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"King Richard" Burleson (201) stomps mightily to get his Husky started. Starting next to him is Chris Carter. AMA Two-Day ISDT Qualifier Series - Round four Burleson "King of the Dust" at Trask By Lane Campbell McMINNVILLE, OR, JUNE 9·10 Leaving on the second minute and never looking back, Husqvarna's "King Richard" Burleson took overall honors in what may have been the dustiest Trask Two-Day ever. Visibility was the major problem both days. as unusually dry soil conditions raised clouds of choking dust anywhere a wheel was turned, 20 The grass-meadow special test resembled a war zone, with a pall of dust that could be seen for mileS hanging in the still morning air on Sunday. For riders in the Q.ualifier class, most of the two 144-mile loops presented a dusty trail,ride with only a few surprises. The major surprise on Saturday was a tum that many riders missed prior to Check six. Among the strayed was Carl Cranke, who lost 600 route points in that section. Needless to say. Carl was among the more eloquent in pleading that the leg be thrown out. Ted Leimbach (KTM), Steve VanWatetmeulen (Mai) and Dwight Rudder (Suz) also gOt burnt for some points there. The major question was, "Had enough arrows been torn down to i"tIValidate that pan of the course?" The club had been fighting a running battle with course saboteurs both days. Nothing could be decided until cneckpoint coordinator Joh.n Rothlisberger returned from the far end of the loop Sunday afternoon. On arrival, he told CN: "My recommendation would be to leave the section in. Not enough had missed the turn to penalize those who did it right. " The trouble had occurred just after riders turned left off a road onto the trail. There was a second left JUSt after that, and someone had ripped down a "W" marker beyond the second tum. "I hid in the bushes after fixing the ·W·." said Rothlisberger. "and I still saw people miMing the tum." The dust was that thick. and the riders were that wired. Saturday took in toll in injuries, mostly to legs and feet. although a McMinnville· area Suzuki rider. Sam Cox. required 15 stitches to close his scalp after somehow ramming his duckbill up between his helmet and his head. Kevin Davis, 175cc KTM rider from Aspen, CO, broke his left leg just above the ankle, in a section called "Whiteface." By Saturday evening, Kevin was mobile (crutches and soft cast) and hanging out in the impound area. "It (the schedule) was gettin' right," Kevin told CN, "and I looked down a minute. Musta' hit a little rock about then, for 1 went slidin'. The bike came after me and caught my leg. I was doin' real well today - I think ... " Asked how Whiteface got its name, Kevin quipped, "It makes your face tum white as you ride down it." In terms of schedule, the section between Check seven and eight (including Whiteface) was the tightest - so tight aft& a relatively easy schedule that most of the time lost (among those who made the aforementioned tum) was lost here. Even normally unflappable Dane Leimbach (125cc SWM) admitted to going BTTW just to get into the check on his.grace. The first day had been on a "wet weather" schedule due to the dust. For Sunday (now that everybody knew what to expect), the club bumped the speed up and put everybody ("Q:' and "B" rider) on the same timetable. Among the first to walk into the impound Sunday morning were Gary Edmonds, carrying a rear brake backing plate and brake rod for his prototype 400 Suzuki, and Dick Burleson, carrying a fresh rear tire for his Husky. Burleson had ridden in on a flat, as had Edmonds' Suzuki teammate Randy Martin. Burleson was still grinning as he yelled at the fence·sitters, "Hey, can I borrow some of your weight?" while stomping on a particularly uncooperative Dunlop 5.00 x 17. He made it out of impound, comfortably on his minute. Martin made it out on his minute, too, but not without a certain amount of drama. He had slapped a new pre· packed tire and tube onto his 400 Suzuki's rear wheel, only to discover a leak. Nothing to do but to strip it down and stuff in another tube with the seconds ticking away. As his minute came up. he ran with is bike to the line, staned, and pulled out of the chute, rear brake rod still dangling. Plenty of time to put everything together down the trail - maybe. Time was important, because Marrin was still on Gold. Teammate Edmonds had gotten his brake together and was out on time, but would DNF with mechanical troubles. Both 400 Suzukis were (literally) uncrated at Cal City, and are described as "still under development" by the Suzuki team. No firm word on production. Kevin LaVoie, who finished Saturday with a slim lead over Burleson, changed a rear wheel bearing, one eye on the time. For most others, the pre·dawn ritual involved mostly air·c1eaner maintenance and dust removal. Carl Cranke had embarrassingly little to do - SWMs are by far the prettiest motorcycles on the circuit this year, and what's more, they seem to stay pretty. Also noted among Saturday's finishers, a pair of TL250 trials bikes, ridden by Oregon natives Jay Terry and Kent Zimmerman. Said Terry, "I've been riding this. in National enduros, t.hought I'~ giv~ a_ q~alifier ,a.