Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Scot Harden dropped to t hird after the f irst lap . Garth Sweetland grabbed the lead after MarkHildebrand's pit stop and led t o the finish of the Cinder Mountain 100 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Sweetland blitzes Cinder Mountain By Daryl D . Drake FLAG STAFF, AZ, J ULY 28 G a rth Sweetla n d benefi ted fro m early leader Mark Hildebrand's gas stop and wen t on to w in the overall a n d Open Expert class at th e fourth an n ual Arizo na Desert Racin g Associatio n's Cinder Mountain 100 in Flagstaff today. Sweetl and . h com p Ieted t h ~ race In t ree h ours , 26 -ml n ut es and 39: seconds for an average speed o f 10.65 mph . Fo r th e p ast four yea rs the ADRA hash eldJ ul ~ events o.n w h a t i s on e o f 16 th e most unIq~e r~cIng surfaces on ~a rt.h - vo lca n ic CIn ders. SItua ted to th e north west of the Sa~ Francisco Peak s ,~ n d Flag,sta ff, Ar izo na, the famous Black Cinder Hills" are fairl y yo u ng, formed back arou nd 1066 AD, the time of th e Norman. In vasio n : The cinders, wh ich are sma ll, round pebbles, are very lig h tweigh t, a nd r!d !ng o ver th em is so me.thi ng li ke riding o ver styrofoa m packi ng pe lle ts. They va ry in size, from BBs i n th e vall eys a n d flats to go lf ba lls a nd oranges on th e hill t ~ps . A.nd ~h ey soa k up water. E:-,en th ough It ra ined befo re a nd d un ng race da y. track co nd itio n s were still ver y dusty. Th e course was 35 mi les in len g th , co ns i s t i ~ g o f. three loo ps. in a nd out of t.he I?ItS, situated at Cinder La~e . wh ich rs not yo u r u sual m ountain la ke - it 's a ll cinders ! The' [(:lUte heade? o ut over th e la ke a n.d u p ~tllO th e . h ills wh ere a half-mil e cli m b straigh t up stopped a.lo t o f ra cer~. At the 7600- foo t .elevau o n su m m it , a double dow nh ill loo med a head. Barren of trees, th e route led dow n, back, up a nd over a n?ge, th~n down a very steep seco nd hil l: losing nearly 600 feet in a third o f a mi le. ' Th e cinders 'were so loose a nd so steep ~ ha t .bra kes .were o n ly effective as a dIrec t ~o na l ald . A.t th e botto m a 10-foot WIde ch u te m to th e trees marked th e tr ail. At most AD RA-races. th e bik es race in th e m orning with th e ATV divi sian racing in th e a fte rnoon. Bu t at C inder Mountain th e ATVs got the morni ng slot a nd th e motorcycles got a ~ourse th at was p retty chewed ~IP WIth sq uare-edged holes and m ile after mil e o f wh oop-de-doe s. Five bikes sta rte d every 30 seco nds beginning a t I:00 p.m . and with 274 entries ne arl y 30 min ut es went by before th e la st bike left th e line. In th e Expert di vision , which ra n four la p s for 110 mi les, th e O pen ma ch ines do m in a ted , garner ing ni n e of the top 10 spots. Sweet la nd (H us ) pulled the h olesh ot , but AD RA Num- : ber O ne p la teholder H ildebrand (H us) ou tra n h im o n th e first loo p . H ildebrand was runnin g a sm a ll gas tank and had \0 pi t, lettin g Sw eet land ge t o ut o f th e dust a nd tak e th e win. H e co m me nted a fte r th e race, " I fell o nce o n th e last lap, j u st go t rea l ti red . . . I was wo rried about Pat P ro sser ca tching me, especia lly -after I fell. T he ci nders are a kill er, rea l tough o n a bike, worse th an sand - the re's peap ie getti ng stu ck a ll o ver th e place out there. It 's u nbeli evabl e . . . I had a few close o nes in traf fic but n ot bad th ough . I'm real tired." Sweetland 's Desert H usq var na / U pti t e Hu s k y/ S w ee t la n d Co nc re te XC500 never missed a beat this time, th ough Sweetl and ha s had a n o n-o ff sea son. Finishing seco nd o vera ll a nd O pen Expert. Pat P ros ser (KT M) sai d he tho ug h t he sa w weet land 's du st a co uple o f times. But a slo w last la p brought h im in six minutes