ANZA, CA

The rolling hills of Cahuilla Creek MX made a return to the Vet X schedule for the third round of the Winter National Series. Long laps on the high-speed course led to a test of the racers' fitness. The perfectly prepared, loamy track generated a buzz throughout the pits after practice with the riders' anticipation of the races to come.

The traditional-style motocross track brought out the competitive spirit in all classes, including the Senior-level classes. The Over 50 Novice class was no exception, as the riders battled to take the bragging rights for the day. When the first race roared out of the gate, two riders far back in the pack: After the first lap, Pete Smith (64, above) was in 10th place, and Dennis Vandemortel was in seventh. The two riders put on a massive charge throughout the next laps, and by lap three Vandemortel had claimed the lead at the front of the pack, while Smith was still moving forward. By the time the white flag flew on the fifth lap, Smith had moved to second and was setting his sights on the leader. He put in the fastest lap of the moto on the final lap, bringing himself close to the leader, but at the line it was Vandemortel holding on to the lead, followed by Smith. Roy Krull was third.

Moto two was another battle between Smith and Vandemortel; however, this time both riders would get much better starts. Smith rounded the first lap in second, behind Bill Bandy, while Vandemortel was running third. Once Smith was able to get around Bandy, he used the clear track ahead of him to put some distance between himself and Vandemortel, who was now in second. In the end, Smith took the second-race win, followed by Vandemortel. Smith (2-1) edged out Vandemortel (1-2) for the overall win. Krull put in a consistent ride for the day with another third place, taking third overall.

The 250F Pro class was dominated by Rocket Exhaust rider Michael Leib (above). In both motos, Leib got a quick lead and was able to put a huge gap on the other riders. Behind him, Cody Mackie and Michael Addison battled for second place. The two riders would swap positions in the motos, with Mackie taking the runner-up position for the day with 3-2 finishes, leaving Addison on the final step of the podium with his 2-3 finishes.

The Over 40 Amateur class was competitive as well, with the top of the results showing a mix of finishing positions. The overall winner, Kerry Sorensen, had a first-moto finish of fifth, but he came back for the second-race win, giving him enough points to claim the overall victory. Trackoholics/Excel/Factory Backing rider Steve Fredericks (4-2) was unable to match Sorensen's pace in the second moto and settled for second in the race and runner-up overall. Third place in the class was Adi Sahar, who was one of the few at the top of the results with consistent finishes: His pair of thirds claimed the bottom step of the podium.

Results

P/W OPEN: 1. Jacob Macrae; 2. Cayden Hubbard; 3. Cash Dominguez; 4. Aidan Scrimpsher.

65 BEG: 1. Sterling Von Hartman; 2. Sander Eisenga; 3. Joe Lemay; 4. Jasper Kadlec.

65 (0-8): 1. William McBride.

65 (9-11): 1. Ezra Lewis; 2. Michael Sandoval; 3. Jordan Sahar; 4. Thomas Wilcox; 5. Kai Aiello.

65 OPEN: 1. Michael Sandoval; 2. Thomas Wilcox; 3. Ezra Lewis; 4. William McBride; 5. Kai Aiello.

85/150F (0-12): 1. Casey Langosh; 2. Travis Hoffman; 3. Carson Carr; 4. Nathan Seals; 5. Curtis Craigmyle.

85/150F (13-16): 1. Tristan Medina.

85/150F INTRO-BEG: 1. Grant Aiello; 2. Kara Piper; 3. Kyle Charles.

85/150F BEG: 1. Timmy Holt; 2. Alvaro Sandoval Jr.; 3. Tanner Egelin; 4. Dylan Morin; 5. Rachel Combs.

85/150F OPEN: 1. James Wilcox; 2. Cody Miller; 3. Carson Carr; 4. Dylan Zachry; 5. Ryan Branco.

125-450F INTRO-BEG: 1. Kyle Vizzo; 2. Ryan Seeley; 3. Matt Smith; 4. Michael Sorensen; 5. Ruben Valencia.

