Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126950
Ex-250 World Champion motocrosser Danny laPorte (122n leads former 125 National champ Marty Smith. CAN'T FIND THOSE '87 CRs?? ne #1 CR Support Dealer Has Them WIJI (404) 948-0616 Out-Of-Stete Cells Welcome Hurryl Ouentities An Very Limitedl BONDAiiiII tn his first-ever desert race, motocrosser John Flores finished fourth overall, first 125, then swore he'd never race in the desert again. the racing started to heat up even' more. Both riders were tapped out and lying flat on the tank in the run across the dry lake bed, Neither backed off an inch over the supercross jumps, putting in high-flying performances that rivaled the best seen at any motocross even t. The tiring riders launched a do-ordie e££ort in the final lap in a lastditch push to take the coveted title a~d the $1200 purse for the overall Win. La Porte was still out in front and going strong as the front-runners hit the haH-way point of the final loop, but his winning e££ort bit the dust shortly alterwa!ds when he report- edly stripped the teeth 0(( his rear sprocket. "I got him just before the lake bed near check three," said Sweetland. "I think he was baving some problems because he'd stopped and was looking at the rear end of the bike. After thatall 1really had to do was finish." _. Paul Krause, running..third overall, also ran into trouble on the final lap. His Husky let go again, taking him out of the race and adding to his unenviable record of DNFs. The remainder of the race was smooth sailing for Sweetland, who cruised in to take the win by a comfortable margin. "That was definitely a to.,.gh race," Sweetland said. "It was very fast and so rough that it was tough to hold on. Your legs got worn out from the pounding," Sweetland, sponsored by Husqvarna/Spectro/Hallman/Metzler/Dirt Unlimited, said his race was largely problem fiee. "1 rode most of the third loop with a front nat but that was about it," he said, "The bike ran really well The worst thing that happened was when 1 came off the big jump the last time. 1 came off the foot peg and landed on my foot. That hurts a bit. "I want to say thank you to (race organizer) Fud. He always puts on a great race and it feels great to win something this tough, especially with such good competition." Second overall. went to 250 Yamaha pilot Mike Baker, despite a dismal performance on the starting line. "I think everyone had left and 1 was still sitting there on the line. 1 was about 20th around the first loop," said Baker, who is backed by Mal· colm Smith/Orange County Cycle/· Dallas Baker ProducLS/Kalgard/Scotti Bell. "I'm a bit out of shape too. I've had an ear infection for awhile and this is the first time I've ridden since the Adelanto Grand Prix back at the end of January." "It's the same old stu£[ - wide open, dusty, and choppy," said third place finisher Duane Summers, who is sponsored by Cagiva/Alpinestar/ O'Neal/ScottiKalgard. "It's so rough out there that you .have a hard time just hanging on," Summers said. "And it's so fast - it's a real 500cc course. About four miles of it was little canyons, but the rest was wide open. 1had that 250 wound out as fast as it would go. "I was in third overall in the first loop when 1 ran out of gas," said Summers. "I must've lost 10 minutes trying to get going again and 1 really had to work to catch up again. I wore myseU out because I was charging so hard." The big surprise of the day was