Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126243
... . . --------.-._----------------------------------- --------_._------ The top three - (from left) Larry Roeseler, " Blue Max" Eddy, Marc Cartwright, after a brisk'go-mile trail ride. , Roeseler wins fast Vikings AMA D·37 Hare Scrambles By Gary Laudig LUCERNE VALLEY , CA . ,JAN. 9 I arrived at the race area shortly after noon Saturday, and asked the Vikings about the course. " It's long and fast ," they said. 90 miles-plus is a good day's work , but thanks to lots of rain in the past week it was a desert race without the dust . Larry Roeseler was sporting his new 250 Husky with the leading axle forks . Brent Wallingsford had his bike together and was ready to "go for it." Jeff Kaplan, (that greedy dude) . isn't satisfied with number one AMA D·!!7 Division II ; he was out with a new 250 Husky. With Tom Brooks (KTM). Max Eddy (KTM) and Speedway star Jim Fishback. the stage was set for one hell of a race. The banner dropped at 10:05 . and leading the pack was none other than Marc Cartwright on his Bear Daly , tuned 250 KTM. Right on his fender were Bruce Lewellyn , Chuck Pettigrew, Max Eddy , Jim Fishback, Larry Roeseler and Brent Wallingsford. Due to the dust-free bomb run the small sand wash trailhead was wall-to-wall bikes . Cartwright continued holding his lead. then out of nowhere. came Bruce Ogilvie and his Harley. Bruce managed to stretch out a two minute I~ad before his tranny decided not to race anymore. Bruce Lewellyn was in third now , thinking he must be riding over his head by running so well. He started down a sort of zig-zag trail, zigged the wrong way and went over the bars, losing his goggles and tweaking his front end. By the time he got going again, he was tenth with no goggles. He stopped at check one and a Viking boy. Sam White, loaned him goggles. which enabled Lewellyn to finish 24th overall, second in class. R ick Shumaker of the Desert Vipers , running first Expert Div . II had Sled Rider Mitch Payton right on his heels 'til Mitch blew a tire. The race pace stayed pretty much the same around the first loop, with very few changes due to the far-out visibility. First Novice to the bomb was Craig Denton , with Mike Lewellyn right behind. First Beginner was Tony Epperson with David Chase close. Believe it or not . the Novices came out of the sand wash only half ascrazyas he Amateur/Expert crowd. Out on the second loop it was Cartwright and Roeseler neck and neck, with the "Blue Max" Eddy about three- seconds behind. Cha rlie Barney did an exciting "almost" get -off coming out of the pits. He worked up to fifth before his KTM stopped. Number 105x was leading the Novices on the second loop. He said he missed a check and didn't want to give his name so that made it Steve Nelson of So Cal and Mike Lewellyn of Desert MC first and second respectively. I loaded up my gear and raced to the finish line to see the climactic end to this duel in the desert. While waiting for the stars, Dave Conner came in for first Beginner, second going to Tony Epperson of So Cal. The two-loop finishers appeared in the distance and it was Larry Roeseler first overall, first 250, with "B lue Max" Eddy co mi ng in for second overall , first Open Expert . Marc Cartwright finis hed "t h ir d overall, second 250 . He said, " Max's 400 had too many beans for me to maintain. " Bob Doig came from somewhere in the pack to finish fourth overall , second Open Expert. Jim Fishback got third Open. Rick Shoenmaker bagged first Div. II Expert, with Ron Hall of So Cal second. Ron said he loved the course and , "It was the best race this year." Charlie Hamill bagged first Trail Expert. with Dennis McLaughlin in second. Dennis rode his tail off to come from way back to crash with the finish in sight. First Open Amateur was John White. Steve Spragle crashed on a downhill , but got up and held onto first Amateur 250 with John Tobin of the Desert Vipers second. 'The Amateur trailbike leader had his hands full to finish first . Karl Miller got a front flat, then his Vesco tank tried to escape. He pulled it off anyhow , with Don Griewein second. First Overall Novice and first Open was Steve Nelson of So Cal with Mike Lewellyn in for second and " Killer" Ki lg or e in for third . "Forgot -tom e n tio n Section" first Open Amateur Oldtimer Mr. Don Ogilvie . A consensus vote on the course said - it was marked well and a lot of fun! Without the help of the Vikings MC the unofficial results would not be possible. The only complaint was the presence of mini bikes and "putters" on the race course. That's a big no-no. Resu lts in Results Section. IAbovel Cartwright led bomb run on his 250, (Below) Dust-free riding . 21