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/126293
EDesert Hotline ~ E Amateurs and Experts surge through th e canyon after the Sled Riders' bomb. Roese/er starts '78 with Sled Riders H&H win By Gary laudig RED MOU NTAI N , CA ,JAN. 8 The only visible sign of a start in the dust-free desert was a thin line of pre-mix smoke. Bob Balentine emerged from the 14 pucker bushes first and headed up the canyon followed by number one Larry Roeseler (OR Hus) . Bill Becker and C bike rider Charlie Hamill. Tom Kelly (KTM) was next but his tranny soon sounded like it was full of marbles and he shut down. Steve Eckardt (OR Hus) , Max Eddy (Yam). Ron Bebo (Yam). Dan Maurel and Eric McCracken (OR Hus) . riding his first Amateur ride . rounded out the top 10. The canyon wound its way to the top of the Searles. turned left and ridge-ran the length of the range. Making a right turn. the course dropped off a steep slope. crossed a rocky wash , wound up a saddleback then down into some play area. Gary Charters was gaining on Hamill; second Amateur Scott Postma was gaining on McCracken and Tom Mattox was right behind Postma as the racers took check one. The tight fun stuff worked its way into a narrow wash that progressively got bigger as it headed towards the foothills and the valley basi n . Balentine got passed by Roese ler as they headed out across the valley that used to be a neat sandwash. The rain brought forth many boulders so caution had to be used . D .R . Deichman and Jack Froelich both had good bomb runs and were neck and neck heading for the track crossing. Charters and Zarp got flat tires and took the access road back to the pits while Art Knapp . Ray Alexander and Ron Hall followed Tim Fitzpatrick across the tracks and up the rocky wash tha t penetrates the Spangler Mountains. Roeseler regained the lead as he took check two . turned over a rise on a one bike trail that worked into a tight wash that headed back in the direction of the tracks. Steve Lindsey was worki ng his way up from a bad start and had Terry Davis for company as they went through the tight sections. Nate Sciaqua had Ken Miller right beh ind him ; Ken doing quite well for having a bullet hole in his arm. Larry Earhart. James Vincent and Craig Kinnaman hit the binders as the course made a hard right up an almost vertical 10foot embankment into a one bike trail through the rocks and some surprise ravines. Max Eddy picked off 14 riders and moved in behind Balentine. Eric McCracken got with the program and moved in behind Max . The course worked its way back into the Spanglers, Hoyt Statham . Joel Stankavich and Dave Conner navigated ' the trail till it dropped into the mining area . The course headed up a whoop-strewn canyon , turned right and picked up a wash/road section. From here on it was zig-zag' through the puckers . a super ride to the tracks . Roeseler had to ga in th e lead one more time from the st u b bo r n Balentine who was having a great time and a great ride also . Larry pitted and Balen tine took the lead as the KTM jumped onto the pipeline road and headed for the foothills . Hooking a right over the red clay knolls , Balentine worked his way through the new flat section then into the steep rollers before picking up the road that led to the Trona Road crossing. Balentine pitted there and Roeseler took the lead for good. Max Eddy blasted his way down the virgin ravine just before the road crossing running third. The course crossed the road just below the nasty rock downhill . Staying in the wash below. the trail entered a rocky section but they were fun rocks if you can believe that. Once into the Rademach er a rea , the .Sled Riders found st uff the miners didn't even kn ow was there: O ne rocky uphill. some crossgrain sand and ro ck sections, a fla t area then the fi rst railroad track u nderpass. W hen Rick Shirey cleared this "Killer" Kilgore , Trudy Beck and Russ Collins shot through and on into some super trail riding territory. Juan Benividez riding a C bike crossed under the second underpass followed by Don Boese and Keith Smith. Once through here it was a flat area with about four abrupt "gotcha" ditches to make sure you were holding on tight. From this point on it was just fantastic . Making a right tum the co urse wound through some large boulders. The ground was soft , wet sand and the traction was superb . Joe Lockhart and Steve Webb were dicing with Lee Elias and Jeff Robbins. As the foursome worked their way to the top of the tight rock- laced trail . an immediate downhill got their attention. Shooting down this , the guy who does neat wheelies through waterholes for Dirt Bike Magazine. Jim Connolly was having a ride he won't forget for many moons. Before bike p roblems and a return to the pits for rep a