Catching Up with Aron Harvey
March 20, 2005
Aron Harvey’s recent performances in northern Nevada and elsewhere have cemented his reputation as one of the region’s most promising amateurs. In 2004, Harvey put in a number of top finishes at major events, including a pair of top-five performances in the 250cc Intermediate Stock and Modified classes at the AMP Dodge Amateur National at Hangtown. With an effortless riding style and superb support from his family, the 17-year-old Harvey is now poised to make a dent in the national amateur scene in 2005. At round five of the MX West Spring Series in Stead, Nevada, Harvey put in some preparation for the upcoming season by riding away with three class wins, and spoke a bit about his recent accomplishments and future ambitions.

How did it go today?
I felt good. I was just really happy that the mud dried off the track. It was so nice after that. It was awesome.

You had six wins in six motos today. Is riding three classes a strategy for endurance?
Not really. I mean, I can go pretty long without getting tired, which is a good thing.

It seems to be working out for you.
Yeah, it’s been working out really good.

So what are your plans for the rest of this year?
I want to go to all of the amateur nationals. It’s hard, because my dad has to work and all, but we’re going to try to do that, and ride at some Southern California tracks, and do some GFI stuff, too.

When do you see yourself turning pro?
Well, I want to see if I can beat some of the factory guys (at the amateur nationals) and then I’ll start to think about it.

Some of the Intermediate guys at the nationals are as fast or faster than the pros, so if you do well there, you should be fine.
Yeah, exactly. There’s ten guys as fast as I am down there, and a couple that are even faster. So if I can beat them, then I might think about going pro.

Will you be at the World Mini next?
I’m not sure if we’re going to go to that one. We’ve heard some not-so-good things about that place, like people getting hurt. But we might go to Southern California during that time to do some training, which should be fun.

Finally, who are your sponsors?
Michael’s Reno Powersports, Thor, Spy, Renthal, Pro Circuit, Hinson, and my mechanic Roger. And my mom and dad help me out a lot. I wouldn’t be here without them.

Carson City, Nevada; July 1, 2005
Aaron Siminoe (622) unleashed yet another lesson on the virtues of youth and talent to the tune of eight moto victories and four class wins at round four of the MX West Summer Nights Series.

Siminoe, who had just returned from an impressive second-place finish in the 65cc 9-11 class at the Mammoth Mountain Motocross, never lost a moto on his way to the 65cc Intermediate, Super 65cc, 85cc Intermediate and Supermini victories. And despite riding more than 40 laps on the evening, Siminoe didn’t even look winded after completing his final moto of the night.

“It went really good,” Siminoe said, looking calmly satisfied after outlasting a challenge from Wayne Appleton in the final Supermini moto. “I just tried to stay consistent and not make any mistakes.”

That final Supermini moto turned out to be Siminoe’s biggest challenge on the night, as a determined Appleton rode the wheels off of his RM85 in an attempt to displace Siminoe and his KTM at the front, only to find Siminoe’s resolve unshakable. As he had done in every moto prior in the evening, Siminoe met the challenge with a blistering pace and a metronome-like consistency to complete his perfect evening.

“He was pushing me,” Siminoe said of Appleton. “But that was great practice for Loretta’s. So I hope to do the same thing I did here at Loretta’s.”

“Loretta’s” was of course a reference to this year’s AMA Amateur National Championships, in which Siminoe has already earned his spots to compete for a national title in August.

Aron Harvey, another local standout who earned top results in Mammoth, including a fourth-place posting in the 125cc Intermediate final, similarly trounced his competitors with six moto wins to top the 125cc Intermediate, 250cc Intermediate and Schoolboy division one ranks.

Harvey’s only dramatic moment on the night came when he stalled his YZ250F while leading the first 125cc Intermediate moto with only two laps remaining. It looked for a moment that new leader Ryan Eager might grab the victory, but Harvey burned through the gap to the lead in the closing moments and sliced beneath Eager in the second-to-last turn to take the victory.

