| Golden, Cannon, Hammond Hammer ’em! |
9/6/2008 |
PERRIS, CA
When the riders stormed off the line for the first moto, it was AMA Women’s National Amateur Champion Vicki Golden absconding with the holeshot, over Lindsay Didlake, Lauren Hammond (38), Lacie Price, Heather Miller, Weishin Wolte, Heather Majcherek, Lauren Jung, Taylor Cannon, Jessica Lane and Lisa Rolland.
As Golden checked out, Miller dropped it in a corner, allowing the entire pack to scream by. Wolte jammed into the point position among the Beginner class, over a stunned Didlake, Hammond and Price. Majcherek held a solid fifth. Jung, meanwhile, sliced through the Beginner and Novice riders and now ran in second overall, behind Golden.
In the Beginner class, with Wolte out front, Didlake and Hammond engaged in a dogfight that lasted the entire race. Hammond dived to the inside and passed Didlake, but Didlake blasted the outside berm to inch back in front. Their battle raged from corner to jump, with neither rider giving an inch, while Price was lurking close behind, just waiting for the opportunity to pounce.
Wolte pulled out a commanding lead on the Beginner class and was flat out gone. As Hammond and Didlake entered lapped traffic, Didlake got balked by a lapped rider, losing three seconds to Hammond and falling into Price’s clutches.