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The Internet's Official BMX Magazine. |
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. . . Go Back to Press Releases BRINGING HOME THE NO.1's:
Tulsa, Oklahoma. The final national of the 11-month long BMX season just wrapped up this weekend and the National No.1 titles for 2001 were handed out. Once again, KIM HAYASHI went home with one of the seven silver cups; repeating her crown for No.1 Girl Cruiser -- the ONLY repeat title holder this year. Eleven months of pretty much non-stop national racing came to a climatic conclusion with some major upsets, some incredible victories and dramatic disappointments. Before we go to Sundays final results; let us begin the story four days earlier... WEDNESDAY: First thing to happen during the Grands weekend (besides the huge vendor area being set-up and the track being built), were the Golden Crank Awards being presented, along with the induction ceremonies for the BMX Hall of Fame. If you recall--last year, REDLINE's president CHUCK HOOPER was honored by being put in the Hall of Fame in the "Industry Leader" category. This year, "Ma & Pa Ecko" (better known as Bob & Kaye Wright), were inducted for all of their years of service to BMX safety thru their helmet company. Team REDLINE was among many team in the 80's who ran Ecko helmets. The inductee to the "70's Racer" category is no stranger to REDLINE, either. JEFF RUMINER, known during his Pro career as "The Flyin' Okie" joined the illustrious list of Redline riders who are in the Hall of Fame. Ruminer, along with Stu Thomsen, were part of the 1982 Redline squad who earned the BMX ACTION Nora Cup. The third inductee in to the Hall of Fame was CINDY DAVIS. Once everyone chowed down on the chocolate cake and the Hall of Famers made their speeches, it was time to find out who won the Golden Cranks! This is the "popularity" trophy that is voted on by the membership of the ABA. For Team and Bike, REDLINE once again came in 2nd. We were bummed. Everyone knows Redline deserved it, right?! But then came the opening of the envelope for "Rookie Pro of 2001"... presented by none other than John Purse himself. John named off the Top-5 nominees, followed by the Academy Award-fashioned "And the winner is..." He ripped open the envelope and said, "Gosh darn... it's Kamakazi!" Unfortunately, Kamakazi was in Australia, training hard for 2002 and racking up more Australian titles. But he'll be back in the USA in February/March to make his acceptance speech. THURSDAY: How does the BMX World celebrate Thanksgiving? They have a turkey sub from Subway between rounds of practice. Starting at 6:30am and going until 9:30pm, it was non-stop practice for over 3,000 BMXers. The REDLINE pits were hopping, as Redline's co-sponsor--NINTENDO, was using this race as a perfect opportunity to debut its new GAME-CUBE to the BMX crowd. There were 3 custom GameCube kiosks set up in the huge RL pits, to go along with the GameBoy Advance systems and N-64's that are built in to the trailer. The attitude around the Redline pits was pretty kick-back, and no one really seemed to be nervous about the No.1 titles that they were up for. BUBBA HARRIS was seen playing the StarWars and WaveRunner games on the GameCube's between his practice rounds, and celebrated Thanksgiving with his entire family and friends at their SuperCamp trailer. (Overall census: Bubba's mom know how to cook!) KIM HAYASHI & Family were hangin' out with Chandler-local and Co-Redline rider NICCO RUSSO and his parents, watching "The Waterboy" on the TV/VCR that Jason Carnes had set up. In practice rounds, Kim was the only girl to sky over the big Pro Section doubles. As she did it for the first time, Jamie Lilly and other pro girls were standing next to the jump in awe. (Just wait 'til Kim turns pro next year!) A late arrival to the RL pits was Redline's living legend--STU THOMSEN. He took one look at the power track and immediately changed gears before his 9pm practice. JASON CARNES, Team Captain, had the Redline pits happenin'. And everyone seemed to be having a great time. FRIDAY: It was Race of Champions time -- an "invite-only" race for the top riders in each State. A red-background No.1 plate is up for grabs, and you can pretty much count on KIM HAYASHI to double there. The ABA ran the 489-moto ROC quickly; as they had to finish-up before 6:00 for the ticketed Friday night event. Factory REDLINE and its many co-sponsored riders made their presence known. On top of the heap in the Redline pits would have to be "THE DIESEL" MATT HADAN; who found himself in all three main events. Matt was rippin' in the Pro Open main, holeshotting from the outside, and settling for third at the finish. KIM HAYASHI also had a impressive day, splitting her main events with one win / one slide-out. In 15 girls, Kim proved who had the most power down out of the gate and was next seen holding a red No.1 ROC plate down by the finishline. In cruiser, her arch nemesis--Ashley Recklau, was out front, and Kim was waiting patiently until the third turn to make her big move. She'd planned on jumping the pro section, but before she could make it out of the turn, her tires slid out from under her and her hopes for a double gone. FRIDAY NIGHT: For the past five years, ABA's Friday Night "Pro Spectacular" has included the "NAG Challenge" in