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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126958
HU8qvem. pilot Don GrieW8 pressured Kr.ul8 for moat of the rece. but h.d to settle for second ove...11 .t the checkered fl89. Honda priYllteer P.ul KreUI8 OV8I'811ed his second AMA/District 37 desert ...ce this yeer by winning the 13th Annuel Boner Run H.....nd Hound. E.rIy in the first loop. bunched-up riders h.d to contend with .n offcember. cenyon w.1I th.t put m.ny of them into the bottom of the cenyon. Krause captures Boner Run H&H By Anne and Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren SEARLES STATION, CA, APR. 12 Paul Krause topped the 13th Annual Boner Run Hare and Hound, powering his Open, class, privateer Honda to a wire-to-wire win in the SO-mile event, which was sponsored by the Rov.ers M.e. Despite constant challenges . . f rom Husky pilot Don Gnewe, who was hard on the leader's heels ~ughout the event, Krause turn~ in a flawless per~ormance to take hts second overall VIctOry of the year. "It feels so good to have a bike that finishes," said Krause, who is sponsored by Escondido Honda/ Hal1man/Shoe~/Metzeler/Scott/ Neal Ent.erpri~e~Spectro/Answer/ F&:L Raang. It s such a cha~ge from the way the year started with all those DNFs. This thing ran perfectly the whole way." A large field turned out for the event, which treated racers to the first summer conditions of the year. The . 800 bikini weather was a sharp contrast to the snow flurries and rain of the Invader's race two weeks before. Krause gunned his big Honda off the line and charged out across the tricky,·bush-littered bomb run in an all-out drag race to capture the early lead. The banner dropped about 10 a.m. Tucked in behind the race leader as the frontrunners swept past the bomb were Yamaha riders Darin Cartwright, Ron Shuler and Cliff Thomas, Honda pilot Kirk Kovaleff, leading the Amateur ranks, and Husky privateer Don Griewe. A rider who didn't fare as well was Team Honda's Dan Ashcraft. "I finally got a ~reat start," Ashcraft said. "One kick and I was gone. I was first on my trail, but I didn't get more than about 50 yards when someone hit the back of the bike and took me out. I had to'stop at the bomb to fix my bars because they were right down on my tank. I lost about three minutes." Out in front of the pack, Krause was making the most of dust-free conditions. He picked up the pinkribboned trail and headed into the first of two 4O-mile loops. Out in front was definitely the place to be when the trail hit the seven-mile mark and started to run along the side of a very off-camber canyon wall. Krause followed the single trail with ease, but pandemonium broke out among the closely bunched riders further back in the padc-. Riders fell like dominos and those who tried to go around downed riders found that any line off the trail was like riding on marbles. Many ended up taking a fast slide into the bottom of the canyon. Loop one made a wide circle through the hills behind Johannesbur$' then turned to cross Searles Statton Road before heading into pit row. Krause stormed through the pits with a 4O-second lead over secondrunning Cartwri~ht, who was dropped to third whIle taking on gas. Griewe thundered past without pitting to steal second overall, relying on his Husky's monster gas tank to take him the full 80 miles. Cartwright was soon back on the gas in an all-out push to regain second. He was followed out of the pits by fellow 250 pilot Cliff Thomas, who was competing in his first race since re-breaking an old shoulder injury l'ust four weeks ago. Kirk Kovalef led the Amateur pack in fifth overall, about five minutes behind Krause. Shuler's Yamaha led the Vet division, while Kawasaki-mounted Mike McDonald and pre-race favorite Dan Smith tried to make up ground behind him. Team Husqvarna's Smith, who reportedly was not feeling well, also was experiencin~ mechanical problems that kept hIm back in the pack and held him up in the pits for repairs. Running two places behind Smith going into the 4O-mile second loop was I 25cc class leader Brett Howell. Loop two offset the open terrairI of. the first loop with numerous technical sections that kept the tiring riders on their toes. It also provided some exciting moments for race leader Krause. "I lost my rear brake going into loop two," Krause ,said. "Sometimes it was there and sometimes it wasn't. That made things a bit tricky in some of the tight stuff and I fell over on the goat trail. When I was picking up the bike I could hear Don (Griewe) coming and I could see his dust back there. That was when I started riding really hard." Loop two's rocky terrain got the better of Vet class leader McDonald. With almost half the loop behind him, McDonald tipped over on a rocky hill, just before check six, and in the scramble to get back on his feet, lost two positions. "I knew they were coming and I tried to get going too fast," said McDonald. "I kept stumbling over my own two feet and ended up falling over twice. What a mess." Back in eighth overall, Smith was also in trouble. Plagued with mechanical problems, the ailing Husky ace decided to call it quits shortly before the sixth check. Out in front, Krause was still holding off Griewe, but his lead had been cut back to about 30 seconds as the racers turned for home. In an all-out sprint for the checkered flag, Krause crossed the finish line under full steam, just 25 seconds ahead of the Husky pilot. "It was really fast and a little bit rough, but it was fun," Krause said.