Hang town Update: Richmond Racing-

By: Dan Currie

 

This past weekend marked the opening round of the AMA Chevy Trucks US National Motocross Series, but it also marked the first major outdoor race for the Richmond Racing squad during the 2004 season. Representing the Richmond team were 16-year-old Colt Facciotti, local northern Californian Jeff Northrop and the super fast east coaster Donnie McGourty.

 

Saturday

 

Practice went good both days for the team and Pre-Qualifying went fairly good as well. In Pre Qualifier number one, Facciotti came out of the gate a strong second and rode hard the entire race. At the raced end it was Facciotti finishing a decent eighth, which was good enough to get him into Sunday’s program.

 

Pre Qualifier number two featured both Northrop and McGourty. McGourty was on fire and finished an impressive fourth behind Grant, Maier and factory Kawasaki rider Paul Carpenter. Northrop finished in ninth which was moved the local boy into Sundays program.

 

Sunday

Sunday morning practice sessions went well as all three riders worked on lines and bike set-ups. In 125-qualifier number one, Donnie McGourty rode awesome and finished a strong fourth behind top pros like Sorby, Walker and Danny Smith. Jeff Northrop had a qualifying spot in the bag as he was running in fourth on the last lap. With two corners to go, “Norcal” laid it over in the second to last corner, giving up his qualifying position.

 

After qualifying was complete it was off to the LCQ for Northrop and Facciotti. Bad luck struck Facciotti when he was completing lap one when his throttle stuck wide open making it virtually impossible to finish the race. Obviously disappointed, Colt is looking forward to getting the Canadian Nationals underway and showing everyone in Canada what he has to offer.

 

Jeff Northrop’s luck wasn’t much better than Facciotti’s as he struggled in the LCQ as well. Hangtown being his home race, Jeff was more than disappointed, but will move onto brighter things when the 125 West National’s start in Canada this June.

 

With McGourty the only member to make the show, the rest of the team watched on as McGourty tried to represent the Richmond team to the best of his ability. 125 moto one didn’t go smoothly as McGourty would only complete four of the sixteen-lap race.

 

Moto two went a little bit better as McGourty finished the moto in twenty-third position. After getting thirty-eighth gate pick for moto two, McGourty got a far outside gate. With such bad gate positioning it was nearly impossible for McGourty to get a start. After a terrible start, Donnie and his Chevy Trucks sponsored KX250F worked hard the entire thirty-minute moto to end the race in twenty-third position. McGourty finished a decent thirty-first overall but is looking for much better finishes when the series comes north to Canadian soil.

 

Special thanks to all the sponsors who helped make this weekend possible,

Chevy Truck Kawasaki Team Green, Pro Circuit, Richmond Motorsports, Fox, Silkolene, Spy, Dunlop, Sunstar, Pro Taper, Gaerne, Braking, Motion Pro, Vaz Chains, Wiseco, Fast 50, Ogio, N-Style, Hinson, Works Connection, UNI Filter, Athena, Fast-Line, VP