Moore Takes Second Win in Arenacross Tour
Memphis, TN: (January 16, 2010)
Mississippi’s Johnny Moore led every lap of the “Clash for Cash” main event at round 3 of the 9-race Arenacross Tour in front of a full house at in Murfreesboro, TN. Second went to Justin Thompson, who had a great battle with Kyle Gills for most of the race.
Thompson is just 2 points ahead of Moore in series points, with Cameron Stone in third just 2 points behind Moore.
The Murfreesboro event was the largest yet, with just under 400 riders in all classes, and it filled the stands in the Miller Coliseum. The freestyle show featured Scott Murray, a gold medalist at the 2008 Navy Moto X World Championships. Murray had to use a short ramp but still did three backflips. The coliseum ceiling height limits jumping any farther than 54 feet.
Last week’s winner Chris Tracy crashed out of the final race, the Clash for Cash. Cameron Stone took the overall win in the AX Pro moto qualifiers, but went from 3rd to 4th in the Clash for Cash. Kyle Gills won the AX Pro Lites qualifiers overall, and finished the night on the podium for the first time this season. He chose to race the Clash for Cash on his 250.
Parents focusing on their starts.
Moore lined up on the far right for the Clash for Cash Start.
Moore’s plan was to get a good start and sprint early in the Clash for Cash, which he was able to do after taking the holeshot. Thomson and Stone were side by side in the first turn behind him, and Tracy and Gills were next.
Tracy crashed out in the whoops, and was seen in the pits later OK, but sore. Gills made a pass on Stone for third, and started catching Thompson.
Moore had a clear track and opened up a gap, which he kept until the finish. Gills caught Thompson and the two had a great race for about half the 20 laps. “I got beside Justin Thompson a handful of times,” said Gills, “I would get beside him and he would pull back up on me. Justin and I race a lot together. It was clean racing. I think everyone has a lot of respect for each other. We are all good friends. I showed him a wheel a few times and he would show me a wheel. That’s racing. We race pretty clean.”
Gills (#521) talked about the close battle with Thompson (#2), “going into the whoops I think I was catching him. I think I had a little more entry speed. Coming up to the triple I was having to yank to get over it and he was on a 450 and could just scrub it off. Down the straightaway he would pull me a little bit and I would catch him in the whoops. I came up beside him a couple of times after the finish double but he would pull away on that 450. But, that’s no excuse. I chose to ride a 250, I like it. It makes me work harder. It’s good work.”
“I looked back a couple times in the last few laps because my back brake was starting to lock up and I was getting a little nervous,” said Moore after his win, “Finally with a lap to go it freed up so I was about to keep the gap.”
“Memphis was terrible,” said Moore about the previous weekend, “I got terrible starts and had bad luck. I went home and practiced my starts and did some sprints on a supercross track and I had it pretty dialed in tonight. I was concerned about endurance. I had been sick all week. I was just trying to get through the week and the weekend. I knew if I could get a good start the first few laps would be crucial and once I got a good gap I knew I could keep it and never looked back.”
Moore gave his rivals credit, and the close points race after three rounds means it’s still anyone’s series. “Justin Thompson is always on it,” he said, “Kyle Gills chose to ride a 250 in the Clash for Cash and was fast. Cameron Stone rode good too. I don’t like to look behind me in the first few laps. I just sprint and get a good gap, that way no one is on my tail. I’m not tired at all. I actually thought we had 10 more laps. I didn’t even know the white flag was coming out.”
Mini quads don't look that small.
Great racing in the amateur classes.
Profiles:
Kyle Gills, 19, from Wiggins, Mississippi is using the Arenacross Tour to prepare for supercross when the series makes its way east in February. ”I try to do all these Arenacross Tour races,” he said, “It’s a really good circuit and there is a lot of competition. It’s a good warmup, a good practice for supercross which is just around the corner. I’m going to be doing all the east coast races.”
His supercross teammate is also doing the Arenacross Tour to get ready for supercross. “ Jake Lowry [my teammate] made the podium in the last race. He came out with a 2ndwhich is really good. He and I have been training together along with Johnny Moore. Tonight I didn’t get the start I wanted to and just put my head down and just kept going and going. It was hard with those 450s but I was having a good time and that is all that matters.”
“I think I was 5th or 6th on the first lap,” said Gills, “Chris Tracy went down in the whoops and that moved me up. I got by Cameron Stone and that put me in third.”
Gills talked about his plans to keep racing the Arenacross Tour as much as possible. “I will do this Arenacross Tour until the last 2 when I start racing supercross,” he said, “Last year I made 3 main events. This year I hope to make all the main events and score some points and get noticed by teams. I am on a team now that is really good. The one I am on now is really helping us out but it would be great to get on one of those factory teams. This series will definitely get you ready for supercross.”
