere. This is just what you'd expect for the opening round of SupermotoUSA's 2007 Nor Cal championship series. With 316 total entries, including 26 in the pro class, this Suzuki-presented series is off to a super start, A full plate of sixteen Supermoto classes spanning displacements from 50 cc to sky's-the-limit covered the two days of racing that also saw a new Vintage class, and the return of the ATVs.
The smaller-displacement classes and ATV Expert were run Saturday morning. There is a group of 20 young riders ranging in age from six through fourteen years, who are spread across the Super 50, Formula 110, and 65/125 classes. The 65/125 class rides the same course as the pros while the other two classes have their own course off to the side. Keep names like Tucker Lancaster, Matthew Kellogg, Andrew Snow and Gage McAllister in mind for this year - they're riding to the podium now and you can expect the same as they move upward in this and coming years. Preston Schoewe and Cesi Yarrow are heading the Super 50 class. Most racers in these classes have an older sibling or a parent who is racing as well, which goes to show that SupermotoUSA is much more than fast racing on highly tuned big bikes - it's a family affair.
Fernley's long asphalt sections consisting of straights and high-speed sweepers and only a couple of tight turns favor the riders who cut their teeth on tarmac and ride large displacement bikes. While this part of the course was the same as last year, Supermoto's other half was presented with a newly designed dirt section - something to level the playing field. 'Leveling' is not the right word in this case, because local Fernly-ite and track designer Al McElroy came up with a series of jumps, bumps and turns that kept the bikes in vertical motion as much as going forward. A big table top was followed by a tight-but-banked left hander that fed a series of nine bumps in a straight line euphemistically called the rhythm section. The fastest riders tended to do this in a series of single, double, triple, double, and then a final single jump before hitting the sharp right hander that would take them back to the pavement and the start/finish line. Other combinations were possible, too. But by the time most riders had their preferred sequence dialed in, more than a few had to pick up their bike and drag it to the side. Even the creator of this hundred yards of hell came down hard in it at one point. SuperMoto is supposed to be challenging and this year's opener at Fernley filled the bill.
The Pro Qualifier individual heats on Sunday morning were a good indicator of what was to come. Here's how the top ten times looked (in seconds).
Josh Chisum 90.30
Vincent Guisande, Jr. 91.32
Casey Yarrow 91.43
Michael Corbino 91.91
Drake McElroy 92.37
Scott Sheak 93.79
Joey Pascarella 93.94
Andrew Dickson 94.10
Mark Agan 94.31
Chris Podergois 94.74
Chisum had a full second lead over second place Guisande. But Guisande, Yarrow and Corbino were all close - with about a half second of each other. And that's the way it looked, pretty much, in the races that followed.
Chisum took both the Motostrano Open Expert motos, flag to flag. Nobody got by him, although Guisande pulled even in the last lap of the second moto. In one of the more exciting moves in the day, Guisande took the inside track in the last left turn in the dirt and was suddenly axel to axel with Chisum. Chisum, of course, noticed this and gassed it to jump back into the lead, winning by a bike length. That Guisande could stay so close to Chisum for so long in both motos is testament to Guisande's increasing ability to ride consistently and error free, as well as fast. Third through sixth places (over-all for both motos) went to Yarrow, Corbino, McElroy and Dickson.
The Leo Vince 450 had a similar outcome except that Chisum wasn't entered and so Guisande took first, followed by Yarrow, Corbino, Dickson and McElroy. This time it was Yarrow who stayed on Guisande's tail for the duration, just as Guisande had done with Chisum in the Expert class. Indeed, the racing this weekend had a notable consistency when it came to the fastest riders on the biggest bikes. Something major like a spill could have interrupted this regularity, but these guys didn't make any mistakes.
Joey Pascarella won the SMR 250-F. He just got out front and stayed there, like we've seen him do before. It was Michael Corbino who forced Pascarella to pay attention, though. Corbino was at times threatening Pascarella's lead and at other times would drift behind, only to come back again. But he just couldn't quite reel in Pascarella. The riders coming behind these two were fairly spread out by the time the black and white flag came. They were Jake Thompson, Steve Marty and Mike Camera. Pascarella also raced his 250 Husky in the 450 class. (Why a 250, you may ask - well, it's because Husqevarna wasn't able to supply him with a 450cc bike in time for Round 1.) In contrast to the Queen Mary Championship, where he was able to win a 450 class while riding a 250, this time he managed seventh place. Fernly's fast track favors displacement, which goes to show that even when it's Pascarella holding the bars, size matters.
Thompson and Camera, who finished third and fifth in the 250-F moved up to take first and second in the 400 Amateur. Thompson checked out early, leaving Camera midway in a long gap between leader Thompson and the contestants for third place, Brandon Sakai and Jimmy Gonzales. The battle for third place was the item to watch in this race. Gonzales was all over Sakai's back end for much of the time, but to no avail. On the last lap and in the dirt section (where often the best action is found) Gonzales mounted a last-ditch charge and it looked like he might just edge out Sakai. Not this time, though, maybe next time.
Many of the riders mentioned just above are still in their teens. The oldest in this group, Michael Corbino (18) stepped up so frequently at the awards ceremony that it was impossible not to realize that here is someone on the way up. Thompson (14), Camera (15), and Sakai (15) are a few years behind Corbino. It's a wonderful sight to watch these talented younger riders (Pascarella, too) move up to challenge and overtake the rest of the field.