irs. the crafty motocross veteran was in the top 10. ~ Mamking his debut as an Amateur, Don Theel was ho lding down second trail bike behind #129T . The downhill dumped into a small wash. tight at first but gradually wider and faster as the racers headed for Charlie's Place. Balentine hounded Roeseler as the two racers headed up the long uphill . the backward section of the 100's race and then entering some gradual rollers and deep hard -pan ravines , both getting airborne . Crossing Trona Road , Max Eddy didn't realize he was as close as he was because there was zero dust for detection . Once across the road Roeseler gassed his black tank OR up into the foothills , picking up a fire road that dribbled off into a one -bike trail heading towards the last rise past Charlie's. Picking up the last check. Larry headed down off the long slope, turned right parallelling the tracks till the road crossing. and went back into the desert down the home stretch and in the over all win . The Novice/Beginner race Leading the mass of bodies and machines was Pa t Cain. Ji m Rother. #285c and Bill Mossman were next. As the racers exited the top of the canyon, Steve Krieger. Mike Kemberling, and the kid from Big Piney . WY . Tagg Guio turned left and headed across the top of the Searles. Ken Oviatt developed bike problems so Lee Midgley and Marty Pollard surged ahead. Cliff Thomas , the Trail No vice who usually smokes the class . had a C bike on his tail with a rider unknown to the dez thus far. Bill Sullenbach. Jeff Moeller was right behind. second Trail Novice. Four bikes back. Craig Weaver and Marv Van Sickle were neck and neck for the Beginner Heavyweight position. At check two Cain still had the lead with Pollard right behind and then Craig Timms. The first six bikes were 250s. Begin ners Jim Eddie and Ron Cooper had Jeff Gifford and Rod Michner, the Beg in ne r C bikers . giving a hard chase. Heading out of the mountains towards the second track crossing, the pl ace where the Dusters crossed their course, Pollard took the lead. The way the one loopers entered the finish area . the club should have let them go the second loop. They sure were not ready to quit. Taking the ove r a ll win was new guy Bill Sallen bach , first C Beginner . Secon d C was I I bikes back. Jeff Gifford a nd Rod Michner right behind for third. First Trail Novice, second overall was Cliff Thomas, with Jeff Moeller right behind Cliff for second. a nd AI Guzm a n was two bikes back for third. Craig Weaver took the Open bike honors finishing a fine fourth overall. Steve Gray was second . Dave Pa rem en t third. Dahlene Dorman was first girl , Lori Theel second. Cliff Ogra in , who trophied last year at this race. motored in for first Senior Open; greedy, greedy. The 250 winner was Jim Eddie, Mark Colb bagged second, Ken Lesser took third. Nearing the neat trail on the second loop that wound through the tall boulders. Joe Penoncello moved up four positions and took aim on third place Timms. Tony Epperson moved up a dozen positions and settled in behind Tony. Wayne Poore was running second Heavy ahead of Jim Rother and Brian Sweeney. Mark Stoner and Alex Long were riding like hell cause they had a dude behind them by the name ofJesse James . no lie number 488. Rod Wheeler and Larry Kunkle let or Jesse stay ahead. About this point in time the racers bega n to realize the uniqueness of this race. They were still just as clean and pretty as when they went to the start line; the pre-mix slop from the pits left no gunge on their tanks . Ron Cotterman beat George Becker to the roller section. Jim Hurley was ahead of Paul Walters. Taking check six . Tom Jones, Rick Boyer and Clarey Mercer headed for Trona Road. Pollard had a smile visible over the top of his Bell Motostar. Taking check seven . he headed for home and the overall win. Just about a mile from the finish his KTM started to sputter then died. He ran out of gas. Chris Harris. Rich Varner and Craig Timms paid their respects as they flew by for the finish line. Marty finally bummed some .gas and finished sixth overall. That's racing. The racers filed through the finish line in high sp irits. I've never seen a happier bunch of desert racers. Not one sniveler cou ld be found. I think it is only fitting we start the year off with a super race and use this as a pattern for inspiration for the remainder of the season. If you dug on the second loop , stop by the Sled Riders camp and t ha n k St eve Cosner. The old determination trophy is split between two Harley-Davidson -sponsored riders . Bruce Ogilvie and Dennis Greene. Bruce's rear axle bolt loosened and the tire moved forward . Starting way after the Novices. he passed them all and was well up in the Amateur/Expert ranks. Dennis was running around