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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126293
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Desert Hotline
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M ike Martin took his first overall
win at CRC.
One of the many Frosty Cactus downhills. The bottom is in the middle. out
of sight
16
ch eck was .3 miles off its proper
location; according to URA officials,
the scores will be adjusted.
The second loop headed away from
the camp, but came back quickly to
attempt a short, steep hill within sight
of the start. A few riders seemed to
have trouble with the tacky surface.
After that, more uphills and
'd own hills, and a fireroad near
Government Peak that led a downhill
of National enduro caliber. The first
check was slightly past that point and,
as in the first loop, it was the tiebreaker. Interesting note: The threemile speedo check was right near the
top of a steep hill ; not too many riders
were seen stopped and checking their
odometers.
After mixing it up in rocky gullies,
rocky hills, etc., the riders got some
rolling trail to get back on time, with
averages that ranged from 18 to 24
mph. Most of the hilly stuff fell in the
18·20 mph bracket.
The second check was about 12
miles out, located in a sandwash at the
bottom of a steep downhill. The check
could be seen from the top of the hill ,
but riders were too busy trying to
navigate through the rocks to look up.
One of URA's favorite moves on the
second loop was to send the course up
a sandwash or gully, then spring a
sharp tum and a good hillclimb on the
riders. They did it several times.
The course came out the hills and
started heading for Koehn Dry Lake.
The average was boosted to 36 mph
entering a five mile section of fireroad.
A check was located after the third
tum.
T h e fireroad continued in the
direction of Camp C , bu t , the course
tu rned off before it got there. Some
cross-country ru nning a t a mo re sedate
24 mph, one last good downhill, a
check at 28 m iles a nd the finish a t 33
mi les com plet ed the end uro. There
were a few that zeroed th e cou rse, but
resu lts were not available by press
time.
T he enduro was ch allenging for the
less-expe rienced . T he wea ther helped
out what mi ght have bee n a very
difficult event. T he organization was
good, the marking adequate. A nice
Sunday ride. all in all.
Martin hits the
jackpot at CRC H&H
By Jerry G. Welton
LUCERNE VALLEY , CA,JAN. 8
Mike Martin. mounted on a 390
Husqvarna , came from a mediocre start to capture the overall
win at C RC's hare and hound at
Lucerne Valley.
Shortly after 9 o'clock, the first
wave , consisting of Experts and
Amateurs, left the start line on
their way to the smoke. The first
to reach the bomb was Morgan
Malocco (400 IT) with Dave Woods
(400 Yam) , Steve Heinze (400 Yam )
and Al Wurtzel (250 Suz) in pursuit.
Bill Saltzman (390 Hus) and "Bad"
Brad Henson (175 IT) were moving up
on the leaders shortly after the bomb .
As the course proceeded into the
hills, Malocco had already begun to
stretch his lead. Saltzman moved up
rapidly through the sand whoops and
about seven miles out, took over
second place. Malocco was aware of
Saltzman's presence and began to bear
down. While twisting the throttle a
little harder, Malocco siezed a piston
and was forced to park his bike.
Henson and his lightweight by this
time was running second overall .
Back in the pack, Monte Lee (250
Yam) was doing some moving up of his
own. Ru nni ng about 10th at the
smoke, Monte had worked his way up
to third. Scot Du ncan (250 Yam) had
a good start in the top ten and was
running well withou t problems.
About halfway around the first
lo op ,
Sa lt zm an
ex perienced
mec hanical ills and slowed a great
dea l, losing th e lead to Henson.
By this time He inze had put the
move on Hi bba rd an d was in firm '
contro l of thi rd. W u rtzel was running
fifth, despite problems with a cracked
pipe.
As the first bikes came around and
completed the first lap it was " Bad"
Bra d Henson leading the way with
a bout 15 secon ds be tween himself and
• • orora ••~ •• a ••••v ••~
Monte Lee. He nson pulled into the
Dez Diggers pit for fuel and was out in
an instant. Lee was in his pit for a long
time , long enough for Heinze and
Hi bb ard to arrive. Wurtzel was the
next bike to appear on the scene as he
headed straight for the Cycle Products
pit for petrol. Martin came through a
short time later with Duncan, Briesner
and 1841 running just moments apart.
Amateur Lightweight Chuck Mill (175
Yam) was running very well , rounding
out the top ten on lap one.
Judging by the way the bikes were
coming in close order, it was evident
that a fast pit stop was essential.
