Salminen Steals the Win in San Antonio

You know what they say about racing: The only lap that counts is the last lap. And that's a lesson that Kurt Caselli seems to be getting more and more these days for some reason.

The latest teacher was KTM teammate and recent training partner Juha Salminen of Finland, and the place was Cycle Ranch MX Park in Floresville, Texas, on February 27, site of round three of Rocky Mountain ATV/MC World Off-Road Championship Series and presented by Toyota and KTM.

Caselli got the lead after the first corner and proceeded to lead every lap thereafter in the two-hour race around a very muddy, rutted course. Salminen, on the other hand, clashed with another racer on the first lap and had to make a quick stop to fix the airbox cover. He also tipped over the next lap. Both moves put him far back in the field.

But he didn't give up or get flustered. Instead, the multi-time world enduro champ went to work methodically but quickly, reeling off quick lap times that projected a close battle at the end if he kept it up.

"If you start riding like crazy in the beginning, you make so many mistakes and you lose energy," Salminen said. "Two hours is a long time, and you have to think like that."

Five laps into the race, he was in second-a distant second but second place nonetheless. But he reeled off laps consistently quicker than Caselli, ranging from one to 15 seconds quicker, in fact, with most in the seven- to nine-second-faster range.

That drew him within striking distance of the young Californian as the race wound down to the final few laps.

"I got a little tired towards the end and started making some mistakes, but besides that, I was fine," Caselli insisted. Asked if it was nerve-wracking knowing that Salminen was coming up behind him, Caselli answered, "Yeah and no. I know that Juha can, at any given point, can go ahead to push to get up front. I rode my own race, and he rode his own.

"It kind of sucks that I'm down to second, but at the same time I've got a lot more confidence going into the next round."

Team Green's Lance Smail also had that feeling, having been passed on the last lap by Ty Davis and losing third place. He tried to repass Davis but his attempt ended up inadvertently blocked by a lapped rider, allowing Davis to ride away for third.

That in itself proved an interesting story as the Montclair Yamaha racer didn't put in a single lap of practice-along with several other top racers including most KTM riders. Most felt that due to the wetter conditions in Saturday's practice, the forecast for a dry day on Sunday and the likelihood of course changes would negate any chances to familiarize themselves with the course. (It would also spare mechanics from having to nearly rebuild the bikes after practice.)

But in Davis' case, he didn't ride practice because he was three states away. "Yesterday was a good day. I won all three classes [I rode] at the Adelanto Grand Prix," he said. After that, he caught a late red-eye, arriving in San Antonio at 7:00 A.M. So, he played it smart. "I said, 'You know, I think the best thing is to lay back and let these guys get their goggles dirty and pass them when they start throwing their goggles off.' If we were here yesterday and saw where the course went, I would've been more aggressive at the start and maybe got out there with these guys."

Even more difficult was the transition from high-speed desert to the mud and woods as well as jumping from a four-stroke to a two-stroke (in fact, the first four rode 250 two-strokes in Texas). But Davis eventually found his mud legs and began catching up. "And I think that just motivated me to keep going and going," he said. "The next thing you know, I'm 12th, then 10th, then eighth, then sixth. I was, like, 'Wow!' Then I saw I was third, and I'm thinking, 'I can't believe I podiumed!'"

Though Salminen will concentrate on the GNCCs this year, he will jump into other races when he has the chance and feels it might benefit him in maintaining race-fitness. So, there's a good chance that he'll use his WORCS license again later this year. When he does, though, expect Caselli to try to be the one who leads on the last lap.

Pro Results

1. Juha Salminen, KTM
2. Kurt Caselli, KTM
3. Ty Davis, Yamaha
4. Lance Smail, Kawasaki
5. Russell Pearson, Yamaha
6. Ricky Dietrich, Kawasaki
7. Destry Abbott, Kawasaki
8. Justin Williamson, Yamaha
9. Mike Kiedrowski, Suzuki
10. Nick Pearson, Kawasaki
11. Eric Rhoten, Honda
12. Matt Karlsen, Honda
13. Craig Wesner, Kawasaki
14. Nathan Woods, Yamaha
15. Damian Galford, Kawasaki
16. David Pearson, Kawasaki
17. Jesus Zavala, KTM
18. Brian Garrahan, Suzuki
19. Ryan Dudek, Yamaha
20. Bobby Bonds, KTM
21. Micky Griffin, Yamaha
22. Kyle Beshaw, Kawasaki
23. Shane Watts, KTM