250F BEG: 1. Gunnar Johnston; 2. Ryan McCarthy; 3. Ryan Killilea; 4. Chasen Contreras; 5. Ryan Hernandez.

250F NOV: 1. Hugh McDonald; 2. Dylan Anderson; 3. Chris Meza; 4. Taylor Griffitts; 5. Michael McLellan.

250F INT: 1. Keith Knudson; 2. Peter Hull; 3. Cole Seeley.

250F PRO: 1. Michael Leib; 2. Cody Mackie; 3. Michael Addison.

450F BEG: 1. Chasen Contreras; 2. Justin Rainwater; 3. Travis Snyder; 4. Matt Rainwater.

450F NOV: 1. Brandon Brooks; 2. Derrick Hernandez; 3. Thomas Haddad; 4. Alex Radas; 5. Chalmer Gregg.

450F INT: 1. Peter Hull; 2. Keith Knudson; 3. Austen Scroggins.

450F PRO: 1. Tye Hames; 2. Michael Addison; 3. Cody Mackie; 4. Andrew Reardon; 5. Tyson Taylor.

OPEN (NON-PRO): 1. Ray Obermeyer; 2. Cole Seeley; 3. Hugh McDonald; 4. Gunnar Johnston; 5. Alex Radas.

WMN BEG: 1. Amy Cole; 2. Alexis Lamora; 3. Rachel Combs.

WMN AM: 1. Heather Brown; 2. Kaitlin Ramos.

F/T BEG: 1. Matt Smith; 2. Jonny Pinckney.

25+ BEG: 1. Martin Marker.

25+ NOV: 1. Mike Cundari; 2. Josh Waters; 3. Shaun Sleeth.

25+ AM: 1. Jeremy Boggs; 2. Matt Rainwater; 3. John Soriano.

30+ INTRO-BEG: 1. Heather Brown; 2. Robert Paquette; 3. Jaime Olmos; 4. Eric Krogh.

30+ BEG: 1. Craig Contreras; 2. Chad Hoeppner; 3. Robert Vegter; 4. Travis Brusso; 5. James McDonald.

30+ NOV: 1. Joe Pena; 2. Jon Lyles; 3. Brian Hubert.

30+ AM: 1. Butch Veenstra; 2. Eric Adamson; 3. Craig Contreras; 4. Justin Rainwater; 5. Rick Kozlik.

40+ INTRO-BEG: 1. Wes Anderson; 2. David Carrasco; 3. Doug Marker; 4. Tim Debolt; 5. Harold Eisenga.

40+ BEG: 1. Taylor Hodoose; 2. Rick Willison; 3. Naoki Sato; 4. Craig Tatum; 5. Scott Fike.

40+ NOV: 1. Robert Kuhry; 2. Pat Imbriale; 3. Rocky Aiello; 4. Butch Veenstra; 5. Jason Williams.

40+ INT: 1. Bryan Daniel; 2. David Fontes; 3. Ron Utaski; 4. Chris Swank; 5. Michael Penta.

40+ AM: 1. Kerry Sorensen; 2. Steve Fredericks; 3. Adi Sahar; 4. Steve Hinckley; 5. Dan Osborne.

40+ PRO: 1. Craig Davis; 2. Todd Flaming; 3. Paul Jamison; 4. Chris Heinrich.

50+ NOV: 1. Pete Smith; 2. Dennis Vandemortel; 3. Roy Krull; 4. Bill Bandy; 5. Scott Sligar.

50+ AM: 1. Steve Ellington.

50+ EX: 1. David Fontes; 2. Doug Rupert; 3. Joe Pena; 4. Lyle Sweeter.

60+ EX: 1. Lyle Sweeter.

VET NOV OPEN: 1. Robert Kuhry.

VET INT VX1: 1. Jonathan Rhodes; 2. Chad Hubbard; 3. Paul Kuehnel; 4. Mike Diorio.

VET INT VX2: 1. Anthony Knutson; 2. Jason Klements.

VET INT OPEN: 1. Chad Hubbard; 2. Jonathan Rhodes; 3. Paul Kuehnel; 4. Michael Penta; 5. Mike Diorio.