Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Ron Naylor and his Kawasaki. KX5oo, for the second year in a row, won the Shasta Dam AMA National hare scrambles near Redding. Can-Am's Geoff Ballard chases Honda rider Eric McKenna. Despite jamming and bruising his foot, Ballard raced to a second overall. AliA National Hare Scrambles Championship Series: Round 5 . the bottom. I was dragging m y feet and grabbing trees . .. anyth ing I could do to slow down." Naylor's brake was quickly repaired when he pitted the only time during the race, at the end oflap two . " I don 't know whether it had an air bubble in the line or what, but I sure felt a lot better on the trail when it was working again" said Naylor. The Ballard/McKenna duel was still going strong at the beginning of the third lap; however, now Ballard was in front. McKenna, after a longish pit stop, followed Ballard into the woods, about 15seconds behind. Mark Hyde was still in fourth, followed by LaPoint and Husky's Dave Bertram, who had moved through the pack to sixth place. The heat was beginning to have an affect on the majority of the riders starting the third laR al ~ many had extended pit stops to drink water and attempt to cool off. Out on the course Ballard was just warming up and he began to pull away from McKenna in an effort to close the gap between himself and the leader Naylor. Naylor was not giving up any ground, however, and now riding with a working front brake and feeling refreshed from drinking water at his pit stop, Naylor pulled out the stops and proceeded to add another minute to his lead. At the final check on lap th ree Naylor was I:56 ahead of the Can-Am rider. The fourth and final lap would be th e deciding facto r, however, as Na y' lor chose to avo id stopping for water. The decision allowed him to gain almost one minute more on Ball ard who did stop. " I' m not sure it was th e right decision ," said Naylo r, "I was so th irsty on the last lap I just wanted to fall down in every creek cro ssing I went th rough. " Na ylor 's fat igu e al· low ed Ball ard to mak e up so me ground.but it was no t enough as Naylor came in over two m in utes clea r at th e checkered flag. Mark H yde finish ed t hird , having sl i p p ed b y McKenna o n the final lap. McKenna, who was visibl y fatigued at hi s final pit stop, was feeling th e affects of th e hea t co mbined with ro ug h terrain . Naylor wins at Shasta Dam By Kevin Scott REDDING, CA, APR. 20 Kawasaki-mounted Ron Naylor outdueled Can-Am's Geoff Ballard and Husqvarna's Mark Hyde to win the fifth round of the AMA National Hare Scrambles Championship held at Shasta Dam near Redding, California. Sunny skies and temperatures in the 90s took their toll on many riders . 14 The course was exceptionally tight wi th plenty of dust on the faster trails. Na ylor used a four-gallon tank on h is KX500 and only p itted once during the I25-mile race, gaining enough ti me to fin ish over two minutes ahead of Ballard a t"tile end bClhe fourth and fina l lap; " I fig ured by not p itting it would give me a li ttle ad van tage," exp lai ned Naylor later. " I still th ink I gained fro m it.but I don 't th ink I gai ned as much as I thought I would have beca use I slowed do wn a lot on the laps th at I didn 't sto p on, because I was n' t ab le to ge t anythi ng to drink." Ball a rd was th e early lead er as th e riders raced up a two-mile stretch of pavement used on ly on th e first la p. Dust was a big fac tor in th e first trail sections a nd the riders in front quickl y . pu lled away from th e pa ck, Na ylor mad e hi s move for th e lead a bout eigh t mil es into th e race wh en Ballard go t ou t of shape Q!13 10~g, rutted uph ill sect ion . Wit h Nay lor p ushi ng him hard. Balla rd go t a little sideways in th e ruts. ja mmin g an d bru is- ing his foot as Naylor motored by. Eric McKenna on a Honda passed Ballard not long after. " At the time I d idn't think I could finish ," . said Ballard. " Bu t I just cruised along for about two miles and it felt as if it was getting better. At the time I must ha ve had a good lead as nobody seemed to catch me and I · started getting back on the gas ." At the end of th e fir st lap Na ylor led by 50 seconds over Eric McKenna and Ballard. McKenna, riding a Honda CR500, left th e pits o n ly a bikelength ahead of Ball ard, who looked agg res sive despit e h is so re foo t. Husky's Mark H yde came through 80 se co n ds ba ck foll o wed by Dave LaPoint. The co urse snaked its way through a tight motocross-type track after leavin g th e pits, gi vin g th e spec tators a chance to cheer on th eir favorite riders. From th ere it led ou t into th e pine trees, up steep hills to the ridges o verloo ki ng Sh asta Da m a nd reservoir. Much of the 3D-mile loop was very tigh t by west coast sta ndards . Steep down hills covered with pine . need les gave race leader Naylor som e problem s. " I lost my front brake o n the first lap," said Na ylor. " G o ing .down the hills was o kay. but I was ha ving trou ble makin g the corners at Fifth was Dave LaPoint followed by Bertram, Herdon and Kadlec. Dowell and Jeff Irw in rounded out the top 10. Reactions to the course were mixed but all felt it was a. challenge and many vowed they would return next year. Ballard felt it was excellent " fo r this side of the country," but Mark Hyde said he felt it was still a little too fast for his liking. Late seasonal rains helped keep the dust in the hills to a bearable level for California in April. Use of a local water truck was donated; it was used around the pit area to keep dust to a minimum. Naylor, surprised at the tightness of the course said, "I just rode steady. I felt I could have gone a little faster.than I did, but I didn 't want to makea mistake. You make a mistake out there today and you lose a minute or more to get back up and get going." The young Kawasaki rider's win followed a ride on Saturday in the ATV National, where he placed second. Transplanted Australian Jeff Dawson rode his Husky to the 125cc A class win followed by Rich Duomes. Tony H endon won 250cc A while Naylor nabbed the Open A class honors. The Redding Dirt Riders did a great job on course layout and pit design and announcer Bruce Flanders kept pit crews aware of the status of their riders as rela yed to him by radio. The BLM and the Forest Service were on hand to observe; the Redding Dirt Riders are doing their best to turn the excellent rid ing area into an off-road vehicle park. Local press was on hand in force incl ud ing a helicopter from a local TV sta tion . • Result s OVERAL L: 1. Ron Naylor. 4 laps (Kaw); 2. Geoff Ballard. 4 (C·A); 3. Merk Hyde. 4 (Hus); 4. Eric McKenna. 4 (Han); 5. Dave laPoint. 4 (Han); 6 . DAve Bert ram, 4 (Hus); 7 . Tony Hendon , 3: 8. Fritz Kedlec . 3; 9 . Dowell. 3; 10 . Jeff Irwin. 3. '25 A EX: 1. Jeff Dawson; 2. Rich Ouomes. 200 A EX: 1. Ken Nickerson. 250 A EX: 1. Tony Hendon; 2. Duke Dowell; 3 . Don Hart e. . OPEN A EX: 1. Ron Neylor; 2. Geoff Bell erd; 3 . Ma rk Hyde. 4 ·STR K A EX: 1. Curtis Dike; 2. Rya n Pecore ; 3 . Conrad St it ser. DIST SR: 1. W elt Feyling; 2. AI Waters. 5 5 : 1. Bill O'Brian . DIST VET: 1. Kev;n Herry: 2. Eddie Egyed.

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