At the other end of the spectrum, it's in the Vet 45+ class that you find the Supermoto 'regulars.' Brian Pecore, who took third at Fernley last August moved up to second place this year. Colin MacDonald took fourth both this year and last. (Both Pecore and MacDonald are riding the new Aprilia RXV 450 this year.) Al McElroy was first in '06 and this time took first in the heat. He surely would have done well in the main had the pain from his earlier dive in the dirt not prevented him from riding.
But, as everyone at this opening event was aware, an important regular, and Supermoto father figure - Allen Yarrow, who placed second behind McElroy last year at Fernley - was missing from the line-up. Earlier this year Allen was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which has come as a shock to the larger Supermoto community as well as to his immediate family. He was able to be present at this season's opener along with the other members of the Yarrow racing family, which spans three generations. In what will be remembered as one of the most poignant moment this weekend, the racers in the Vet 45+ class, Allen's friends of many years and many races, appeared on the starting line identically clad in white T-shirts showing a big classic photo of Allen on the front with the caption "Godfather of Supermoto" and a small number 11 on the back.
The RV Joe's Vet(45+) was won by Robert Campbell, a local racer and former AFM 750 champion who has taken up Supermoto. Ted Tamagni was third. Everyone in this race, regardless of when they crossed the finish line, was proud to be there to honor Allen Yarrow.
Gary Davis on his vintage, that is, pre-1974 Honda.
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A barbecue at the track on Saturday night and the raffle of a large number of moto items on Sunday after the awards ceremony attracted large numbers of racers and Supermoto fans. The proceeds from these came to $7,000 and are one example of the ways in which the Supermoto community is showing their support for the Yarrow family.
The first race of the new season is the Super 50. Preston Shoewe (612) smokes 'em right off the starting line. Tyler Bartlow (1), Cesi Yarrow (92), Ronan Lancaster (418), and Kia Bartlow (229) fill out the starting grid.
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Round 2 will be April 28, 29 at Atwater followed shortly thereafter by Round 3 at Infineon, May 18, 19. See you there.
Results
BEG: 1. John Willenborg (Apr); 2. James McKay (Hsb); 3. Brandon Sakai (Yam); 4. John Patterson (Hon); 5. Justin Jess (Yam).
NOV: 1. Mike Haydel (Hon); 2. Terry George (Yam); 3. Ted Tamagni (Hon); 4. Joe Brown (KTM); 5. Tim Lynch (Hsb).
INT: 1. Steve Hawkins (Hon); 2. Derrick Patterson (Hon); 3. Mike Haydel (Hon); 4. Jon Fisher (Hon); 5. Sam Knox (Hon).
F-110: 1. Tucker Lancaster (KTM); 2. Matthew Kellogg (Kaw); 3. Andrew Snow (Pol); 4. Jamie Knox (Yam); 5. Alex Snow (Ext).
S/50: 1. Preston Schoewe (KTM); 2. Cesi Yarrow (Yam); 3. Ronan Lancaster (Hon); 4. Kia Bartlow (Hon); 5. Tyler Bartlow (Hon).
S/L/W: 1. Wyatt Farris (Hon); 2. Jake Thompson (Hon); 3. Joshua Pederson (Hon); 4. Brandon Crawford (Cob); 5. Brian Martinez, Jr. (Hon).
MINI MOTARD: 1. Andrew Dickson (Hon); 2. Mike Lawrence (Kaw); 3. Paul Kellogg (Hon); 4. Ryan Toomey (Hon); 5. Randy Brunelli (Hon).
65-125: 1. Tucker Lancaster (KTM); 2. Brandon Crawford (Cob); 3. Gage McAllister (Hon); 4. Blake Farris (Hon); 5. Josh Serne (KTM).
125 S/SPT: 1. Dan Caldwell (Hon); 2. Steven Uribes (Suz).
PROD 150: 1. Gage McAllister (Hon); 2. Brian Martinez, Jr. (Hon); 3. Tommy Carrillo (Hon); 4. Adam Musto (Hon); 5. Wendy Epstein (Hon).
VINT: 1. Gary Davis (Hon); 2. Craig Mason (Yam); 3. John Grant (Yam).
250F: 1. Joey Pascarella (Hus); 2. Michael Corbino (Yam); 3. Jake Thompson (Hon); 4. Steve Marty (Hon); 5. Mike Camera (Yam).
400 AM: 1. Jake Thompson (Hon); 2. Mike Camera (Yam); 3. Brandon Sakai (Yam); 4. Jimmy Gonzalez (Hon); 5. Matt Buchter (Yam).
450: 1. Vincent Guisande Jr. (Hon); 2. Casey Yarrow (Yam); 3. Michael Corbino (Yam); 4. Andrew Dickson (Hon); 5. Drake McElroy (Hon).
SPTSMN: 1. Jon Fisher (Hon); 2. Brian Pecore (Apr); 3. Colin MacDonald (Apr); 4. Colton McTeer (Hon); 5. Derek Jepsen (Hon).
VET 45+: 1. Robert Campbell (Hon); 2. Brian Pecore (Apr); 3. Ted Tamagni (Hon); 4. Colin MacDonald (Apr); 5. Bobby Inness (Hon).
VET 35+: 1. Craig Mason (Yam); 2. Mark Agan (Hon); 3. Ron Hampshire (Hon); 4. Robert Campbell (Hon); 5. Steve Hawkins (Hon).
OPEN EXPERT: 1. Josh Chisum (KTM); 2. Vincent Guisande, Jr. (Hon); 3. Casey Yarrow (Yam); 4. Michael Corbino (Yam); 5. Drake McElroy (Hon).
ATV EXPERT: 1. Jason Anderson (Yam); 2. Michael Madrid (Hon): 3.Troy Lane (Yam).
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