Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Morales on a big two-stroke Honda, started on the same minute as the Smith/Ashcraft effort. But early on the second half of the first loop, Crandall broke his left ankle. He managed to bring the bike back to where the course passed the pits eight miles onto the section. Crandall arrived riding neck and neck with the Chuck Miller/Kevin Hopkins Honda XR:;OO, but they lost some time as Crandall dismounted and Morales took over again. Morales dropped out after riding one more lap. While most of the teams spent the first 8:; miles establishing a running order, one team had Lady Luck remove them from contention. The Larry Roeseler/Kurt Pfeiffer XC:;OO Husky was running all right in the early going, but it was not to be their day. "When we piued at the end of the first half of the loop," explained Roeseler, "we needed to top off the tank. But thequick-dump got dropped on the ground and probably got a liule dirt on it, although no one realized it at the time. Now the dirt has gone through the motor and we're about a third-over bore." . .... 00 pipe and the gas tank too, because the broken pipe melted a hole in it. To top it off, we had to put on a new seat to fit the new tank. We probably lost 10 minutes." With Pasqualouo and Welch out, however, the 10 minutes didn't mean that much because they still had about 20 minutes on the closest team. Although well back from the overall lead, the fight for second was shaping up to be the story of the day. It was a three-way baule with the Harden/Miller Husky and the Wasden/Pierce Yamaha coming in off the third loop nearly even. Each had troubles, with the Husky having to have the intake manifold replaced while the Yamaha required a new shock. That didn't put a damper on the fight- "It actually worked out to where we left the pits the same distance we were apart before the problems happened," said Harden later. A moderate distance behind them after the morning chain troubles was the Steele/Steele Honda. Coming into the pits after half of the final loop, Pierce and Wasden had a slight advantage. But since it was a timed event, Harden and Miller didn't have to beat them to the finish line, simply stay within striking distance. When they Jeftthe pits for the final time Miller was chasing Wasden, just out of his dust. Left behind in the pits, Harden looked off into the horizon and said, "All Kent has to do is follow his dust and not get a flat or anything. I hope to win for Kent's sake. He' always been in contention at the major off-road races, only to have some problem near the end of the race. He's a real good kid and I'm really glad to be riding with him." The physical battle for second ended )3 miles into the second half of the final loop, when Miller passed Wasden in Hidden Valley. "They said something about a gas problem," said Miller later, "but he (Wasden) just wasn't pushing it anymore and I passed him." Meanwhile, the celebration had begun back at the finish line for two of the Husky teamsters. A 30-mile grin on his 20-year-old face. Smith said, "It was a rough course but that was good because it shows who's been training. My loop was really tight, up in the trees and washes. I like that kind of stu[f - it's rough but it's fun." Ashcraft, 22, who was on the mend from bruised ribs suffered in the SCORE San Felipe 2:;0, said, "I had a really good ride every lap except the first. It rained yesterday, so the course was hard-packed instead of silty. I came around a turn in a sandwash and clipped a rock, and I ended up jamming my knee. It's a little sore now~Myribsdidn'tbothermeexce~ for a couple of times where I bottomed the suspension really hard and felt the jolt." Some 30 minutes later Miller crossed the finish line for second place. "I fell once on a really rocky uphill," said Miller in describing his day, "but it was a 'Laugh-In' type fall. It was a rough and silty course, but I enjoyed the heck out of it, especially when you win." Wasden was expected to be the next rider across the finish line, but things didn't work out that way. A jubilant Kevin Steele flashed across the line on the Honda to take third overall, second in class. Word came to the finish line that less than a mile from the finish, Wasden was pushing his machine. While waiting to see when Wasden would finish, Steele said, "I charged as hard as I could on that last lap. I knew they had a good lead on us, and I didn't think I would just catch up. But I