JUNE 13– FILLING THE HOLES

With round five of the AMA Nationals just a few days away at Budds Creek, there are several questions that will be answered once the series sweeps through Maryland. First off, Ryan Hughes’ courageous riding at Southwick after he sustained a broken leg early in the first moto will go down as one of the most whole-hearted rides in recent memory. The question remains though as to how Ryno will do at Budds Creek. Always the bulldog, Hughes should be able to salvage points in hopes of winning the elusive 125 title. He will once again have to deal with wily Mike Brown, who came back to place third in the second moto after a first turn crash in the first moto. Not only that, but the first turn crash left Brownie sans clutch side grip. With both riders suffering from setbacks, Brown only leads Hughes in the point’s battle by five.

Speaking of Budds Creek, it has been raining nearly all week at the track. Even at Southwick the rains came, turning Saturday practice and qualifiers in to a swamp fest. Fortunately, by the time Sunday rolled around, the rains held off long enough for the track to turn in to the classic event it is long known for. One thing is certain on Sunday; the track workers shouldn’t need to worry about watering the track. The racing should be great, not to mention that there should be quite a few upsets in both the 125 and 250 class.

There isn’t any way that we could have predicted Craig Anderson taking the 125 win at Southwick. We phoned up Ando to see how his season had been going up to that point, his thoughts on being Chad Reed’s cousin, and what his expectations are for the rest of the season. For more on that interview, be sure to check the website and click on “Striking Fire in the Sand-The Craig Anderson Story.”

Now that the silly season is upon us, we have some news for you. We caught up with Ernesto Fonseca at Troy Lee Designs on Wednesday, and he informed us that he and Nate Ramsey have signed one-year deals with factory Honda for 2004. Ernie could not specify details of what size bike each would be riding, but stay tuned.

One rider who will not be waiting until next year to debut in the pro ranks is Michigan’s Nick Adams. Considered to be one of the fastest four-stroke amateurs on the planet, Nick will begin representing on the east side (or begin racing, if you will) at Budds Creek. Adams will be riding a Star Racing prepped YZ250F and has intentions on cracking the top ten. We wish Nick good luck as he enters the pro ranks, but Nick, don’t forget your waiters at Budds Creek!

And, in case you forgot about the ‘Godfather of freestyle motocross,’ shame on you. We also saw Metz at the Troy Lee compound, and he is more than happy to be riding the Supermoto series. Mike did hit a snag, however, when he took a spill while practicing for the upcoming series and ground his helmet up. No worries for Mike though, he’ll be more than ready to face off against McGrath, Ward, and hopefully Fredric Bolley at round one.

That’s the latest news for now, be sure to check back in at www.motocrossactionmag.com for all the latest and greatest news. Now get out and go ride!