behind . P ro sser said h e loved th e cinde rs . "excep t for th e ho les. They sho u ld ru n th e bikes befo re th e th ree-wh eelerst T h ere's no need to put us th roug h all th ose holes." T eam H usk y's Scot H a rden .wa s next in . H a rden had to co pe wit h a lot of dust a n d the new surface o n hi s fir st la p . ran strong h is seco nd a n d then got ca ugh t up in tr affi c fini sh in g eig h t m in u tes behind th e winner. Duane Sum me rs (Ca g) p ilo ted th e o n ly sma ll-disp lace me nt bike 10 crack the to p 10, fin ish in g fourth ove ra ll 10 ea rn th e 200cc Expert h onors. Jimmy Means (Han) , fifth o vera ll and fo u rt h Open Expert, was ne ver far off the pac e unt il th e last lap when h e tired a n d sfowed. Ri di ng th e o n ly M-Sta r GM 500 entered , Pa u l Bennett fin ish ed sixth o vera ll , fifth Open Expert. H e wa s surp rised how well th e bi ke performed its first tim e out , but found he wa s undergeared and undersprung, Bennett ran strong hi s fir st two laps, th en slo wed o n th e third lap when he heard a strange so und . But th e MStar ke p t o n pu lli ng a nd Bennett h un g o n to th e fini sh , 2 1 minutes beh ind Sweetla nd. Chappy Blose (AT K). seventh over a ll " sixth O pen Experts. was nex t. Du st a n d tra ffic were hi s main troubles. H ildebra nd ende d up eig h th o vera ll. seven th O pen Expert. afte r brake tro ubles and a ru n -in with Open Beg in ner Bill Watkin s. H ildebrand lost hi s fro nt brak e o n th e first la p a nd pi tted for repairs . th en lost it aga in o n th e seco nd cir. cu it. H e fi na ll y got it wo rking an d wa s h alfway th rough th e th ird la p whe n Watkin s ch anged h is line as Hildeb rand passed . Both went do wn hard , bu t th e cinders offered a cus hion of so rts. Hil debrand took i t easy th e rest o f th e race, fini shin g 24 minutes off the mark. Ninth o vera ll a nd eig hth O pen Expert went to P h il Mean s (H a n) . H e wa s on ly fo u r mi n u tes back a t the end of tw o laps but th e co urse to o k its toll an d Means slo wed . "Fl y'n " Rya n Armitage (KT M) ro unded o u t th e top 10, br inging h is big four-st roke in just one second beh ind Means. . T he !]est performa nc e by a 250cc Expert was th a t o f Chris Cha mbers (H a n ) a t 12th o vera ll, fo llowed by J ami e Sims (H u s). Sims had a good sta rt but got a flat a nd los t h is spark arrestor near th e end of th e fir st lap . The bearings in hi s spare whe el we nt so u th o n hi s seco nd , fo rcing him \0 p it aga i n a nd putting him ba ck in tra ffic, Ed Zuk owski (Suz), in his first Expert division .race, finis h ed thi rd 250cc Expert a nd 16th overa ll. Mike Med win (Ka w) set ho t la p of the day wit h a 47:57 on hi s third trip , but a slow last la p pu t h im in seco nd 200cc Expert, ( I I th o vera ll ) behi nd Su m mers. Th ird 200cc Expert was Wes Parker (Ya m ) who a lso had a lon g last la p. Th e Am a teurs, Senior Experts a nd Veterans as well as th e ;'I: o vices went o r three tri p s arou nd th e co u rse. T h e 2 50 c c Am at eu r w inn er S COtl Kin d ler was fa stest. fo llowed by J erry J ohnston (H a n) wh o rac ked u p a n- o ther Sen io r Expert win . David Finne)' (H a n) was third fo r th e O pen Amateur trophy a n d Ti m L eeh e (KT M) was less than a minute back for second 250cc Am a teur. Beh in d Leeh e ca me Ro b J oh nson, (H o p) , seco nd O pen Amateur, a nd Mik e I1ardo (KT M), third 250cc Ama teu r. T he next three finis hers were Senior Experts J ohn Mi ller (Han), Geo rge T ac hi ck (Ya m) , a nd Sta n Foster (KT :\I). en io r Amateur Ph il Tiesl (KT M) fi nished 10th overall and won th a t class . Ga ylon H atha wa y (Han) a nd J ohn Casebeer (H a n ) had a batt le going o n back in th e Novice ra n ks, wit h H a thaway taki ng the O pen Novices by a 19 seco nd margi n . T he Senior