Wednesday, August 23

2000 NBL Grands

By James Ayers
BMXonline.com

This year's Grands in Louisville, Kentucky was a record breaker; 511 motos (the biggest NBL race ever), the hardest track the NBL's ever constructed, plus a really good pro section made the weekend pretty damned entertaining. A lot of crazy stuff happened and we were there for the whole thing. Here's what you either missed or remember.

Thomas Allier took the NBL #1 AA Pro title. His first American championship. Photo: Mulligan

The Pro Section

This year Billy Au, Tom Ritzenthal, Tim Strelecki, and a few others really stepped it up and built a tough pro section. Out of the second turn the pros had to cut down, hit a small roller, then launch a 30-foot plus set of doubles, roll another roller, then huck themselves again over another big set. For most, it was too much and after some complaining, the NBL made the call to change the pro section at the last minute. A lot of double-A's had an opinion on their decision and we were there to hear them all. Here are just a few...

"I think it was a good decision. The pro section was doable yesterday however it would have made for single file racing. Even the top guys were having problems with it. Now they shortened it up maybe by five feet so everyone's getting over the first set, but there's still no guarantee on the second set so it's still difficult. At least you can take different lines up to the same jump and try to get your pass on if you need to. I think all in all, it was a good decision. The roller before the pro section makes it technical and tough, so it's cool; it's making us work hard. It's good that they're making us step up as far as riding skills. I jumped it yesterday [before they changed it] and crashed and burned. I cleared it, but couldn't handle the impact. Hopefully I've had all my crashes for the weekend early on (laughter). The section today is a little bit easier after the change, but as a whole, there's still only about 80% of us who are getting through it clean." - Jason Richardson

"I don't think the section today is hard, I just think that when they fixed it yesterday they made it really soft. If you get over the first set good and get a couple of quality pedals in you'll make it. I've gotten over it a few times clean and as the sun dries it out it should be good. I think since they fixed it the section's a lot easier. The first one was really hard to come out of the turn and get over that roller. It's definitely good that they changed it, it's hard because the change made the section soft so we're still having trouble with it even though they made it a lot shorter and supposedly easier. It should be good mid way through today and I hope nobody gets hurt out there." - Warwick Stevenson

"I think it was a good decision because there were only five of us jumping it yesterday and out of the five jumping it there were probably only four doing it really clean. Everyone else is having a hard time. It' s a hard section plain and simple. There's a roller before a 32-foot set of doubles? Come on, nine times out of ten you're not going to make it over clean enough, and when you're in a pack and you need to make moves in the turn, you're going to shut someone down and everyone's going to roll through the section. To me, that's not racing. Racing is when you're hitting something fast and jumping it. It's hard to carry your speed into it when you're busy bumping off a roller. I respect the fact that they listened to us and they're working with us, that's half the battle, but I wish we all could have sat down and gotten it figured out before the race. [Later in the day we find Craig and he wants to amend his answer] I like the section now. Once it dried out you can carry your speed better. Early in the morning it was still wet and I hated that. I've got to hand it to Billy Au and Tom; they did a great job. I would have liked to seen it long with the roller taken out, but if that's the best they can do, it works." - Craig Reynolds

Natarsha Williams, Pro Girls number 1. Photo: Mulligan

Double-A's

We mentioned earlier that the first pro section the NBL had built was pretty hard; hard enough that Danny Nelson and Thomas Allier both crashed on it in practice. For Thomas it wasn't a big deal, but for Danny, it was another story. Apparently he had gone down hard enough to sprain his knee and by Saturday morning he had made the decision to take himself out of the race, which surprised a lot of people, but Danny didn't want to half-ass it so he pulled out since he couldn't go 100%.

There were a few guys who really stepped it up this weekend and just about everyone noticed it. Randy Stumpfhauser was flying in his class and open motos, but a bad lap in the semi kept him out of the double-A main. Craig Reynolds was also at the front of the pack throughout the motos but a bad gate in his semi cost him too. Warwick Stevenson won his semi and turned out to be the only rider to make all three mains at the Grands (Class, Open, and Cruiser), but unfortunately things went downhill quick from there for Stevenson. Nirve's Cristian Becerine turned out to be the biggest surprise in the mains and went into the last round of double-A pro with low points. He ended the day with a second behind Christophe Leveque in class and a third in Pro Open.

Thomas Allier came to the Grands leading points and since both him and Christophe made the main, all he had to do was finish sixth or better to get the title. At the end of the day, Thomas finished with a third in double-A and came through with his first American national title. Christophe not only won class, but won Open too and left with the number two plate and about $18,000 for his efforts. Danny rolled out of the gate each time to get points and managed to hang on to the number three plate for the year.

Single-A's

Everyone knew the battle going in would be between Eric Rupe, Cimar Duarte, and Tim Strelecki. When Cimar didn't make it out of his semi and Timmy killed his, a lot of people were thinking the main was Timmy's to win. Rupe had been having some troubles with the pro section while Timmy was flying by people left and right through it. When the gate went down on the main, Rupe pulled down the first straight. Timmy was right there, but in the first turn his front wheel slid out and he went down. From there Rupe had it in the bag. Eric left Louisville with the NBL Number One title and because Cimar had a slight lead over Timmy going in, he was able to hang on to a one-point lead for the number two plate. Tim would settle for third overall.

Pro Girls

Jamie Lilly, Jill Kitner, Carley Young, and Christina Henderson all came in capped out in points but it was Natarsha Williams who made the biggest statement during the mains. Not only did she blow her gate and hit the first jump dead last but she managed to pass everyone and win the main. It was definitely one of the best races of the weekend. Jill Kitner had a few really good laps in cruiser, but overall, Natarsha was the show stealer of the weekend. If you ever want to see a good girl jumper, you gotta check Natarsha out. She's got skills.

Amateurs

There were a lot of kids who made an impression this weekend and without a doubt, New Jersey's Colin Varanyak was one of them. Watching him double-double through the last straight rhythm was amazing. This kid rules. He didn't make his class main, but killed it in 10 Cruiser.

Christophe Leveque won both Class and Open at the NBL Grands. Photo: Mulligan

A lot of foreigners made it to Louisville and were leading laps. 13-year-old Augusto Castro was one of them. Completely smooth, fast, and good style describes this kid's riding to a "T". He doubled without any problems at all. If this kid comes over to stay, look out.

If you're 14, you had two names to worry about in Louisville; Wooden Wheel's Greg Morgan and Bully's Troy Cimek. Both ruled qualifying and won class and cruiser respectively. I could tell you they rode unbelievably good, but you really had to see it to believe it.

Three names stood out in the older amateur ranks: C&C Racing's Spanky Gravenmier, Bad Boy's Nathan Berkheimer, and GT/Panasonic Shockwave's Randall Neave. The 17 Expert main was easily one of the best of the day. When Neave high-lowed Spanky and Nate in the second turn for the win, the crowd exploded.

Leaving Louisville

Although there were 511 motos to get through, the NBL really stepped it up and made a hard track that challenged everyone, which made watching race after race a little less boring. It's never been a secret that you need to bring your skills to the Grands if you want to do good and this year emphasized that even more. We can't wait to see how Billy Au and the NBL improve upon this year's track next year.