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Geoff Ballard was an apparent second. but missed a check.
LATE BULLETIN: Following a review of marked· tank cards and
checkpoint records. the Preirie Dogs M.C. announced that they
have disqualified Geoff Ballard. "Geoff missed the first check
on the third loop." said club spokesman Ken Jose. A Can-Am
rep said that Ballard was directed off the course by medical
personnel at the scene of a crash and in the confusion. got on
the Beginner/Novica course.
Husky's Dan Ashcraft turned in a strong performance for the overall win.
AMA/Hi-Point National Hare SCrambles
Championship: Round 4
Ashcraft wins in
Lucerne Valley
By Rex Reese
LUCERNE VALLEY, CA, MAY 13
Team Husqvarna's Dan Ashcraft kept his
cool and dominated the Lucerne Valley
round of the AMA/Hi-Point N~tional Hare
Scrambles from start toJinish. In spite of the
fact that the field of National
riders included' an imposing .
.
amount of heavyweIght. talent
from back east, many fIgured
12
that it would be a local rider who
would be the winner, and Ashcraft
didn't let anybody down. The highest placing east coast rider was Husky
support pilot Fritz Kadlec, who finished seventh overall and third in the
Open class. But the big surprise was
the second overall placing of Australian Geoff Ballard, sponsored by
Can-Am. This was the first desert
event Ballard had ever entered, and
he proved to be Ashcraft's most major
threat throughout the race.
About 300 riders entered the National, whiclLwas co-spon~ored by
Oury Grips, Dirt Rider magarine, KalGard, Answer Products, Preston Petty,
Nippondenso, and others. Over 170
riders had ~ntered in the Amateur/
Expert and National classes, which
ma~up Jhefirst w~ve on the statU g
line; the Women's class, Novices and
Beginne~s provided the balance of
the entnes and would leave on the
second wave. Interestingly enough,
an alternate route on the course provided for the Women, Novices and
Beginners would prove to be a controversial aspect of the race for some
of the riders in the first wave. Heat (it
was pretty hot for many riders) and
Lucerne Valley's rough terrain - not
to mention dust - were important
factors in the event, but nobody ould
argue that this was a National hare
scrambles, thus requiring a suitably
challenging course for those willing
to go for it.
The challenge- of the event was
complemented by those who were
present. Almost all of Team Husky's
off-road crew was there, incl uding'
defending Hare Scrambles champ
Eddie Lojak, Larry Roeseler, Mike
Melton, Fritz Kadlec, and Kurt, Kent,
and ScoLt Pfeiffer. Dan Smith and
SCQ IdarQ..t:n w.ere racing at the Vir-
Ashcraft instructs woods rider Kevin Hines.
Larry Roeseler worked up to third
overall.
ginia City GP; Terry Cunningham
opted not to go because of his leg
injury from last year's ISDE. Can,
Am was in force with development
consultant and former World MX
champion Jeff Smith, John Martin,
and Geoff Ballard. Honda's Chuck
Miller was also on hand. Local threats
included Ed Pierce Jr., Randy
Morales, and Chuck Pettigrew. As
starting time approached, east coast
riders were apprehensive about what
they'd have to endure in th.e desert;
likewise, local riders were wondering
how tough it would be to beat the east
coast guys.
Dan Ashcraft got the holeshot off
the line on his Husky 500 XC and led
all the way to the smokebomb. In the
hunt were Morales (Hon), Pettigrew
(C-A), Pierce (Yam) and Jamie-Avels
(KTM). The start was wide open and
pretty dusty, leaving many riders to
be caught back in the pack, among
those Larry Roeseler and Geoff Ballard, who had to fight their ways- to
the front later on ·in the race.
After the smokebomb, the course
hit a series of whoops, turns and
jumps as it headed west, and [rom
there ran along the tops of the WilSon
Hills.. Lt was in this vicinity, just
before the ridge section, that the
course split off, with the first wave
riders going left, and the Women,
Novices and Beginners taking the
alternate to the right. The intention
was for the second wave riders to
avoid the difficult and rocky ridge
route, while all Am-Ex-National riders in the first wave would go into the
hills where they'd meet the first check.
As it turned out, some riders in the
first wave either accidentally or intentionally took the alternate and
,~ere subsequently di$Quillified. Some
riders claimed after the race that the
alternate route was confusing, a
charge that the Prairie Dogs deny.
Ashcraft had at leasta three-minute
lead on second-place Pettigrew coming into the home check, but two
miles out on the second lap, Ashcraft
had both tires go Oat on him in the
Wilson Hills. The Husky rider managed to stay in control and amazingly
keep his lead as he finished lap two,
but his lead time was down to a minute. As Ashcraft was being fitted with
new tires, Geoff Ballard overtook a
fading Pettigrew and then began lap
three o[ the [ive-Ia p race as the leader.
Geoff had spent most o[ th.e race
working his way through heavy dust
and slower riders until he passed
Ashcraft. But the lead was short-lived
as Ashcraft got back on the gas, taking the lead back [rom the Australian
rider.
Rock-induced flat tires weren't
limited to Dan Ashcraft; in [act, many
riders retired £rom the race due to
flats. Before BaHard inherited second
place, former Rro motocrosser Randy
Morales was breathing hard on Ashcraft, only to leave the race with a [Jat.
On lap four, with a two-minute lead
to his credit, Ashcraft got another
rear flat.
As the race began to wind down,
the Beginners-Women's-Novice part
of the event finished at the three-lap
mark; but there were two more 22mile loops for everybody else. And
with a [Jat tire dogging him Ashcraft
was beginning to lose ground to a
slowly gaining Ballard.
Back in the pack, Larry Roeseler
had worked his way up from a bad
start to a top 10 position by mid-way
through the race, right behind D-37
local Ed Pierce. Chuck Miller (Hon)