Sportsmen , Beginners a nd th e O ver T he Hill Ga ng raced for two laps. " O ld Ti mer" Bryon Farnswort h (Ka w) showed how it was done, by fini shing ahead o f Open Beginner winner Al Davis (H a n) a nd second Open Beginner Steve Parker (Yam) . Steve Davis (Han) wa s next for th e. 250cc Beginner win and Bill Watkins (KT M) recove red fro m hi s tangle with Hi ld ebrand to fin ish behind Davi s for th ird Open Beginner. Lad ies have a two-l ap class o f thei r o wn, alt ho ug h man y run in the regula r classes. An gie Klaja (H a n) took th e Ladies Bike wi n with a four m inut e margi n. AD RA o ffers two o ne -la p Din osa ur classes, Classic ('70- '80) and Vin tage (' 76 a nd o lde r). Baja Quad ra cer Ron Apodaca tried o ut two wheels on ' a n o ld IT 425 a nd earned the Cl assic troph y while Mike Waddi ng brough t hi s TT500 in ahead o f T om Ro wla nd (H a n) fo r th e Vint ag e win . Wh en th e racing en ded . 161 of th e 264 sta rte rs had fini shed th e event. Ea rly in th e m ornin g , th e Min is had run .o ver th e short loop whi ch wa s seven -an d-a-ha lf miles lo ng . O ut o f 42 ent ries , 36 mad e th e required num ber o f la p s. Bro o kie J effery (Kaw) wa s th e bi g wi n ner and too k th e Min i Am a teur wi n , foll o wed by Den is H ildebrand (Ya m ). Sea n Allen (Yam ) wa s third for th e Min i Novice win a nd K.C. Kirk (H o n) was fourth overa ll a fter a co u p le o f crashes in h is first Min i Am a teur race. ' Roundin g o u t th e to p five wa s Aa ron H ernandez •. (Yam), seco nd Mini Nov ice. Results 200 EX: 1. Dua ne Summers ICag }; 2. Mike M edw in (Kaw); 3 . W es Parker (Yaml . OPEN EX: 1. Garth Sweet la nd IHus); 2 . Pat Prosser IKTMI; 3. Scot Hard en (Hus). 200 AM : 1. Ch ri s Wh ite (Han): 2. Scott Dunlap (Cag); 3. Ken Asch (Su z). OPEN AM ; 1. Dav id Finney (Han); 2. Rob John ston IHon); 3 . Dave Hartwick (KTM) . 200 NOV : 1. Loui s Gu towski Ikaw) : 2. Gr eg Casebee r (Hon); 3. Chris Spurlock (Kaw) . OPEN NOV; 1. Gayla n Hatheway (Han); 2. John Casebeer (Ho n); 3 . Jeff Corbin ICag). 3B+ SR. VETS : 1. Charlie M art i n (Hus); 2. Joe Prosser (KTM) ; 3. Darr ell Gat es (Husl. 200 BEG : 1. Fabri zio Azza lin (Cag); 2. Donna Go losewski (Kaw) ; 3. Da n Vi skae (Hon). 250 EX: 1. Chr is Ch ambe rs (Han); 2. Jamie Sim s tHus); 3. Ed 2ukowski (Suzl. SA EX: 1. J erry Jo hnston (Hon): 2. J ohn M ille r tHan); 3 . George Tach ick (Yam) . 250 AM : 1. Seen Ki nd ler (Yam ): 2. Ti m Leette (KTMI; 3. M ike lIardo (KTM) . SR AM; 1. Phil Tiesl (KTM ); 2. James M assey (Hus); 3. Ray Jon es (Han) . 250 NOV : 1. Ron Pont i us (Hon); 2 . Lee Ben son (Han): 3 . Danny M ies (Hus ). 30+ SR VET; 1. Robert Chadwick (Han) ; 2 . Bobby Cr eek (Yam); 3 . J ay Stewart (KTMI . SR SPATMN : 1. Dir k Chesser (Yam I; 2. James Womb le (Ha n); 3 . Pau l Su cklin g (Hon). 250 BEG: 1. Steve Davis (Han); 2. David Va n Cooney (KTM I; 3. Guy Heard (Yam ). OPEN BEG: 1. A I Dav is (Han) ; 2. St eve Parker (Yaml; 3. Bill Wa tk i n s (KTMI . DIN OSA UR CLAS SIC; 1. Ron Ap odaca (Yam ); 2. Scott Stutz (KTM) ; 3. Bill Pett it (Yam) . MINI NOV: 1. San Allen (Yam ): 2. Aaron Hernandez (Yam); 3. Rog er Bal es (Yam). M INI 60: 1. Micah Ch larson (Han); 2. Tony French (Han); 3. Chris Freedman (Han). SI DEHA CK EX: 1. Stu art W ill iarh s (Emil ; 2. Rid yar d Denny (Yam I. M INI CLASSIC; 1. Scott Bennett (Su zl. OTH GANG : 1. Bryon Farn sw ort h (Kaw ); 2. M ack Garr ison (Hu s); 3 . Loui s Lecr om e (Kaw) . M INI AM : 1 ~ Broc kie Jeffery (kaw) ; 2 . Den is Hildebrand (Yam); 3 . K.C. Kirk (Han ). M IN I BEG: 1. Kev in Lythgoe (Yam); 2. Jeff Kra us (Han); 3 . Brvan M av (Han) . DIN O·VIN TAG E: 1. M ik e W adding (Yam); 2. Tom Row land (Han); 3 . Wally Kohl er (Hus). LA DIES BIKE: 1. Angie Kla ja (Han); 2. Pamela Morto n (Yam); 3 . Cynth ia Corb in (Cag).

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