Eloy, AZ Oct.15th, 1997
Ocotillo MX

Mud Mauls all comers

by Johnny Whiteboots

Arizona motocrossers squared off against Mother Nature and each other to open the AMX North/ South Shootout Series at a rainsoaked Ocotillo Raceway. Mother Nature won her share of the fight, as Troy Lang and Scott Conley won their battles against racers in 125 Beginner and 250 Pro classes respectively

Go Huge Racing Promotions spent all week prepping the track back to perfection after a sizable deluge the weekend before, but they were disappointed to awake Sunday morning to another downpour. The rain stopped around 5:30 a.m., so it was off to the track to see what the day would bring. As the gates opened at 7:00 a.m., the sun broke through the clouds to welcome racers to a special "Eastern" style race track, complements of "El Nino". A couple of racers, one from the Chicago area and another from upstate New York, recently transplanted to the Phoenix area, said the promoters shouldn’t have gone to all the trouble to make them feel right at home.

Moto 1 action for the combined 250 Pro/ 250 Intermediate race was first out with 250 Int. Arlyn VanDeMark claiming the Thought Pattern Photography holeshot award ahead of Team Green Pro Scott Conley, Ryan Mazura, and the rest of the pack. Conley, showing everyone how easy mud riding can be, quickly moved around VanDeMark to lead. At the end of lap 1 it was Conley with a 10 second lead, VanDeMark 2nd, Mazura 3rd and Karl Adams 4th. Then on lap 2 VanDeMark’s bike stopped suddenly (an apparent lower end seizure), allowing Mazura to lead the 250 Int. class ahead of Adams and Taylor Glantz. Adams, eating severe roost from Mazura’s Kawasaki, was able to apply enough pressure on Mazura to force a bobble and move by to lead lap 3. Out front Conley is flying, already starting to lap riders, passing Ray Penski and Glantz, both of whom have fallen at least once in the quagmire. At the finish it’s Conley, then Adams and Mazura on the lead lap with the rest of the field coming through.

Moto 1 for the 125 Beginners saw Troy Lang win the Thought Pattern Photography holeshot award, followed by David Caeser, Mike Mazura, and a large pack of racers eagerly awaiting a serious mudfest. The end of lap 1 had Lang in control of the lead, Caesar charging in 2nd, Mazura 3rd, then Nate Ramsden 4th with Steve Hendrix leading the rest of the field on his ‘88 Honda. Caesar, attempting to pass Lang at the approach to the relap jump, took the inside line only to find very deep mud and went down. Mazura took over 2nd, the Ramsden goes by as Caeser remounts for 4th. Lap 3 has Ramsden swapping himself into the prone position, Hendrix crashing and turning his Honda into the "mud bullet", allowing Caeser to 3rd and Sean Marchal into 4th. At the finish line it’s Lang, Mazura, Caeser, Marchal and the rest of a very muddy pack.

The second round of moto’s saw most classes thinned out by the "Great Equalizer", as riders learned more about mud prep than they really wanted to know. Moto 2 for the 250 Pro/ 250 Int. starts the show with Scott Conley getting the holeshot over Karl Adams and Ray Penski. Penski is all over Adams, and by lap 2 Adams drives too deep into the corner before the whoop section, giving Penski the invitation to pass. This proves to be a huge mistake, the inside line is foot deep liquid, sending a wall of water 8’ high and right on an unsuspecting Adams, who manages to stay up even though he can’t see again until he exits the whoops. At the finish line it’s Conley with the easy win over Penski, showing new speed over the first moto having found his "mud legs", then Adams.

The second moto holeshot for 125 Beginner goes to David Caeser, followed by Lang, Ramsden and the rest of the "mud puppies". Lang pulls up on Caeser through the whoops, but slips out on the last whoop and crashes, giving 2nd to Ramsden. At the end of lap 1, it’s Caeser,

Ramsden, then the "mud bullet" ridden by Hendrix who has charged up to 3rd after a last place start, then Mazura, the remounted Lang and the remainder of the class. Lang works on Mazura and passes, then catches Hendrix and takes over 3rd. Then Lang crashes again, letting Mazura and Hendrix by before rejoining the race. Then it’s Hendrix’ turn to taste mud. Next it’s Caeser who forgets the golden rule "You can’t win if you crash", and goes down in the soup, giving the lead to Ramsden. The end of lap 3 has Ramsden leading Caeser, then Mazura followed by Lang, Hendrix and the surprising Tamra " I know the golden rule" Madden in 6th place, and the rest of the mud dogs. The last lap has Lang coming up hard on Mazura, then passing and taking over 3rd. Lang charged up to Caeser through the whoop section, as Hendrix crashes again. Lang tries to pass on the last straight before the step-up, but can’t get the drive needed on the outside. Caeser takes the very inside line on the last turn before the finish line , blocking Lang out. Up the face of the finish line tabletop, Caeser spins the tire as Lang pulls within 1/2 a bike length of second place, but Ceaser holds on to take 2nd behind Ramsden, then Lang, Mazura, Hendrix and the field.

The end of the day was filled with strange conversations. One racer talked about a breathing problem. "Someone tossed up a mud ball that got stuck in my throat. I was trying to cough it out but after several tries it wouldn’t go, so I swallowed it." It was hard to decide who got stuck worse, some of the 60’s or the Lincoln in the parking lot. Hat’s off to the infield track crew and paramedic’s, who spent all day running around picking up bikes, riders, and each other, thanks a lot guy’s for a job well done.