Round 2 of the 10 round 2007 Guam Moto-X Championships were held this past Sunday January 28th at the Calvo Memorial Off-road Park located within the Guam International Raceway in Yigo. Racing started at 1pm under clear sunny skies which prevailed for the week prior and for the entire event making for very dry and dusty track conditions with temperatures in the low to mid 90’s. The course was identical to the course used in round 1 of the championship but was much rougher with lots of ruts and braking bumps making for a physically demanding event. Plus then throw in the dry dusty conditions and the heat and you have an event where riders who can conserve their energy by riding smart and who are physically and mentally prepared will be the ones up at the front to beat.
Open Atv
Robert Bucek aboard the #1 Cycles Plus Suzuki LTR 450 came from bad starts to take the win in the Open Atv class while RPM Yamaha Rider #5 Robert Santos took second and #99 Mark Schiavone placed third. Robert Santos grabbed the hole shot in heat 1 with Schiavone, Jason Wassom, and Bucek all in tow second through fourth respectively. Schiavone was looking strong running in second and was putting the pressure on Santos for the lead while Wassom had his hands full trying to navigate through the blinding dust kicked up by the two leaders of Santos and Schiavone and the constant assaults of Bucek to hold on to third place.
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Bucek takes advantage of the dustless moment to breath |
The quartet stayed packed together for the first six of the ten lap heat 1 until because of the blinding dust Bucek was able to capitalize on a mistake by Wassom to move into third where he kept his momentum up to sneak to the inside of Schiavone and out maneuver him for second. Bucek then put his sights on Santos who had taken a look back over one of the big doubles to see Bucek on his heels. Santos kicked it up a gear in an attempt to get away but by the eight lap looked to have run out of strength as Bucek made the pass to take the lead and the win.
In heat 2 Santos was able to once again grab the hole shot with Bucek in second, Schiavone in third, and Wassom running in fourth. Bucek didn’t wait for Santos to get tired as he wasted no time in making the pass on Santos to take the lead. Santos charged hard for several laps keeping up with Bucek but was unable to challenge to retake the lead. Midway into the heat the pack had spread out with everyone looking as if they were just waiting for the checkers to come out. Bucek took the heat 2 win giving him the two heat sweep with Santos in second, Schiavone in third, and Wassom taking fourth. |
#99 Schiavone and #5 Santos do battle late in the race for second |
50cc atv
#1 seven years old Stoney Bucek aboard the Cycles Plus sponsored Kawasaki KFX 50 beat out #29 AJ Windham (Kaw) and Devin Chiguina (Yam) who placed second and third respectively. Bucek was able to take the hole shot at the start of both heats and with throttle pinned went on to sweep both heats.
Youngster Devin Chiguino takes his new Yamaha 50 for a few quick break in laps prior to the round 2 event.
In the Mini Midrange class Trevor Eustaquio (Kaw) was not going to be denied the win as he battled with #5 Blair Bates (Hon) and #11 Jose Simpson (Kaw) to take the win. Jose Simpson took second with Bates finishing third after having crashed and remounted to finish the race. Early in heat two Bates with a great start aboard his Hendricks Honda 90 was looking fast and a possible winner but with the reigning champ Eustaquio behind him making up ground fast Bates was in for a battle. With half the heat complete Eustaquio pulled to the inside of Bates and went for a block pass on the early leader to move into first. Bates poured on the gas in an attempt to retake the lead but went down hard over a large 50 foot table top. Unhurt and only shaken up a bit Bates remounted after his miscue to finish third in the heat.
In the Atv Women class #2 Keara Bucek (Suz) took her first win of the new season with #14 Kelly Simpson (Suz) the round 1 winner placing second and #69 Taffy Wassom (Suz) finishing third. The hole shot award once again for the second round in a row goes out to Taffy Wassom as she has had three hole shots out of four heats run so far this year. Wassom had it pinned for the first three out of six laps but ran out of steam allowing both Keara Bucek and Kelly Simpson to get past her. Simpson ran strong in the first heat taking the win while Bucek dominated the second heat by taking the win. Bucek and Simpson are having the makings of possible year long battle as both women are tied in the championship for first with each having 94 points.
Keara Bucek shares time racing the Cycles Plus Suzuki Ltr 450 with her father Robert.
The 2007 season seems to have started out to be the year of the families who have several members racing to dominate the sport of atv racing on Guam. Brother and sister combo of Jose and Kelly Simpson along with husband and wife duo of Jason and Taffy Wassom all making the podium in round 2 not to mention the round two winning Bucek’s with papa Robert first in the Open Atv, his daughter Keara first in the Atv Womens and his son Stoney first in the 50cc Atv. With more and more families becoming involved we are happy to report the sport seems to be standing on ever firmer ground on the island of Guam.
The next scheduled Guam Moto-X Championship race will be round 3 to be held on February 11th at the Calvo Memorial Off-road Park in Tigo. Racing is set to start at 1pm and will be once again free to the general public to come out and watch. All interested in joining in on the racing are urged to contact the GMAC by visiting their website at www.AtvMotocrossGuam.com |
