Wins for Aaron, Bell and Craig... Gas Gas Sweep!
Rounds 7 & 8. Pennsylvania.

ERE Gas Gas 280 Pro rider Geoff Aaron once again showed his drive and ability by winning both days in extremely tough conditions in Pennsylvania. With heavy rain and flood warnings in effect, it was a difficult trial. The sections were not eased for the conditions, so the riders were challenged to the extreme! Many of the sections were close to impossible, so the riders had to put in big efforts to escape for the minimum possible score. Section one only saw Ray Peters make the end cards, and section 15 had nothing but 5's. Geoff couldn't relax, as usual suspects Wilson Craig and Ryon Bell were breathing down his neck. On Saturday, Wilson came away with second place, a mere 7 points behind Geoff, with Ryon a further 8 points adrift. To put it in perspective, the 10th placed Champ rider, Keith Wineland from Colorado, finished on 173 points, and average of almost 4 points per section. Geoff's winning score of 87 was a shade under 2 points per section. On Sunday, Geoff won on 64 points. Second and third places were reversed, with Ryon Bell second on 82, and Wilson in third on 85. Needless to say, the dominance of the Gas Gas Pro continues. Since the Pro was introduced, it has won every single National, with wins coming from 4 different Pro riders. Also worthy of praise is young expert rider Cody Webb, who comfortably won both days of the event against the toughest competition in years.
Full PDF resuults sheets are available from Sacramento Pits;

Round 7

Round 8
Rounds 9 & 10. Rhode Island.

An excellent Trial was held in much more enjoyable conditions in Rhode Island. Geoff came into this event feeling very comfortable, and was certainly not easing back on the effort. Despite Geoff's intention of coming away with two more wins, it was not to be. An inspired and confident Wilson Craig has been eying the top prize all year, and finally mounted the top step of the podium on Saturday. Wilson has been threatening all year, and finally found the consistency he needed. In a relatively low scoring event, Wilson finished on 17 points total. A five on the first loop left Wilson trailing back in third place, but his final loop of 2 points was the best of the day. In second place came Geoff Aaron, 4 points behind Wilson. Third was taken by Chris Florin, whose first loop score of just 3 points eclipsed everyone. Fourth was taken by Ryon Bell, on 32 points. Ryon was inconsistent, and suffered two fives which left him with too much to do.

Ryon was extra determined on Sunday, and made up for Saturdays mis-step with a strong win. Ryon and Wilson swapped places, with Wilson dropping down the order to fourth on 37 points. 25 of Wilsons points were in fives, while Ryon only suffered two. Second and third places were the same as Saturday, with Geoff taking second, 3 points back from Ryon, and Chris Florin once again having a strong showing in Third. The best loops of the day came from Ryon, not once, but twice with 4 point loops on laps 2 and 3.

Cody Webb again won both days of the Expert class, giving him what appears to be an unassailable lead in the series. This is amazing for such a young rider. Many are looking to Cody to rise all the way to the very top of the tree in the next few years.

In the Champ class Geoff has a 36 point lead with 3 rounds remaining. Ryon Bell would need to make up 12 points per event on Geoff to take the Championship. This would mean Ryon would have to win all three, with Geoff finishing 4th or lower each time. Since Geoff has finished no worse than 2nd this year, it's looking good for Geoff's unprecedented 7th National title!
TEAM RYON BELL REPORT: U.S. Outdoor Nationals, Rounds 9/10, Rhode Island

Ryon Bell Tops Day Two of Rhode Island. July 1, 2003. Courtesy of: Mike Thuleen, (208) 890-1557, trials@dav.net

"This makes the drive worthwhile!", exclaimed Ryon as he and minder Ian Banfield started their 3,000 mile, 50-hour drive home late Sunday evening following Ryon’s victory over fellow Gas Gas rider Geoff Aaron of day two of the Rhode Island National. The event was held in the same area used for prior national and world-level events.

However, things didn’t look good before the event. "On the days before the National, the temperature was really high, up at 100 degrees fahrenheit," explained Ryon, "and it was 100% humidity. No one wanted to practice, but I went out for an hour, and came back totally exhausted. Fortunately, it cooled off for the event."

"It was one of the easier trials of the year. Fifty percent of the sections were on big rock slabs, and the other fifty percent were creek sections with jumbles of rocks you had to pick your way through." said Ryon. "But, I just wasn’t in it all the way on Saturday. I was struggling in practice, and I made some silly mistakes. It was an event with low scores, so a big mistake really dropped you back. A the end of the day, I was quite surprised to still be in fourth place." Teammate Wilson Craig took the overall on Saturday, followed by Geoff Aaron and Ray Peters.

For Sunday, Ryon and Ian refocused with renewed determination. "The first lap went well," summarized Ryon, "and so I buckled down on the second and third loops and put in two very good loops. I was able to win by three points over Geoff."

Results Round Nine:

1. Wilson Craig Gas Gas 17

2. Geoff Aaron Gas Gas 21

3. Chris Florin Montesa 23

4. Ryon Bell Gas Gas 32

5. Ray Peters Beta 48


Results Round Ten:

1. Ron Bell Gas Gas 21

2. Geoff Aaron Gas Gas 24

3. Chris Florin Montesa 30

4. Wilson Craig Gas Gas 37

5. Ray Peters Beta 41


Current Standings:

1. Geoff Aaron Gas Gas 281

2. Ryon Bell Gas Gas 245

3. Wilson Craig Gas Gas 219

4. Chris Florin Montesa 180

5. David Chavez Sherco 162
Full PDF resuults sheets are available from Sacramento Pits;

Round 9

Round 10
Footnote: The Gas Gas Pro 280 model continues its unbeaten run at the top of the pack in the Championship class. No other machine has made the technological leap that Gas Gas introduced with the Pro model in 2002. Gas Gas USA remains committed to offering the best prices in the business. With the US dollar dropping 34% against the Euro in the last 12 months it's becoming difficult to keep the prices down. If forecasts for the future are correct, it may be that the best time to pick up your new Gas Gas is now!