their program; a race that now has become more popular than the pros themselves. By taking the top-5 in National Age Group points (coming into the Grands) from ages 15 on up, you end up with 35 of the fastest amateurs on the planet, going head-to-head for some cool prizes. Redline's superstar amateur BUBBA HARRIS was looking forward to taking on the best of the 17,18,19-27 and 28 & Over riders... especially hoping to do well against the popular little dude in orange; Donny Robinson. In warm-up, Bubba was snappin' with most of the top Double-A pros and pullin' them down the first straight. In the two qualifying motos, Bub' won with virtual ease. After some dirt jumping by Todd Lyons & Company, and some more pro action, the quickest eight Ams in the Nation lined up on the gate. Bubba lined up in lane 5, surrounded by his buddies Mike Day and Ryan Staats, Brandon Nichols and Donny Robinson, ... oh, and Daniel "Don't forget to mention me in the Redline News" Greer. . The gate slammed and Bubba was pretty dead even with Robinson down the first straight, only getting a half-wheel lead over the doubles into turn one. Suddenly, Daniel "Don't forget to mention me in the Redline News" Greer pulled up alongside the inside but couldn't make the move stick. Greer saw gold there for a second, but Bubba quickly powered ahead of him, as they hiit mach speeds out of the turn. Robinson had the inside line into turn two and swooped underneath our Redline hero. trying to avoid contact, Bubba railed the top of the turn and got ahead for good. In a surprise move, Donny opted for the rhythm section route while Bubba skied the big doubles. By the finishline, Bubba took the win with a 4 bike length lead ahead of Donny, who was about five bike lengths ahead of the other 6 riders. It was an awesome night for Bubba and Team Redline; with Harris picking a NIRVE snowboard for his victory. SATURDAY: The first two rounds of motos went quick. With 593 races filled with over 3,500 competitors, it took 4 hours to do the first round of qualifing (that's 148 mph - motos per hour). In the qualifer rounds, Bubba and Stu transfered out of the first lap with ease by winning their moto. Hayashi would've been a sure shot at making it out first round as well, but slid out all by herself in the third turn on her cruiser. With the wide, short sweeping berms, Kim's 24x1 3/8's tires weren't giving her the traction she needed. Come second round of qualifying, she played it safer and moved on to the semi's. SUNDAY: Quarter mains. Semi mains. Team Redline blitzed through those races... with the exception of JASON CARNE$, who got a nice elbow from Neal Wood in Pro Cruiser and found himself on the ground for both A-pro and Pro Cruiser. His chance for a No.1 Pro Crusier title had ended; yet he'd stil end up the year with a top-6 ranking -- not bad for a truck driver! At around 2:30 Sundat afternoon, main events began. So, let's talk winners. And not just ANY winners--but REDLINE winners... (the best kind, right?). BUBBA HARRIS had started off things this weekend with 1st place at the Friday Night "NAG Challenge." And by Sunday, it was looking as if he might go undefeated all weekend long. In 16 cruiser, Bub' made an awesome move in turn two to get an incredible win. Out of turn one, our Redline amateur found himself in 2nd place, behind his arch nemisis Brandon Nichols. [For those who remember last year, Nichols and Bubba crashed in the last turn in the Grands main event.] By the triple-jump that led them in to the second turn, Bubba caught up with Brandon and rolled the trips' side-by-side. Aiming for the inside, Bubba performed the picture-perfect inside swoop that he teaches at clinics all around the country. One extra crank, one elbow in front of the rider you're passing, and the lead is all yours. So far--Bubba one, Brandon zero. And we'd find out more on the score in the 16x main event. A few main events later, came 41-45 cruiser -- starring none other than the living legend himself; STU THOMSEN. Back in 1978--probably way before most of you were born, Stompin' Stu was ABA's very first No.1 Pro. Now, he's a 44 year old BMX Hall of Famer who works as a Sherrif in Riverside County. And the Mighty One was out to show the World he still has what it takes! Sure--you might think he's old, but Stu still hasn't lost his touch on a BMX bike. And he proved it in Tulsa, by dominiating his cruiser class from start to finish. As added proof, Stu hit the giant pro-doubles every time; including the main, which helped take him to a huge 5 bike length lead and the win. As big as he was, the 7-foot tall 1st place trophy still dwarfed him. KIM HAYASHI lined up on the gate for her 14-16 Girl Cruiser final. With the black background No.1 plate that says "No.1 in the Nation," Kim snapped hard from lane 5 and was side-by-side with Ashley Recklau in to the first turn. It was cat and mouse the first three straights. Kim had the lead, Ashley took it, Kim got it back, then Ashley would make a move for the lead. It was the best girls race of the whole weekend! Finally, turn three came and the crowd got on their feet as they knew what was about to come... Kim carved the third turn for all it was worth and dove to the pro-sized straightaway, while Recklau took the safer rhythm section. Kim cranked hard to the dubs and launched them like she'd done all