Tommy Jean (569) slashed through the artificial glow of round one of the MX West Summer Nights Series to score the overall wins in the 125cc and 250cc Pro classes.

Jean began by taking the 125cc victory in a second-moto battle that ended in strange fashion. After J.L. Bitz opened the night by taking the first moto win just ahead of Jean, Tony Evans grabbed the holeshot in moto two. Evans soon found pressure from Bitz and the two began to dice. Jean, meanwhile, was just working his way into third after a poor start.

But the battle for the lead took an unexpected turn around mid-race when both Evans and Bitz simultaneously overshot a berm after drag racing each other down a fourth-gear straight. Jean suddenly found himself out front as Evans and Bitz rejoined the freight train in third and fourth place. The pack gave chase but Jean rode confidently through the rest of the moto to take the win. Bitz ended up second overall (1-4) and Evans scored third (3-3.)

Jean took the 250cc race via a 1-1 score, looking very comfortable on a borrowed CRF450R. Bitz, who was also on a loaner CRF450R in the second moto, carded his second second-place finish of the night, ahead of Evans, who again claimed third.

Ironically, after putting in such a strong performance on the abbreviated Stead course, Jean said that the tight tracks aren’t usually his favorite.

“I’m OK on the tight stuff because I’ve been running some tracks in California like that,” Jean said. “But the outdoor, wide-open stuff is more my kind of style.”

Jean did, however, praise the layout of the Stead course, which combined tight turns and fast rhythm sections--a combination that drew great reviews from winners and losers alike.

Kevin Knight earned his distinction as one of the night’s winners after he rode to a 1-1 score in the 30+ Expert class. Knight had to ride hard the whole night through, though, because 30+ Intermediate winner Zack Perryman, who left the rest of the Intermediates and Experts in his wake in both motos, was never far behind.

“The track finally got worked up pretty good,” Knight said of the roughening course after his second moto. “I found some fast lines in that race so I tried to stay up and tried to stay loose. We had a good race out there.”

The mix of Stead’s clay dirt and the tight corners made deep ruts that spelled trouble for many minicycle pilots. But Aaron Siminoe, who claimed the 85cc Intermediate and Supermini wins, had little difficulty finding the right grooves.

“The ruts were awesome,” Siminoe said. “The track suited me pretty good, except when I fell in my 65cc race. But in the 85cc class, I just stuck behind (second-place finisher) Dakota May for awhile and then took it from there.”

Look for coverage of this event in Cycle News in a few weeks.

Results
50 (4-6) PRVTR: 1. Jake Masterpool; 2. Dylan Galliett; 3. Mason Olson. 50 (4-6) FCTRY: 1. William Ionno. 50 (7+) PRVTR: 1. Chad Heishman; 2. Brad Maga; 3. Gaige Bobbitt. 50 (7+) FCTRY: 1.Austin Rodgers. 65 BEG: 1. Zach Clouser; 2. Chad Heishman; 3. Ryan Greb. 65 JR: 1. Austin Ching; 2. Garrett Kinsler; 3. Corwin McIntosh. 65 INT: 1. Brian Sjogren; 2. Aaron Siminoe; 2. Jesse Masterpool. S/65: 1. Brian Sjogren; 2. Jesse Masterpool; 3. Garrett Kinsler. 85 BEG D-1: 1. Chris Jackson; 2. Nicholas Perez; 3. Skyler Giovanetti. 85 BEG D-2: 1. Daniel Mills; 2. Landon Willette; 3. J.J. Delligati. 85 JR D-1: 1. Brian Sjogren; 2. David Rumbaugh; 3. Ty Siminoe. 85 JR D-2: 1. Austin Robinson; 2. Jordon Kinsler; 3. Cody Cannon. 85 INT: 1. Aaron Siminoe; 2. Dakota May; 3. Zak Riley. S/MINI: 1. Aaron Siminoe; 2. Dakota May; 3. Zak Riley. 125 BEG D-1: 1. Cody Acquistapace; 2. Cody Whalin; 3. Lance Homer. 125 BEG D-2: 1. Jimmie O’Brien; 2. Mark Drury; 3. Colton Cherry. 125 JR D-1: 1. Phillip Hodge; 2. Martin Kite; 3. Kenny Carter. 125 JR D-2: 1. James Gonzales; 2. Kenny Fye; 3. Bo Smith. 125 INT: 1. Aron Harvey; 2. Buck Ford; 3. Ryan Eager. 125 PRO: 1. Tommy Jean; 2. J.L. Bitz; 3. Tony Evans. 250 BEG: 1. Daniel Downer; 2. Robert Shaw; 3. Daniel Moore. 250 JR: 1. Dallas Webb; 2. Jimmy Woolsey; 3. Frank Cody. 250 INT: 1. Buck Ford; 2. Aron Harvey; 3. Ryan Eager. 250 PRO: 1. Tommy Jean; 2. J.L. Bitz; 3. Tony Evans. SCHBY: 1. Aron Harvey; 2. Buck Ford; 3. Johnny Vallerio. 25+ BEG: 1. Luke Perl; 2. Casey Imdieke; 3. Kenneth Schmidt. 25+ JR: 1. Randy Hood; 2. Erik Moreno; 3. Daniel Moore. 30+ BEG: 1. Dan Egesdahl; 2. Mark Cody; 3. Brian Hosar. 30+ JR: 1. Jared Likes; 2. Erik Moreno; 3. Paul Beyer. 30+ INT: 1. Zack Perryman; 2. Reid Jamison; 3. Jon Dadale. 30+ EX: 1. Kevin Knight; 2. Anthony Pulera; 3. Layne Kolbet. 30+ PRO: 1. Randy Maga; 2. Donny Roberts. 38+ PRO: 1. Randy Maga. 40+ JR: 1. Terry Reinold; 2. Mark Cody; 3. Jim Goldberg. 40+ INT: 1. Mike Torres; 2. Darr Holdeman; 3. Peter Mayforth. 40+ EX: 1. Mike McMurry. WMN: 1. Jessica Crosthwaite.