ATWATER, CA

Southern California's Sean "The Kid" Heeney made a statement that he is a force to be reckoned with in the Junior A Pocket Bike class. Heeney got the holeshot and checked out from the rest of the field, winning by a respectable 28 seconds. The 10-year-old followed up this victory with another victory, two second-place finishes and one third-place finish in the remaining open-age-group classes.

In the Supermoto 12-Inch class, last year's Polini USA Cup Open Scooter-class winner, Scott Rumple, continued his domination by walking away from second- and third-place finishers Heeney and Jordan Kanady. The Polini USA/Scoot Magazine-sponsored racer turned the fastest lap times of the day in the Open Scooter and Twist 'n' Go Scooter classes and was on his way to winning both of those classes when mechanical problems forced him to watch the remainder of those races from the sidelines. Jensen Acosta (below) from San Jose, California, wound up winning the Open Scooter class by a whopping 30 seconds over fellow Honda Ruckus rider Zeb Roots.

Arizona racer Chaz Abbot handily won the Supermoto 14-Inch class. For the first four laps, James Moore pushed him hard, showing him his wheel often and waiting for Abbot to make a mistake and let him by. However, Abbot wasn't going to let Moore push him into letting him by: He opened it up and won the race by 21 seconds over Moore.

Abbot continued his winning ways in the Senior Pocket Bike class. Although this time it was a lot closer for him, he continued to be solid in a close race and edged out fellow Arizona racer Joseph Wheeler.

In one of the most exciting races of the day, the Metrakit 50 class, the Mini GP racers rode eight flawless laps. Eventual winner Kenny Anderson (12, above), last year's Pocket Bike A series winner, and Sean Heeney (117) never had more than a bikelength's space between them from start to finish. They were side by side many times, but Anderson was intent upon winning the class. He crossed one-tenth of a second ahead of Heeney and Jordan Kanady. The transponder timing system used by each racer in the Polini USA Cup made it possible to determine the winner in this photo finish.

The Polini USA Cup's winningest rider, 12-year-old Polini/Posh-sponsored rider Jordan Kanady, continued to show that he is a true competitor by getting up onto the podium five times.

Mini Moto racing in the United States is alive and well, giving pocket bike, scooter and supermoto racers of all ages from 5 to 75 years old a way to show their speed on a closed road-racing course. Racers have come to the Polini USA Cup in California from 16 different states, some from as far away as Georgia.

Results

JR B POCKET/BK: 1. Sean Heeney (Bla); 2. Chaz Abbot (Pol); 3. Trevor Welch (Pol).

SR POCKET/BK: 1. Chaz Abbot (Pol); 2. Joseph Wheeler (Pol); 3. Valentine Welch (Pol).

OPEN POCKET/BK: 1. Joseph Wheeler (Pol); 2. Sean Heeney (Bla); 3. Chaz Abbot (Pol).

S/MOTO 10-INCH: 1. James Moore; 2. Jordan Kanady (Pol); 3. Sean Heeney (Hon).

S/MOTO 12-INCH: 1. Scott Rumple (Pol); 2. Sean Heeney (Hon); 3. Jordan Kanady (Pol).

S/MOTO 14-INCH: 1. Chaz Abbot (Yam); 2. James Moore (Hon); 3. Scott Rumple (Pol).

TWIST 'N' GO OPEN MOPED/SCOOTER: 1. Tommy Erst (Pol); 2. Pete Cervantes (Der); 3. Jensen Acosta (Hon).

VINT SCOOTER: 1. Kirk Snell (Ves); 2. Brooks Russell (Ves); 3. Ken West (Ves).

MOPED OPEN: 1. Pete Cervantes (Pol); 2. Tommy Erst (Der); 3. Jimmy Nolan (Pol).

OPEN SCOOTER: 1. Jensen Acosta (Hon); 2. Zeb Roots (Hon); 3. James Moore (Gen).

POLINI PUCH MOPED: 1. Zach Kuntz (Puc); 2. Mike Rafter (Puc); 3. Alan La Guardia (Puc).

METRAKIT GP 50: 1. Kenny Anderson (Hon); 2. Sean Heeney (Hon); 3. Jordan Kanady (Met).