Travis Pastrana's Last 125cc Supercross 2001 Las Vegas 125cc East/West Shootout

This is the 2001 Dave Coombs Sr. 125cc East/West Shootout from Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV.

In 2001, Team Suzuki's Travis Pastrana was just about wrapping up his 2nd full year of 125cc Supercross. After finishing 3rd overall behind Brock Sellards and eventual champ Stephane Roncada in 2000, Travis came into 2001 with expectations of a 125cc East Supercross title. After Roncada won the 125cc East in 2000, he decided not to defend his title and advance to the 250cc class full-time for Team Kawasaki. Brock Sellards, who lost that title by just 4 points, didn't have much of a redemption season for 2001.

Travis Pastrana started out 2001 on the 250cc machine. He debuted well at Anaheim 1 with an impressive and steady 5th place. Unlike his 125cc debut where he tried doing tricks and even crashed into the tuffblocks in Indianapolis, Pastrana abstained from all his Freestyle tricks (save for a brief no-footer after his heat race). At San Diego, Pastrana crashed hard on the first lap and ended up 20th. At Anaheim 2, Pastrana was running in the top 10 before pulling out due to dizziness and passing out on his motorcycle due to a problem with his ear that affected his equilibrium; the result: another 20th place. Travis would end his 250cc swing then and there and get ready for the 125cc East opener at Indianapolis.

When the 125cc East began, Travis Pastrana did what was expected and dominated the first round at Indianapolis over Yamaha of Troy's Nathan Ramsey #28. Pastrana's luck turned sour in round 2 at Atlanta when he crashed off the start and finished 14th. Ramsey, now aboard his new YZ250F, took his first win of the season at Atlanta, and his first since the 1999 125cc Shootout at Las Vegas on Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Pastrana would reel off 4 straight wins (including riding the first 250cc heat at St. Louis) while Ramsey struggled to a 3rd, 2 5ths, and a 2nd at St. Louis in a head-to-head battle with Pastrana. Pastrana led Ramsey by 11 pts. going into the final round at Pontiac; that meant Travis had to finish 7th or better to win the title if Ramsey won the race. As it turned out, Ramsey did win the last race of the season at Pontiac despite a wild ride in the main event. Pastrana wisely sat down for 2nd place, which gave him his 1 and only Supercross championship. It was Suzuki's first title since Tim Ferry won the 125cc East in 1997 with 0 wins; Pastrana had won 5 races in 2001. Although Ramsey lost out on the 125cc East title by 8 points, all was not lost for Yamaha of Troy -- #25 Ernesto Fonseca won the 125cc West Supercross Championship on a YZ250F himself with 5 wins of his own.

In this race, KTM's David Pingree #46 snagged the holeshot, but he was quickly passed by Ernesto Fonseca on the #1W. Shortly after that, the race turned into a 3-rider battle between Fonseca, Ramsey, and Pastrana (on his #1E RM125). Pastrana and Ramsey pressured Fonseca lap after lap, but Fonseca kept his cool and the lead. On lap 13, Ramsey passed Fonseca; Pastrana tried to pass Fonseca, too, but Travis cased the first triple badly and dropped 3 seconds behind the 2 Yamaha of Troy teammates. Fonseca later bobbled in the whoops but avoided a crash; one lap later, Fonseca DID crash in the whoops and would finish 8th. At the checkers, it was Nathan Ramsey who took his 2nd career 125cc Shootout victory to go along with his win from 1999. Pastrana finished 2nd, and KTM's Brock Sellards #18 took 3rd. For the 2nd consecutive year, a divisional champion failed to win the shootout (Pastrana won as a non-champion in 2000).

Unfortunately, Travis' 250cc career didn't work out. He began 2002 with a DNF and a problem with his front tire disk. Travis rebounded for 3 straight podiums before crashes, illnesses, and injuries forced him to the sidelines after Daytona. Pastrana was sent to the sidelines AGAIN after the 3rd moto of the 2002 250cc Motocross season. 2003 was no better -- Travis only competed in a total of THREE events (2 SX, 1 MX moto).

Enjoy.

NOTE: I did film this with my digital camera back in 2010, but I decided to reupload this race in better quality just for fun.

Видео Travis Pastrana's Last 125cc Supercross 2001 Las Vegas 125cc East/West Shootout канала MathewV21688