PALMDALE, CA

Valentine's Day is all about spending time with the loved ones, showing them you care, and that's what Robert Ives Jr. did as he lovingly shot down the competition (in this case, with his KX450F - as opposed to Cupid's arrow's) with a fantastic come-from-behind ride to claim the Senior Amateur-class victory at Los Angeles County Raceway during the California Racing Club's annual Diamond Head Gran Prix.

When starter Chris Neitzel threw his green flag to get the 45-minute race under way, YZ250-mounted Harold Smith (131S, above) got to the first turn first, ahead of Stuart Wilken (7), Greg McConnell (6S), Mark Flinders (107V), Robert Ives Jr. (1S) and the rest of the pack. However, Ives wasted little time making his way to the front of the field, as he had his Motoworks/N-style/FMF-backed Kawasaki running out front by the completion of lap one. Wilken settled into second place, followed by Flinders, Lucky Feinstein and Mike Edmonds.

Ives' lead lasted just about two circuits before he went down just after the finish-line jump. Wilken inherited the top spot, with Flinders a close second. Both Mark Burnett and Roy Krull overcame bad starts and were now holding down third and fourth, respectively, ahead of Feinstein. It took a while for Ives to get the hot four-stroke to refire, and when he did he was in last place, some 30 seconds back of the closest rider.

Wilken and Flinders battled over the top spot, with Flinders getting the upper hand at about the 20-minute mark. Ives was flying around the track and had cracked the top five about the time Flinders grabbed the lead. Within a couple of circuits of the fast LACR layout, Ives has passed Krull, Burnett, Wilken and finally his friend Flinders to climb all the way back up into the lead. Ives then quickly put a couple of seconds on Flinders, who was being pressured from behind by Burnett.

Ives went on to take the hard-fought win. Burnett got around Flinders and put in a charge that saw him close to within a couple of seconds of Ives at the finish. Flinders crossed the line for third, with Blake Steelgrave fighting his way up from a dead-last start for fourth, over Edmonds and Wilken.

It was all Brenden Murray (62, left) in the 85cc Open ranks, as the Honda rider shot out to an immediate lead and never looked back. Jake Hogan couldn't match Murray's pace on this day, but he didn't have any problem at all holding down the runner-up position for the entire 45 minutes of racing. Douglas Golobovic rounded out the top three finishers, followed by Kristian Jimenez and Blake Katz.

John Davies was pretty impressive in the Senior Novice field, where he dominated from start to finish. Davis rode so well that he made his way well up into the faster Amateur class by time the checkers waved. KTM-mounted Bud Donatoni finished a safe second, followed by Dan Hampson, Ray De Vally and Mark Purser.

Robert Humphrey put his new Yamaha out front early in 250 Beginner-class racing, but Bud Niblack (413, right) had taken charge of the top spot by lap two. Niblack made it look easy as he ran away with the win. Humphrey finished second, over Mike De John.

Results

S/P/W (9-11): 1. Jake Keiffer (Cob).

65 (9-11): 1. Cole Tompkins (KTM); 2. Tadd Patterson (KTM).

65 OPEN: 1. James De Arman (KTM).

85 BEG: 1. Kristian Jimenez (Kawasaki); 2. Dawson Klein (Kawasaki); 3. Devin Hovey (KTM).

85 OPEN: 1. Brenden Murray (Honda); 2. Jake Hogan (Yamaha); 3. Douglas Golobovic (Yamaha); 4. Kristian Jimenez (Kawasaki); 5. Blake Katz (Yamaha).

250 4-STRK: 1. Garrett Morrison (Honda); 2. Jeremy Lasater (Honda).

250 BEG: 1. Bud Niblack (Honda); 2. Robert Humphrey (Yamaha); 3. Mike De John (Yamaha).

250 NOV: 1. Ryan Vonlossberg (Yamaha); 2. Jason Spriggs (Honda); 3. Thomas Spalliero (Kawasaki); 4. Robert Angell (Kawasaki).

250 INT: 1. Jeremy Lasater (Honda).

450 BEG: 1. Darin Smith (Yamaha).

450 INT: 1. Chris Plouffe (Honda); 2. Cory Conner (Honda); 3. Spencer Burns (Kawasaki).

450 PRO: 1. Tylor Hemme (Suzuki); 2. Dustin Pulliam (Honda); 3. Tony Pulliam (Honda).

WMN: 1. Holly Breck (Honda).

SCHBY: 1. Robbie Butze (Yamaha).

JR VET INT: 1. Robbie Dunham (Yamaha).

VET NOV: 1. Mark Burnett (Honda); 2. Mark Flinders (Kawasaki); 3. J.D. La Vancil (Kawasaki); 4. Shawn Kautz (Honda); 5. Raymond Gray (Yamaha).

VET INT: 1. Cameron Doll (Yamaha); 2. Robert Ives Jr. (Kawasaki); 3. Blake Steelgrave (Honda).

VET EX/PRO: 1. Jimmy Roberts (Honda).

SR NOV: 1. John Davies (Honda); 2. Bud Donatoni (KTM); 3. Dan Hampson (Yamaha); 4. Ray De Vally (Suzuki); 5. Mark Purser (Yamaha).

SR AM: 1. Robert Ives Jr. (Kawasaki); 2. Mark Burnett (Honda); 3. Mark Flinders (Kawasaki); 4. Blake Steelgrave (Honda); 5. Mike Edmonds (Yamaha).

SR EX: 1. Frank Costanzo (Yamaha); 2. Mark Harwell (Yamaha).

S/SR NOV: 1. Gary Doll (Yamaha).

S/SR AM: 1. Curt James (Honda); 2. Denny Ryan (Yamaha); 3. Scott McDonall (Yamaha); 4. Kevin Evans (Honda); 5. Roy Krull (Suzuki).

S/SR EX: 1. Tom Burgess (Honda); 2. Bob Burns (Kawasaki); 3. Garry Conner (Honda).

O/T 40+ NOV: 1. Chris Porrett (Honda); 2. Jay Katz (Yamaha); 3. Martin Firestone (Honda).

O/T 40+ EX: 1. Steve Durschlag (Yamaha).

O/T 50+ NOV: 1. John Fullmer (Yamaha).

O/T 50+ AM: 1. Art Dart (Honda); 2. Mike Ferro (Kawasaki).

O/T 50+ EX: 1. Mic Rodgers (Suzuki); 2. Bob Dunham (Yamaha).

O/T MSTR A: 1. Frank Costanzo (Yamaha).

O/T MSTR B: 1. Bob Burns (Kawasaki); 2. Garry Conner (Honda).

O/T 60+ AM: 1. Les Oldenbrook (KTM). 2. Gary Doll (Yamaha).

O/T 60+ EX: 1. Dennis Tooman (Honda).

IRONMAN: 1. Benny Breck; 2. Sean O'Keefe.

Team Race

250/450 BEG/NOV: 1. Bud Niblack/Darin Smith; 2. Mark Purser/Brian Purser.

FAMILY TEAM: 1. Holly Breck/Johnny Breck; 2. Mark Harwell/Matt Harwell.