“I don’t know what happened,” Harvey said. “I was just coming down a straight and it (the bike) stalled. I thought the motor had blown at first. Then I kicked it over and it fired back up so I said, ‘Oh, OK.’ So I just put my head down and went after the leader. I knew exactly where I could pass him on that last lap and I was able to stick it.”

Perhaps most impressive about Siminoe and Harvey was that these two riders, on an evening that featured about 300 riders in 37 classes, claimed nearly 20 percent of the moto victories on the night. Not bad for a couple of kids too young to vote.

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

Results
50 (4-6) PRVTR: 1. Gaige Demars; 2. Connor Jardinie; 3. Austin Walton. 50 (4-6) FCTRY: 1. William Ionno; 2. Dylan Galliett. 50 (7+) PRVTR: 1. Gavin Clouser; 2. Brad Maga; 3. Chad Heishman. 50 (7+) FCTRY: 1. Jesse Sanchez; 2. Austin Rodgers. 65 BEG: 1. Zach Clauser; 2. Ryan Greb; 3. Connor Kelly. 65 JR: 1. Austin Ching; 2. Cole Brosgart; 3. Zach Zito. 65 INT: 1. Aaron Siminoe; 2. Ty Siminoe; 2. Jesse Masterpool. S/65: 1. Aaron Siminoe; 2. Jesse Masterpool; 3. Ty Siminoe. 85 BEG D-1: 1. Jake Devries; 2. Carson Philbrook; 3. Derek Woolford. 85 BEG D-2: 1. Tanner Tremaine; 2. Jason Rubin; 3. Curtis Shapiro. 85 JR: 1. Ty Siminoe; 2. Jake Maga; 3. Weslee Valerio. 85 INT: 1. Aaron Siminoe; 2. Wayne Appleton; 2. Parker Dallas. S/MINI: 1. Aaron Siminoe; 2. Wayne Appleton; 3. Tanner Davis. 125 BEG D-1: 1. Chris Wallace; 2. Randy Brooks; 3. Robert Perez. 125 BEG D-2: 1. Paul Retta; 2. Keaton Moore; 3. Bubba Mason. 125 JR D-1: 1. Phillip Hodge; 2. Jesse Leeper; 3. Travis Keene. 125 JR D-2: 1. Dylan Jennings; 2. Eric Amacker; 3. Colton Cherry. 125 INT: 1. Aron Harvey; 2. Beau Meier; 3. Andrew Valdez. 125 PRO: 1. Tommy Jean; 2. Jimmy Hazel; 3. Matt Buyten. 250 BEG: 1. Matt Mirell; 2. Dee Wade; 3. Josh Roberts. 250 JR: 1. Frank Cody; 2. Jeremiah Gottas; 3. Matt Hazel. 250 INT: 1. Aron Harvey; 2. Eric Gillen; 3. Chris Grant. 250 PRO: 1. Jimmy Hazel; 2. Nick Baugh; 3. Matt Buyten. SCHBY D-1: 1. Aron Harvey;

Carson City, Nevada; July 8, 2005

Division one of the Schoolboy class featured one part of another standout performance by Aron Harvey (7z), who, yet again, rode to six moto wins on the evening to top the 125cc Intermediate, 250cc Intermediate and Schoolboy races. The only element that diminished Harvey’s performance was the predictability--his dominating rides have recently become more of an expectation than a revelation. Nonetheless, his victories remained the most polished and decisive of the evening. Johnny Vallerio and Andrew Valdez followed Harvey for second and third in the Schoolboy race.

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

The Mammoth Mountain MX Tally
2005 Mammoth, California; June 16-26, 2005
Northern Nevada riders represented themselves well at the 2005 Mammoth Mountain Motocross, claiming high finishes in a variety of classes on the epic hillside circuit.

Aron Harvey of Carson City delivered perhaps the most noteworthy performance as he delivered top-six finishes in the 125cc, 250cc and Open Intermediate classes. Harvey earned his highest finish in the hyper-competitive 125cc race, coming home fourth behind Josh Hill, Jarred Browne and Kevin Rookstool.