FERNLEY, NV (FEB. 25) – The Sand Box Grand Prix has always been about bragging rights. It brings the motocross and desert racing community together to see just who is going to rule the roost.
The event was and is again hosted by the Reno chapter of the Over The Hill Gang (OTHG) and is a two-day affair.
Sunday is for the big bikes and begins with 45-minute races for all the classes from Novice/Beginner to Expert/Pro. Once those are out of the way there is an hour break as the teams of two get ready and move to the start area.
The pits are on both sides of the start area. One rider does the first lap then hands off a wrist band to his or her partner and they to the second lap.
This continues for 90 minutes before the checkered flag is waved. Then laps are counted and the winning order confirmed.
Ryan Ferris (left) and Reece Honea teamed up the night before the Grand Prix and took the overall and Expert/Pro victory.
Sometimes teams are made up at the last or almost last minute, which is how the winning team was formed. While many times it’s a case of a motocross racer facing off against a desert racer this time it was a combination of both.
“I need to thank Ryan here for saying he needed a teammate for the race yesterday,” Reece Honea said.
Then his partner Ryan Ferris added, “It was kind of thrown together like at 7 o’clock last night. He needed a teammate and I needed a teammate.”
First on track was Ferris, who made a jackrabbit start to lead the pack into and around the first turn. From there everyone ate his and Honea’s dust.
Ryan Ferris put his team first with a hole shot when the Expert/Pro line was released.
This time rather than an overall trophy four classes raced for trophies, which were nice bottles of sand from the course. After all the Fernley Motocross track is also known as the “Sand Box.”
After the rider exits the scoring chute they motor to the back of their pits where a person takes the wrist band off and puts it on the second rider that’s ready to leave the pits.
In the case of the Ferris/Honea team it was Ryan’s wife.
Each rider has to wear a wrist band that is handed off at the end and start of each lap. Here the wife of Ferris is putting it on Honea’s wrist so he can take off.
Round and round it went until finally it was over. Up front however the team of Ferris/Honea was chased but never caught as they tore around the enlarged course that had been carved out for the event.
After the race it took a bit to settle who won the Expert/Pro class, which had the fastest riders in it. But in the end they scored the victory and got their bottle of sand trophy.
“It was great, got a good start, got out in front and had a nice clear track,” Ferris said. “They groomed most of the track before we started so it was nice and sooth. Really fast, got a comfortable lead in the beginning so me and Reece just held onto it and just kept pushing.”
Then Honea said, Was a good day, Ryan rode awesome and I was just trying to keep it on wheels.”
At the start the four classes were grouped in three lines so the second one sent was the Intermediate division.
Here a father-and-son team took the top honors but they had to come from behind to win it. For the son it was only his second time racing a new bike.
Rich Thorwaldson and his son Dylan teamed up and won the Intermediate class.
After winning the race Rich Thorwaldson said, “I’m almost 47 and I’m racing with my 15-year-old son partner so it worked out great. The track was fantastic, the people that put it all together, coordinated everything, all of this was awesome. The course held up great, it got rough but there were good lines you could find. We both rode the 45-minute races ahead of the team race as well and he got second in his.”
Then Dylan said, “It was awesome and had a good time racing with my old man.”
The elder Thorwaldson added that his son fell on the first lap so they had some ground to make up.
“Got past by a bunch of people but after that neither one of us got passed by anybody the whole day,” Rich said.
With time winding down he had Dylan really push and he crossed the finish line just before the checkered flag came out. This meant they ended up with an extra lap over anyone else in their class.
When asked whom they should thank Thorwaldson, who owns Moto Source, had a very tongue-in-cheek reply.
“We have to thank Moto Source, they pay for everything, they’re the best sponsor ever, they pay our entries, buy us tires and even bought us bikes,” he said with a laugh.
Next in line was the Junior Class and the two winners there were Russell Tonjum and Connor Jardine.
Russell Tonjum and Connor Jardine won the Junior/Amateur class.
Now they were one of the two classes that soon were caught by the faster experts and intermediates so people were passing them for much of the race.
In the end Russell Tonjum and Connor Jardine were the winners of that class.
After picking up his trophy Tonjum said, “That race went very well, it was very rough out there and it was bad but it was run and I had a good time. I need to thank Derrick Huber for getting my bike for me.
Then Jardine added, “It as scary as there were a lot of slow people but I worked my way around them and I need to thank Absolute Drain Service for their support.”
Probably the slowest group should be the Beginner/Novice class. Well while the winner were beginners in motocross they are desert racers but came in with a disadvantage.
“We don’t jump,” Colton Scudder explained.
In motocross jumps are part and parcel of this type of racing but not so on the desert although Scudder and is teammate Ian Prince had an advantage.
Despite not being able to jump, desert racers Ian Prince and Colton Scudder won the Beginner/Novice class.
“I think the key was that we had more endurance so we just lasted longer, ” Prince said.
