1991 U.S. Open Coverage
Can you imagine a so-called "race report" like this making it into BT nowadays? Me neither... but it was 1991, the year of Fifty Moto Nationals, and I had a free hand from my editor, the lovely Jill, to write whatever I wanted to, within limits. Eventually, writing race reports like these would prove to be my downfall... not that I really cared - JB
When I first heard I was to cover the U.S. Open, I was rather upset because I really, really dislike tennis. Which is what I said to Jill Geiger, my editor. "Jill, I think tennis is stupid, and furthermore, if we've got space to devote to other sports, I think that skeet shooting would be a worthier addition," I said. Gosh, wasn't that funny.
No, I never thought that it had anything to do with tennis, and my only reason for unhappiness was that, out of 85 17&Over Experts in Ohio, I'd only gotten as high as Number 17. Not quite good enough. But my pal Nick had made it in, so we hurried off Friday morning to catch this extravaganza. We went in his dad's van, which beeps when you back up, just like a dump truck or something. I was mightily impressed. "In the words of Starship, nothing's gonna stop us now," I sagely observed.
Well, rain came close. There was a little bit of drizzle here and there, nothing close to the downpour that would assault Grands riders the following day. And my fellow 16 and Over Boy riders proved to be a most unmanageable group during the second round of practice. In the end, it was so clogged up in the staging lanes than a kind of "free for all" practice was run. I kind of liked it. (Even though I almost got in a fistfight with Rocket 17X rider Cory Demberger, thus starting a grudge that would eventually manifest itself in two installments of the parody "Cory Dumberger's Advice To The Lovelorn" in the 'Some Prefer Nettles' 'zine - JB) The motos went quickly enough. I noticed that a lot of riders were pretty mellow about the whole thing, probably saving their ulcers for the Grands. It really felt like an extra day of nationals, far more so than the President's Cup does at Christmas.
Oh yeah. How does this event stack up to the President's Cup? Well, first and foremost, Florida doesn't win. Actually, nobody wins. Well, Terry Tenette won, but that makes no difference to his state. This is strictly for individual awards and plates. Qualifying, as well, is different. You've got to have a lot of state points, which at first glance would seem to make the U.S. Open a great opportunity for local riders to shine. Factor in the state point bonus for racing Nationals, however, and it soon becomes apparent that Cru Jones won't be showing up.
Neither would Jack Baruth, save to watch and to chat with a few of his favorite pros. I talked to the Crit Plate guys and was fully stoked by their comeback. Other sponsors and vendors included Hot Shoppe, which did a U.S. Open shirt, Coastal and a handful of other vendors, and GT Bicycles. I noticed that the strictly local dudes who did show up were overmatched by the track. It was tough and rather technical, particularly for a local yokel like myself. The Emergency Medical people were out in full force, but serious injuries were few in number.
Most of the motos looked like this: One or two guys in front, and I mean way in front, jumping everything. Three more guys behind them jumping some things. Two guys way behind them rolling everything. Another guy sitting on his tailfeathers in the middle of the first jump, where he bailed. As previously stated, Terry Tenette pulled a 2-1-1 set of motos and won overall in a very handsome Fox Racing outfit. Pistol Pete, similarly attired, didn't do as well, but maintained his composure throughout the event and grinned at little kids. Also looking strong was Mike King, who finished second through no fault of his own.
Dominating in a Tenette-ish fashion was 5 and Under Beginner champion Jesse Heilman, who won two out of three motos and smoked his main. During staging, I heard two reasonably quick riders discussing the fate of BMX Good Guy Jimmy Garcia. "How fast is Garcia now?" says the Big One.
"Not as fast as he used to be," says the Small One.
"I don't doubt it," says the Big One. (It was Brian Colegrove and Barry McManus talking, but Jill told me I couldn't use their names - JB)
Garcia was plagued by bad luck but still managed to win two of his motos and make his main, where, unfortunately, he only finished seventh. Jimmy, I still believe in you, and would personally love to make my main. 14 Expert Rion Myers, though outpointed by T.J. Taylor in the greater scheme of things, pulled a solid first place. In 13X Robert Steinhoff had to use rear-view mirrors to see his competition in all the important events, while Squidboy Ronnie Adkins finished fifth in his second year of BMX competition, managing as well to take second in Cruiser.
Rich Long was seemingly unbeatable in 42 and Over Cruiser, but 21-27 moto standout Doug Luden settled for second. 11X rider Roddy Williams shook off a fifth place in his third moto and won it all in the main.
The most sought-after and fawned-upon racer of the weekend was not a Pro, Super, or 18X rider. She was Tara Llanes, and unofficial polls of dudes all around the track show her to be consistently better-liked than any pro, or my column, or the sport of BMX racing. Ms. Llanes knows racing better than most, however, winning the day for Haro.
Though I had expected the list of winners to be more or less the same for the Open and the Grands, they were actually refreshingly different. More than two or three Open winners were not present in their main on Sunday. Yet the motos looked nearly as fast and furious, (Oh, the indignity of seeing that phrase in print a decade later! - JB) and the mains were as crazy to watch as ever.
The moto count of 113 surpassed many of the Nationals held this year, and perhaps the only injustice that came about from the way it was organized was the lack of a separate Super class. When I went back to the hotel, I was ecstatic, though I'd not been able to participate, and nearly all of my pals and riders save for the venerable Adkins got beaten like dogs. It was like having an extra day to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere, and to simply be a BMX bum. For that reason, and for the extra practice, I would suggest that anyone with Grands plans, whether or not you are in the top ten in state points, go and at least hang out at the U.S. Open. It was fun for most and interesting for all. And it beats the heck out of that other U.S. Open thing, which never, ever features pro BMX riders, even in the qualifying rounds.