weekend. Landing smoothly, she came down side-by-side with Ashley, yet was now set for the inside line in to the last turn and finishline. The crowd roared! The announcers freaked out! And Kim defended her crown with the win! So there you have it... Kim Hayashi, in her very last amateur race, got her second consecutive National No.1 title in typical dramatic fashion. But what made Kim's win even more spectacular was that about a half an hour ealier, Kim and Ashley raced in almost the same exact positions in the 15girls 20 inch main. The only thing though, was in class, Kim colided with Ashley in the last turn and went slamming head-first in to the haybales lining the track. Her PRYME "Evil" helmet protected her like it has all year. She was slow to get back on her feet, but arose to the applause of the crowd. Obviously in pain, she was more determined than ever to make the move work in cruiser. And that she did. In other REDLINE news; JAMIE LILLY--aboard her pretty new white Proline "Team" frame, looked as if she had her second onsecutive No.1 Girl Pro title wrapped up as she got in the gate for the third and final main. Lilly had two wins/two points so far, while No.2-ranked Alice Jung was following close with two seconds [worth 4 points]. Right before the third main, Jamie told us it wasn't over. And she wasn't kidding. The gate slammed down and Lilly popped out to the front as we all expected. Suddenly, all by herself, she exploded in the first turn, leaving seven girls pros to swerve around the carnage. Evidently, Jamie's pedal blew up due to her incredible torque, causing the wreckage. Arizona local Alice Jung then went on to take 4th in the main, giving her 8 points to Jamie's 10... along with the title. [Editors note: Alice used to be a loyal Redline rider until she was lured away by Hyper.] Also--I can't forget; HARRY LEARY of Team Marzocchi (aboard his new 2002 white Redline Proline) made the A-pro main event at a young 45 years old. Can you believe this guy?! The "Ageless One" was racing kids who weren't even born when he began racing pro! A crash in the first main put his hand in the spokes of another rider, and it was questionable whether he'd even be able to race the next two mains. Would arthritis settle in?! NO WAY. Harry says he didn't go this far to not give it all he's got, and wound up with a 7th place overall on his REDLINE. Also up for the No.1 Pro Cruiser title this year was Redline's very own MATT HADAN. He, along with 3 other guys in the gate, could get the silver cup by just winning the one main. Hadan got squeezed right out of the gate, while Craig Reynolds (of all people) took the lead with Stumpy in tow. Hadan's 7th place would help give Stumpy the No.1 title. In Randy's speech--he was sure to thank Jason Carnes for carting his cruiser around all year long in the Redline rig... so, we still got props, afterall. That race--most likely, would be Matt Hadan's last ride in Redline colors - as "Kamakazi" will be coming to the States for next year to fill Redline's AA-pro position. In one of the most disapointing mains of the night (at least for us), BUBBA HARRIS squared off against Brandon Nichols for Round 2. You remember the score from cruiser, right? As the gate slammed down, Bubba timed it a bit too soon, hit it early and didn't get the killer snap he had hoped for. Meanwhile, Nichols did. In to the first turn, it was Nichols and Harris; almost a xerox copy of the 15 cruiser main! This time though, Brandon was prepared for Bubba to make a move and wasn't about to let him pull his patented move. From there on out, it was Bubba reeling in Nichols like a 12 pound salmon... but never netted. Pencil in Bub for a 1st in cruiser and 2nd in class for the 2001 Grands ... his last amateur race in an amazing 9 year Am career. Luckily--Bubba entered the ABA Grands with an 81 point lead; and all that Nichols could gain on him was 80 points. Thus, both No.1 Age group titles would go to Bubba.... with him earning the 16x NAG No.1 by ONE mere point! Incredible! Want to know the rest of the story? Here's how the title chases went down: No.1 Pro............Warwick Stevenson No.1 Amateur........Wesley Jones No.1 Cruiser........Jarrett Kollich No.1 Girl...........Alise Post No.1 Girl Cruiser...Kim Hayashi (her 2nd in a row!) No.1 Pro Cruiser....Randy Stumpfhauser No.1 Vet Pro........Eric Rupe (his 8th ABA No.1 title!) . And so.... as Forest Gump would say, "That's all I gotta say about that." In the end -- the 2001 BMX racing season can be summed up as a good one. For the sport of BMX and for Team Redline, we saw some incredible racing, with increased numbers of Redline bikes on the track. But if you think 2001 was a good one -- just wait until you see what REDLINE has up their sleeves for next season! Be sure to go to "PHOTO GALLERY" on the Redline website for photos of everything you've just read about ...well, almost everything. A HUGE thanks and high-fives goes out to REDLINE's team sponsors for their tireless support to our hardcore BMX racing program. Without these guys, we couldn't have made the above results happen: ALEX rims KOOL STOP brakeshoes TIOGA components ATI grips SHIMANO parts KORE seatposts PRYME clothing NINTENDO POWER magazine LIZARDSKINS products FLICK TRIX finger bikes APZU's DM2 mixer PROMAX brakes & cables
Copyright 2001. All rights reserved. |
(11.30.01)