{"id":386529,"date":"2023-03-03T06:03:38","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T20:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=386529"},"modified":"2023-03-03T06:03:38","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T20:03:38","slug":"two-in-a-row-for-celis-in-veterans-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/two-in-a-row-for-celis-in-veterans-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Two in a row for Celis in Veterans Class"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>
Dave Celis leads the Veteran Class of the 2023 Monster Energy Point Series Race last Sunday at the Cowtown Race Track. (LAO ZHANG)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dave Celis again took the checkered flag in the Veteran Class of the 2023 Monster Energy Point Series Race last Sunday at the Cowtown Race Track.<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old edged Expert Class winner Justis \u201cCuki\u201d Alvarez in the Marianas Racing Association February race with a perfect score of 50 points to follow up his victory in the January edition of the competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alvarez finished second in the six-lap race with 44 points, followed by Melvin Cepeda\u2019s 40 points. Charles Cepeda (36 points), Bob Ferrer (31 points), and Ray Yumul (31 points) complete the lineup for the Veterans Class in the February race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rode it smart and safe again. It\u2019s dry and hot [on the track], but it\u2019s all part of motocross so no excuses,\u201d said Celis, who did acknowledge that Alvarez is the true GOAT of motocross on the island.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe battled all race long. He just shadowed from start to finish and I just managed to fend him off with the right moves and riding technique at the end,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Celis said if not for Alvarez taking him under his wing, he wouldn\u2019t be half the motocross rider he is today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI owe a lot of my success in the sport of motocross to him because we train together and belong to the same racing team\u2014Trench Tech Racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celis also thanked all the motocross riders who continue to pursue the hobby despite the tough economic times.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to continue to do motocross because of the rise in gas prices and other commodities,\u201d he said, adding that it\u2019s more difficult for families like theirs who have not one but several riders in the family.<\/p>\n

He dedicated his February win in the Veterans Class to his family, especially his wife, Shoko; his Trench Tech Racing family; and Joeten Motors Co.\/Yamaha.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife has always been super supportive of me and our two daughters who also ride. I also want to thank Boss Alvarez (Joeten Motors Sales manager) for giving me a great deal on my new 2022 Yamaha YZ250F. I also want to thank Pacific Trading Co. and Charles Cepeda (MRA president and PTC general manager) for all their help in making the points series possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Celis, who is a board member of MRA, also thanked the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office and the Department of Public Works for always helping them make the course ready for their monthly races.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dave Celis again took the checkered flag in the Veteran Class of the 2023 Monster…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":386503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-386529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}