Then Scudder reaplied, “That’s the desert part, the moto kids go out there and the waste all their energy really quick and we come from the desert so we stay longer.”
Prince added that they raced on the slow side and in fact he was dead last at the end of the first lap when he handed off to Scudder.
“In an hour and a half race the key is pace so the desert guys get the advantage,” Scudder said. “We may not jump but we’ll last the whole time. My teammate kicked some serious butt today.”
Then he thanked Summit Funding for their help, Factory Ride Energy Drink, Dirty Clothing as well as their friends and family. Prince echoed that appreciation for the support they received and then he thanked Jesus for keeping them safe as he never went down all day.
Before the Team Race there was the matter for those 45-minute races. Zayne Bisell won the Beginner/Novice contest and really was never challenged.
The next race had the veteran racers in the 30+, 40+ and 50+ classes. Up front Reece Honea took off and at one time had a huge lead until arm pump slowed him down and gave the overall victory to Matt Wilkins.
Next up was the largest class of the day, the Juniors. Right after the start, in the first turn several riders went down but everyone was able to get up and continue.
The junior winner was Jacob Kinkel but behind him Dylan Thorwaldson was making a charge that brought him up to second. However he was unable to close the gap with the leader.
When the Expert/Pro race began Ryan Ferris got another great start but behind him Collin McHaney was on a charge. Finally McHaney would make the winning pass on the final lap and score the victory.
Despite the hard racing the medics weren’t busy at all so everyone got through the day with nothing more than maybe some bumps and bruises.
Saturday at the Sandbox GP was when the youngsters got their chance at 45-minute races as well as being in a team race. All but the youngest were included.
Saturday was reserved for the youngest riders as well as the women, vintage and bomber racers.
At the bottom end of the age ladder the Pee Wee winners were Henry Young and Pierson Potrats. The women winners were Clarice Albert, Ashleigh Trapanese and Taylor Kemp.
Next motocross at the Sandbox, again hosted by the Reno OTHG, is on the weekend of March 10-11 will start the Battle Born MX spring series.
REPORTER’S NOTE: Full results are at the end of the article and a photo gallery follows that.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
- NASCAR visited Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend and two Nevada natives raced there.
In the NASCAR Cup race Sunday Kyle Busch started on the pole and ended up seventh while older brother Kurt started seventh and ended up eighth. In Saturday’s Camping World Truck race Kyle started on the pole but wound up 21st at the end.
• This reporter will be on Teresa’s Garage Radio Show on Tuesday afternoon. The show runs from 2 until 3 p.m. and covers all things automotive. I’m either there for the entire show or around 2:15 p.m., hope you’ll give it a listen.
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RESULTS:
Fernley-Wadsworth Moto Cross Track
Sand Box Grand Prix – February 24/25
- Sunday Results:
+ BB Beg/Nov: 1.Zayne, Bissell, 2.Kristian Terelak, 3. Jim Tracey Sr., 4. Ziggy Terelak, 5. Dawson Fettic, 6. Brendin Pinkston, 7. Christian Strange, 8. Eric McAuliffe, 9. Josh Pinkston, 10. Kolby Parry, 11. Jim Tracey Jr., 12. Bryce Fettic, 13. Cody Zimmer.
DNF: Tristen Strange.
30+:
+ Beg: 1. Philip Burt, 2. Luke Lane.
+ Jr: 1. Justin Amos, 2. Tate Morehead, 3. Nate Rogne.
DNF: Patrick Griffith.
+ Int: 1. Matt Wilkins, 2. Danny Martin.
+ Exp: Reece Honea, 2. Matt Manha.
40+:
+ Beg: 1. Ty Reilly.
+ Jr: 1. Jarrod Miller, 2. Ryan Albert.
+ Intrm: 1. Aaron Bissell, 2. Chris Leone.
+ Exp: 1. Kevin Harett, 2. Rich Thorwaldson, 3. Jason Shakespeare, 4. Chris Ponsock.
50+:
+ Beg: 1. Doug Wollum, 2. Ted Griffin, 3. Kevin Wick, 4. Richard Cox, 5. Chad Burt.
+ Intrm: 1. Mark Lane, 2. Jay Heying.
+ Exp: 1. Lane Kolbet.
BB Jr: 1. Jacob Kinkel, 2. Dylan Thorwaldson, 3. Trevor Tellez, 4. Austin Lewis, 5. Kai Kapahee, 6. Alex Ficco, 7. Parker Miller, 8. Russell Tonjum, 9. Chris McPartlin, 10. Brendon Borrego, 11. Taron Thompson, 12. John Preston, 13. Chris Martin, 14. Timmy Trainor, 15.Mark Gwaltney, 16. Jonathon Sawyer, 17. Kyle Zimmer, 18. Colton Scudder, 19. Brandon Jacober, 20. Swade Malloy, 21. Johnathan Timmons, 22. Austin Schleyelmilch, 23. Cameron Radli, 24. Jeremy Scoggin, 25. Ne Luzzi.
