A COMBINATION of sunshine and a slight cool breeze made for perfect weather conditions this past Sunday at the Guam International Raceway in Yigo as fans gathered to watch competitors take it to the tracks in round six of the Monster Energy Guam Motocross Championships. Round six marked the halfway-point in the 2012 series and saw non-stop wheel-to-wheel battles in several races on the day.
Those on Guam who are insiders to the sport of motocross have all been doing a double take as 14-year-old rookie JR Cepeda took control of the Open Motorcycle and 250cc classes.
At the start, with Tim Wenden on a fresh off the showroom floor Honda taking the first heat of two lead and Caleb Barreto on the Cycles Plus Kawasaki on his heels, Cepeda slipped almost unnoticed into the third-place position on lap one. On lap two, Wenden lost control and allowed Barretto to take the lead with Cepeda close behind in second.
By lap three, the fight was on as both Barretto and Cepeda had the elbows out and were leaning forward on the gas. Barretto was protecting the inside line which had slowed the pace just enough to allow Yamaha-mounted Anthony Ignacio to close up the gap on the two leaders. On lap five, after a technical triple jump that leads into a left hand sweeper, Barretto went wide and down allowing both Cepeda and Ignacio to pass and by lap 10, Barretto had faded back to eighth because of a flat tire. At the finish of heat one, it was Cepeda taking first, Ignacio second and Triple J-supported Honda rider Jake Jones in third.
Heat two saw Barretto grabbing the Shell V-Power Hole shot award and then within several laps fade back once again this time to sixth. Wenden, the heat one early leader, took the lead from Barretto for the first three laps but was soon engulfed by the battle that had developed behind him. Up front, the young guns of Ignacio and Cepeda, two riders who have been banging bars since their mini-bike days, were going at it for the win with Wenden being quickly passed and relegated back to third.
Ignacio and Cepeda had the crowd screaming and on their feet as both riders were in a zone side-by-side and flying around the course.
Several times it seemed as if Cepeda had the pass made on Ignacio but Ignacio showed grit as he would come back driving it in deep to regain the lead. Heading into lap seven of 17, Cepeda held it open and let sail to take the lead through the double-jump to double-jump section located in front of the main spectator stand. After that, Cepeda held the lead to the finish, taking the win and taking a 10-point lead in the championships. Ignacio took second with Jake Jones in third.