Gills is also practicing his sponsor pimping. He closed his post race interview by saying “I would like to thank Pro Flow Kawasaki, Road Runner Transport, Fly, Smith, EVS, Jake Lowry, my mom, my dad, the Lord Jesus Christ for keeping us safe and my girlfriend and her family.”
Freestyler Scott Murray is almost Canadian. He’s from the upper peninsula of Michigan, north of Green Bay about 100 miles.
Murray became a sensation in 2008 when he won a gold medal at the Navy Moto X World Championships (like an extra X Games) in 2008 with a double backflip. Murray was not your typical freestyler. He wears hockey pads and plain jerseys instead of brand name gear. He didn’t even have all the tricks the other riders do as a matter of routine, he just went for the big one-a double backflip!
When asked if he really was such an unlikely hero, he said, “That is kind of what I was branded as, I was like “whatever.” I’m not the best freestyler in the world, I know that. I’m not like Nate Adams and guys like that. The things they do with backflips are amazing. I am working on stuff and trying to progress. But I am an accomplished freestyle rider. I have a big bag of tricks for demos like this. I am able to work with different gaps vs a stock 75 ft jump. Tonight we got back to a 54 ft gap. I wasn’t sure if I could flip it or not. I knew I could flip it but it was just landing the thing.”
"While you are up there, do you mind changing a few light bulbs?"
The Miller Coliseum roof is low and limits the height for freestyle, because the rider’s will literally hit the ceiling. The ramps were set at 54 feet. “At 54 feet, that is a small gap,” said Murray, “We were limited by the rafters in here. Terry Russell did a cliffhanger and I thought his hands were going to hit the rafters. It’s just that close. When you are flying up there you can see how close you are to it.”
Since the Moto X gold medal, Murray has been doing some globe-trotting and was injured in Europe. “I have been to Vienna, Austria to do my double backflip,” he said, “I landed one and crashed one. I went to Ostrava in the Czech Republic and I did not fare very well at all do to a very underpowered bike. I didn’t have the right fuel for my bike. I ended up falling off, and that was the first time I fell off doing a double backflip. It was bad. I got a nice 4” laceration on the palm of my left hand. It was a brutal hit. We had fun either way. Anytime you are able to walk away, you are doing all right.”
Murray is doing the Hattiesburg, MS Arenacross Tour (round 4) as well. “I am following this Arenacross Tour to Mississippi next weekend,” he said, “Then I am going home to grab my ramps and head to South Dakota. Then back home and a month of training, and I think we are going to Puerto Rico to do a double backflip there.”
“We might see a 360 and a couple backflip variations [in Hattiesburg],” he said, “I didn’t bring my double flip ramp and I haven’t done one since Ostrava. There were rumors that I won’t be doing them anymore but nothing could be further from the truth. I am more determined now than ever.”
Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” (Main Event)
1) Johnny Moore, Hon; 2) Justin Thompson, Hon; 3) Kyle Gills, Kaw; 4) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 5) Derek Rodgers, Kaw; 6) Jake Lowry, Kaw; 7) Shane Mills, KTM; 8) Jared Hicks, Kaw; 9) Josh Hicks, Hon; 10) Jason Perry, Hon; 11) PJ Stratton, Hon; 12) Chris Tracy, Kaw.
Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Pro (450s)
1) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 2) Chris Tracy, Kaw; 3) Johnny Moore, Hon; 4) Derek Rodgers, Kaw; 5) Jared Hicks, Kaw; 6) Josh Hicks, Hon; 7) Justin Thompson, Hon.
Cameron Stone.
Arenacross Tour “Clash for Cash” Qualifiers, AX Lites Pro
1) Kyle Gills, Kaw; 2) Johnny Moore, Hon; 3) Jared Hicks, Kaw; 4) Cameron Stone, Kaw; 5) Derek Rodgers, Kaw; 6) Jake Lowry, Kaw; 7) PJ Stratton, Hon.
Series leader Justin Thompson has been consistent.
Clash for Cash Points:
1) Justin Thompson 62, 2) Johnny Moore 60, 3) Cameron Stone 58, 4) Jake Lowry 49, 5) Kyle Gills 49, 6) Chris Tracy 44, 7) Jason Perry 39, 8) Josh Hicks 28, 9) Jared Hicks 22, 10) Derek Rodgers 16, 10) Ozzy Barbaree 16, 12) Jonathan Dove 15, 13) Dustin Gills 14, 13) Shane Mills 14, 13) Buddy Brooks 14, 16) Billy Wichers 13, 17) Brandon Powers 12, 18) Johnny Marley 11, 19) PJ Stratton 10, 20) Chris Sandifer 9.
Staying warm in the pits.
Ben Linderman (#129) mixes it up in the pro class for the first time. Check out that 2-stroke!
Miss Arenacross Tour Ashlee Smith with the 30-second card.
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