Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Husqvarna's Garth Sweetland claimed the King ofthe Desert crown during District 38 competition at Ancient Dry Lake in southern California. Sweetlandcrowned 0.38 King of the Desert By Anne and Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren EL CENTRO, CA, FEB 22 Team Husqvarna's Garth Sweetland fought off a top-class field to take the crown at this year's King of the Desert race, held at Ancient Dry Lake. In a close-fought battle that saw the lead swap back and forth continually, Sweetland kept up a blistering pace over 150 miles of AMA/District38's most treacherous southern California terrain to snatch the prestigious Kingof the Desert title. "I guess the third time's a charm for me," an elated Sweetland said after taking the checkered flag. "This is the third year I've ridden this race and after two years of not doing so well, I got the win. I did the same thing at Whiskey Pete's (World Championship Hare and Hound) this year. It was my third try at that race and everything worked out there too. I guess the third time isjustlucky for me." The well-known King of the Desert race, now in its severHh year, is organized by the Fudpucker Racing Team and was sponsored by Kearny Mesa Yamaha, with support from Budweiser, Matlock Construction and Cycle Parts West. . The race is the biggest event on the District 38 desert racing calendar and al ways draws an impressive lineup ofi desert talent. Sitting on the starting line for this year's event was the defending King of the Desert, Larry Roeseler, and two-time King Marty Smith, the ex-pro motocrosser who claimed the crown in 1984 and 1985. The flag dropped just after 9:30 a.m., and the first wave of racers screamed 0[( the starting line on Ancient Dry Lake, charging out into the silt and dust in search of the dayglow orange arrows that marked the course. The short starti ng loop took riders three miles into the desert, then turned them back toward the dry lake bed, where the specially-built jumps and stutter-bumps of the supercross course awaited. As the racers cleared the six-mile starti ng section and headed ou t for their first lap of the 30-mile course, ex-250 World Champion motocrosser Danny La Porte had his Open Class Kawasaki out in front of the pack, a scant five seconds ahead of a 250 Kawasaki piloted by Smith. About 15 seconds back, in third overall, was Sweetland's Husky. Todd Barnhill and Duane Summers were running neck-in-neck for fourth, followed by District 38's top ranked Open Class riders Tom Moen and Steve Walker. The fast-paced course made a wide loop south toward Plaster City, and had the riders ducking as it passed back and forth under the railway lines. It then ran through miles of open terrain littered with pucker bushes on its way to the infamous Huff Mud Hills, where the trail wound over and through the steepsided mounds before heading back to Ancient Dry Lake for another shot at the supercross course. The wide-open terrain gave the advantage to desert-ace Sweetland, and the hard-charging racer from Phoenix, Arizona, soon reeled in the front-running motocrossers and swept past to take over the number one spot. When the dust cloud appeared on the horizon at the end of lap one, Sweetland still held the edge, which earned him $100, the first of six special leading-the-Iap purses. The Husky ace sailed over the Supercross jumps like a world-class stadium racer and th undered down pi t row on his way out into lap two with a narrow IO-second lead over Kawasaki pilot La Porte. After being sidelined with bike problems at last year's race and missing the chance to take three crowns in a row, Marty Smith was putting in a determined effort in third overall. AMA/District 37 250 ace Mike Baker, riding a Yamaha, was pushing hard in fourth. Baker was followed into the second lap by KTM pilot Tom Moen and the 250 champ from this year's SCORE Parker 400, Mark Vanscourt, who was riding a Honda. Also running high in the early going was Team Husky's n.ewest recruit, Paul Krause, in ninth overall. The first 125 pilot, John Flores of Spring Valley Lake, was wringing out his little Yamaha in 11th. Duane Summers, who had traded his customary 125 Cagiva for a 250 Husky - a bike better suited to the fast-paced King of the Desert eventput in a fast starting lap and had a firm hold on third overall at the 25mile mark. But Summers lost time when his bike ran out of gas about four miles from the pits. He had dropped back to 13th overall by the' time he made it to the start of the second lap. The early lead in the Vet Class'was claimed by Yamaha pilot Scot Harden, but was soon taken over by Mike Ruhstofer when mechanical problems forced Harden to drop out of the running.

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