thought something might happen, so I gave it everything Another competitor whose day ended early was Donnie Morrison. Teamed with Mike Sixbery on a 2:;0 Honda, Morrison crashed early in the going. He was treated by the Southern Nevada Volunteer First Aid and Rescue personnel, then airlifted to Las Vegas where it was discovered that he had suffered compression fractures ofthree vertebrae. However, there was no spinal cord damage reported. At the end of the fir t8:;-mile loop, Smith and Ashcraft were still sailing away in the lead. Miller and Hopkins had climbed to second, followed by the Steele brothers. Despite a mediocre ride in the first half of the first loop, local favorites Anthony Pasqualottoand Kevin Welch had made their way up to fourth on their MCo-winner Dan Ashcl'llft blitzes across the desert while partner Dan Smith Star 490. Fifth belonged to the Dave (inset) waits for him to finish. Wasden/Ed Pierce 2:;0 Yamaha, followed by the Jim Thompson/Pete Sheehan Open- lass KTM. The Harden/Miller Husky lay in seventh. With a quarter of the race into the books, the leader of the 12:;cc Pro class was the Paul Kline/David Hoesch Honda. In the Over 30 ranks, \he Husky of Morris Norman and Art Knapp was leading the way. There were no Over 38 classers in this event. On the second loop the Miller/ Hopkins entry was the first to fall By Dale Brown from the leaderboard, when the bike SLOAN, NV, APR. 7 broke its shock Hnkage, dropping the rear fender down onto the tire and spiuingMilleroff. Asked later about when he realized that the shock had 00 gone awry, Miller was said to have replied,"Aslwaspickingmyselfoff the ground and shaking the dust off." During the second loop, the Pasqualotto/Welch team began to put in the Las Vegas 400 profesfashion, made up into 42- and 43the pressure on Smith and Ashcraft. sional desert team race. mile. halves. T~e first section. was closing to within eight minutes. Since 'ded b described by SmJlh as, "Really light, they started well to the back of the Al Yan early start n~mup in the trees and washes. I like that pack, that put the Las Vegans right her, the tearn took the phYSical kind of stuff _ it gets rough, but it's into contention. fun." The second loop of the course Harden and Miller were having a lead almost immediately. With only minor problems along the way, they was described by generally everybody smooth ride, climbing imo third. covered 340 miles of the toughest as, "rough and silty." Their chief competition at this stage desert promoter Casey Folks could When the race got underway early of the game was the Wasden/Pierce throw at them in a time of nine Saturday morning, there were 33 proentry, one position behind them. After hours, II minutes and three seconds. fessional, 38 sportsman and 21 allrunning so well the first two laps, the Finishing second overall after a terrain vehicle teams entered. Two Steele brothers dropped back to fifth tough baule with two other teams in machines were released onto the desert as a bem chain guide caused them their class, Husqvarna's Scot Harden every 30 seconds. problems with chain and sprocket and Kent Miller recorded the 2:;Occ Starting on the second row, it was wear. Pro win by finishing in 9:37.01. Anonly a matter of a few miles before The battle forthe lead, ifthereever other 2:;Occclass machine, the Honda Smith was firmly entrenched in the was one, ended before the third loop of Las Vegas/Honda Support/Bud lead. By the time Ashcraft was eight didasPasquaJouoandWelchdropped Yates-sponsored CR2:JOR of Kevin and miles into his half of the loop, there out with mechanical troubles. Oddly Sean Steele finished third overall with seemed little doubt as to who would enough, Smith and Ashcraft had their a 9:4:;.:;0 win. The Steele brothers, also benefiown troubles at about the same time: The course for the eighth annual ciaries of an early starting number, "They broke a pipe or something," version of this desert toughie was were running second at that point. said Smith, "and we broke a pipe as in .almOSl. ~ .fi. :,,' ht. ~.~. '.•~eR".~ the pit we.bad 10 t;hang~t.h.e.. ..1. ~<1.;' L.as Vegas 400 'Book-em'/Dan-o' say aloha The dominant duo in desert racing today, H usqvarna 'D an "B k -em '" A sh cra f t an d s Dan "San-o Dan-o" Smith, wrote another chapter to their saga with a wire-to-wire romp • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • .,. ..... _ .. _ ........ 4 ~.~. .

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