In the Junior/Senior class, Boyd
Jantzi (400 Yam) was the leader with
Amateur Ed Waldheim (400 KTM)
right behind him.
Laura Lockridge (250 Yam) was
leading the Women's class after her
. great start and wasted no time in
heading out for the second loop.
As Henson headed out on his second
loop everyone thought he had it made.
The first of two separate loops was
supposed to be the fastest and lap two
was the more challenging section.
Heinze was running second as a
result of Lee's lengthy pit stop but that
was only temporary. Heinze got off in
some whoops and dislodged his chain ,
sidelining him for an indefinite
period.
Martin was still on the move and
had picked off Wurtzel and his injured
bike, as well as the tiring Hibbard , for
third .
"Bad" Brad's run for the money was
stopped short as his fifth and sixth
gears let go , damaging his 'cha nces of
finishing. Lee then took the lead only
to get a flat tire but continued on .
Martin was now in second and closing
fast .
Beisner was really moving up on the
leaders also . After getting by Hibbard ,
and dicing with Duncan he had moved
up to third with Duncan filling in
fourth.
At the finish it was very close . As the
first two riders reached the dry lake it
was Lee, but Martin made a last
second charge and snatched the lead
a nd the overall victory in the last 40
yards. Beisner was within ten seconds
of the leaders as he finis he d with
Dunca n right on his tail. The first four
riders finished closer than I'd ever seen
in my life. Shortly after Dunca n cam e
Jeff Lambson (250 Yam) with a b roken
front brak e cable and a fla t fr ont tire .
Lambson ca me from well ba ck in the
pack and did 'an outstanding job as did
Ra ndy Fleming (250 Yam). Fleming
and Jambson were close most of the
d ay. Flem ing was handicapped by no t
being gea red up properly for desert
but still finished well. Hibbard was in
next with lightweight Miller following.
Eric Burney (390 Hus) was out of the
top 10 on the first loop but managed
to snag ninth overall. "Steady" Fred
Strong (ITS IT) rounded out the top
ten with yet another one of his usual
consistent rides . Wurtzel was in at
eleventh with a fractured pipe and a
loss of horsepower but still captured
the 250 Junior/Senior title.
Jeff Matthews (250 Yam) edged out
Tim Nething (250 Hus) for the 250
Amateur win , finishing in the top 20 .
Jeff Cannon (250 Hus) was the first
overall Novice and Brett Henson (400
IT) was victorious in the Open
Amateur class.
In the Open J unior/ Senior class,
Boyd J a nt zi rolled to victory as did Ed
W a ldheim in the Amateur d ivision .
L a u r a Lock ridge r od e virtu a lly
unc hall eng ed for the W ome ns
division.
The Beginners were re a lly ge tting
with th e program today as Ji mmy
Donaldson (25 0 Yam) captured the
overall win with J unior/ Senior rider
Chris Cord a nd his Cycle Products
KT M not far behind.
As for Mike Martin, the overall
vict or for the day, he took home the
jackpot and his first ever overall win.
Allen Sottosa nti is C RC 's new
promoter, and everyone enjoyed the
course he set up today. The Desert
M.C. from District 37 ran their course
across it and took down some CRC
ribbon. This caused some people to
become confused but most of the
riders were able to stay on course.
CR C and District 37 are going to have
to start cooperating with one another
in order to prevent this type of thi ng
from happening again. According to
Sotrosanti, it will be taken care of.
The course was excellent and dust
was non- existent.
Results
OPEN EX: Mike Martin IHuBI, Heath Hibbard IVaml ,
Eric Burney IHusl.
250 EX: Monte Lee (Yaml. Doug Beisnet' (Sud. Scot
Duncan (Yaml.
200 EX: Fred Strong lin.
OPEN AM : Brett Henson lin.
250 A M: Jeff Matt hews {Yaml, Tim Nething (Husl.
200 A M : Chuck Miller lin.
250 NOV: Jeff Cannon IHuBI. Paul Vanderby IHuB).
Brett Cushing tHusl.
OPEN BEG: Gary Lowe IVam).
250 BEG: Jim Donaldson (Yaml. Quint Taylor IHusl .
JR. OPEN EX: Boyd Jantzi {Yaml. Frank Ardaro
IKTMI.
JR OPEN AM : Ed Wa ldheim IKTMI.
AM . WOMEN: Laura Lockridge {Varni.
200 BEG: Alan Dryden {Suli. Mark Purser