Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

i Desert Hotline ~ t o 00 0') r-4 .... I-< 0.- < IAbove) Mike Slxbery took third overall. first 250cc Expert at the Prairie Dogs race.IBelow) Prairie Dogs overall winner Terry Clerk. Terry Clark takes desert win By Joyce May LUCERNE VALLEY, CA, MAR. 2g With whispers of "who's that" passing through the crowd, Palmdale's Terry Clark, riding behind a pie plate, took the overall win 22 at tbe Prairie Dogs race a bout gO seconds ahead of Bob Balentine. To racers that have been in the desert since tbe very early '70s, it was a natural thing. Clark was top dog in the trail bike class then... wben the in· dustry was completely shaken up by the introduction of the Harley· Davidson Baja 100. Clark rode that machine with the style and fierceness that was necessary to do well on such a little bike. Then he left the dez for .n;lotocross.. H~ returned, \lowever. in January of this year, and it was only a matter of time before he would have his day. The total entry was a respectable 250· plus, even though many other riders were either racing or acting as support crews at the SCORE race in Mexico. The bomb run was a long one with Balentine in the lead as the marked trail began. Clark was back about 10th. Husky·mounted Ed Pierce got centerpunched by another Husky rider, Bill Saltzman, just past the bomb. Pierce had the wind knocked out of him and laid (or a few minutes on the ground before he was able to get up again. Although the first loop of the race was fairly fast. the rider couldn't sit back for a leisurely ride either. By first check Clark had moved past everyone but Balentine. At second check it was still Balentine apd ,<;I~~k.W\tlJ ,t'~9 2.?~<; rac,ers, Ken Upp and Mike Sixbery, in the next two spots. In the fifth overaU slot was Darin Cartwright followed by 250cc expert Jeff Matthews, Ed Zarp (Ope.n Ex), "Wild Man" Tom ScheU, Jr. (250 Ex), Open Expert Verlyn Van Zee and Open Amateur Ed Whisenant. Back in Illth place overaU was the first Novice, 250cc racer Paul Palmer. The pits curved along a wide sand· wash, and spilled out in a broken line across the valley. Balentine led the pack in for gas with Clark literally flying behind him in the second spot. lJpp and Sixbery hung onto their third and fourth slots, as did Cart· wright, Matthews, Zarp, and Van Zee. Amateur Whisenant had moved up ahead of ScheU. First Senior was piloted by Gary Charters (C) in the 12th spot. The first C Expert, Kevin Hopkins was iri the 15th overaU with the second C Expert, Russ Jenkins breathing down his neck in the 16th spot. The second amateur open rider was closely followed by two amateur 250s, Tim Burley and Lloyd Britt. The first amateur "C" bike was piloted by Tom Elias. Bill Mattox was in the Trailbike lead. Amateur #18v had the lead for the gals. Palmer still had the Novice lead with the rest of the Novice herd, headed by Grant Colbert, closing in on him. . The BeginnerS and Trail Novices came off the first loop to take the checkered led by pie plater Paul Baxter (250cc), foUowed by three C bikes Dirk Davidow, Laird Schweikart, and Mike Mahurin. Second 250cc Beginner, Randy Courtney, was in the fifth spot. Out at the fourth check on the second loop the Prairie Dogs manning the check were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Corning into the check was what they nicknamed "Bail Off' hill. They could hardly mark tank cards at times as they we·re laughing so hard at the "antics" of the riders. About 25 miles from the finish Balentine got a flat. As long as he was on the flat stuff, he could hold his distance, but through the rough he lost time and ground. Clark was not far behind and moved past him in the next 10 miles. Clark took the overall win with Balentine still finishing second. Later Balentine commented that he was glad Clark had finally gotten an overaU win as he had really been working hard for one. Sixbery had gotten past Upp about halfway round the second loop, finishing in the third spot, first 250cc Expert. Zarp moved into fifth while Matthews took sixth. Bill Saltzman was first Vet with fellow Checke.r Verlyn Van Zee (Open Ex) earning the eighth overall slot. Darin Cartwright (Open Ex) crossed the finish line in ninth while the first Senior machine, piloted by Gary Charte!'S, was 10th. First Trail finisher was Mattox. After leading the Novices part of the way, Tim Cauby (25Occ) of the Low Budget M.C. ran out of gas only two miles from the finish. After a Senior stopped and gave him some gas, he stiU managed to finish fourth novice. FuU results will follow. Duane Summers (#IOT) earned the Most Determined Rider award this race. He crashed hard on the first loop, knocking his wind out. By the time he got to the pits he also had a flat tire and his thumb was quite swollen. He was determined to finish. however, so the tire was changed and be headed onto the second loop, finishing sixth from the last. Balentine cracks Desert Squirrels affair ,By Joyce May FREMONT VALLEY, CA, MAR. 16 It was the familiar KTM orange and blue colors that were the first to be spotted heading for the finish chute as Bob Balentine earned the top honors at the Desert Squirrels Hare Scrambles. The camping area was moved up against tbe base of the mountains in Fremont VaUey, making for interesting surroundings and more convenience to the pit row. The Desert Squirrels also added an extra eight mile loop off the start to get everyone onto the Scrambles loop. There were over g50 riders on the start line. Flying 250cc rider Ed Pierce was off the eight mile loop in record time with feUow 250cc speedster Ken Upp and KTM's desert ace, Balentine, close behind. Number 299 was next, sparring with Mike Sixbery and Amateur Heavyweight Dan Smith. In seventh spot was seasoned Sham· rock, Tom ScheU, Jr., foUowed by the first C machine piloted by Kevin Hop· kins with a second C biker, Cliff Thomas, nipping at his heels. Bruce Ogilvie came limping into the pits the back way after hit~ing a rock and splitting the front hub which caused the front brake to lock up, dumping Bruce hard on the ground. The regular loop was a neat-riding trail, but the large amount of rain absorbed by the ground in recent weeks didn't seem to effect the abundance of dust. Once off the trail, the rider could expect problems as there was a plentiful amount of rocks hiding in the dust. Tenth·place Kern Park connected with just such an object as he went off the trail to pass another rider. His foot· peg and a rock joined forces to break his foot. Chuck Miller, not far behind Kern, stopped to help him. Into the pits for gas came Balentine, who had taken over the lead not far into the first loop. Pierce was next, trailing a stream of flags about 25 feet long, with Upp close enough back to have to try to dodge body and bike so as not to also get tangled up in the mess. There was a long wait again until the next riders came flying into the pits. Open Amateur #424 led this group with desert· wise Terry Clark on his Husky next in. Amateur Smith, ScheU and Richard Zajic (25Occ) were next foUowed by Ed Zarp and Miller, on his way to notify Park's pits of Kern's injury. . Following Miller in were Heavyweights Howard McCasland and Bruce Jones. Thomas, in the 12th overall spot, had taken over the C class lead. First 250cc Amateur machine was straddled by Lloyd Britt. First Vet Richard Jackson (25Occ) was only a breath ahead of the first Senior, C bike pilot Gary Charters. Charters pulled into the pits, and after getting gas, started to puU back out, but suddenly his body, from the waist down was engulfed in flames, along with his bike. He backed off the bike and hit the ground. With the help of the pit crew, the flames were put out on both man and machine before any real damage could occur. After a few moments he remounted his motor· ized stead and headed out onto the second loop.

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