DNF: Erric Idle, CT Loomis, Collin Hutson, Tristin Furlong, Casey Segale, Rich Thorwaldson, Mason Stone.
BB Int: 1. Chris Paras, 2. Johnathan Ayers, 3. Jerry Illdortz, 4. Brian Bodden, 5. Preston Pheasant.
DNF: Matt Wilkins, Danny Martin.
BB Exp/Pro: 1. Collin McHaney, 2. Ryan Ferris, 3. Jesse Sanchez, 4. Jesse Gore, 5. Michael Jepson, 6. Drew Chattin, 7. Reece Honea, 8. Timo Moore, 9. Matthew Watson, 10. Trent Cocking, 11. Wyatt Brittner, 12. Cody Burke, 13. Ricky Dahlberg, 14. Seth Pruett, 15. Tyler Kowalski, 16. Aaron Burt.
Team Race:
+ Beg/Nov: 1. Prince/Scudder, 2. Billsell/Hasking, 3. Strange/Strange, 4.Tracey/Tracey, 5. Paley/Rummer.
DNF: Egesdahl/Smith.
+Jr/Ama: 1. Jardine/Tonjum, 2. Kapahee/Miller, 3. Conway/Conway, 4. Hutson/Boldi, 5. Brink/Perry, 6. MalloyFischer, 7. Zimmer/Zimmer, 8. Jacober/Monachelli, 9. Gallagher/Honeyman, 10. Lapin/O’Brien, 11. Joy/Block, 12. Listman/Davis, 13.Albert/Cameron, 14. Heying/Cox.
DNF: Mark/Raybuck, Stone/Dotson, Tellez/Scoggin.
+Interm: 1. Thorwaldson/.Thorwaldson, 2. Stone/Kinkel/ 3. Paras/Loomis, 4. Illdoitz/MellenBruce, 5. Borrego/Fye, 6. Fye/Fye, 7. Morehead/Martin, 8. Olson/Wilkins, 9. Thompson/Massman, 10. Owens/Jaranelly, 11.Bissell/Bissell, 12.Leone/Brokaw,13.Gregg/Chick, 14. Ober/Layne
+Expert/Pro: 1.Ferris/Honea, 2. Kowalski/Gore, 3. Moore/Galliett, 4.Hargett/Chattin, 5. VanDover/Jepsen, 6. Brittner/Cocking, 7. Pheasant/Bodden, 8. Dahlberg/Pruett, 9. Dahlberg/Pruett, 10. McPartin/Wilson, 11. Chapman/Fitzpatrick, 12. Amos/Manha, 13. Shakespeare/Leone, 14. Leone/Kolbet, 15. Rogne/Manha, 16. Arrate/Rudd, 17. Fell/Snodgrass, 18.Ponsock/Losey, 19. Reader/Mitchell.
DQ: Sanchez/Burke
• Saturday Results:
50cc:
+ Beg/Nov: 1. Henry Young, 2. Walker Vandover, 3. Gatlin Knight, 4. Garrett Berrington, 5. Keagan Brocchini, 6. Kalvin Roberts, 7. Wyatt Berrington.
+ Jr/Ama – 1. Pierson Potratz.
65cc:
+ Beg/Nov: 1. Hub Losey, 2. Willian Teninty, 3. Christa Ponsock.
+ Jr/Ama: 1. Charlie Albert, 2. Jacob Surane.
+ Interm: 1. Jesse Miller.
85cc:
+ Beg/Nov: 1. Landen Williams, 2. Connor Clifford, 3. Anthony Braur, 4. Landon Wilkins, 5. Luke Halterman, 6. Zachery Cardenas, 7. Ezra Arneson, 8. Colby Olson.
+ Jr/Ama: 1. Tyler Nicholas, 2. Treyton Maskaly, 3. Jacob Latham.
+ Intrm: 1. Cahse Cannizzaro, 2. Demetre Proutsous.
Women:
+ Beg/Nov: 1. Clarice Albert, 2. Denise Schwartz, 3. Denise Ponsock, 4. Emma Hickey.
+ Jr/Ama: 1. Ashleigh Trapanese, 2. Amanda Ross, 3. Ellie Kennedy.
+ Exp: 1. Taylor Kemp, 2. Chanel Honea.
Bomber: 1. Tyler Thompson, 2. Robert Egesdahl.
Vintage: 1. Kehl Lesourd.
Team Races:
+ Mini: 1. Cannizzaro/Proutsous, 2. Nicholas Maskaly, 3. Clifford/Latham, 4. Williams/Braun, 5. Halterman/Cardenas, 6. Olson/Wilkins, 7. Miller/Surane, 8. Albert/Albert.
+ Womens: 1. Losey/Losey, 2 Hannah/Kemp, 3. Honea/Kennedy, 4. Ross/Schwartz.
+ Bomber: Egesdalh/Thompson.
PHOTO GALLERY:
