Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ .. ~ :-:: , Cartwright picked the. 1987 Barstow-to-Vegas Hare and Hound to capture his very first overall desert win. He rode a Yamaha YZ250. '20 miles east of Barstow. When the starting flag finally dropped, the 400strong first wave hit the gas in an all-out drag race for the early lead. - As the roar of 400 engines broke the pre-race silence and the field disappeared iri.a huge cloud of dust, Team Husqvama's Dan Smith was making his move: Smith's 510cc thumper led the way past the smoke bomb and out into the first part of the orange-ribboned: course. Cartwright, 'Krause and Vet Expert Mike · McDonald were hard on his heels. ........... ffi: t . n~r InteI'Slate 15 for the first time at Basin Road, Smith was still out in front and was working on stretching out a healthy lead. But something w~nt wrong as the Husky ace led the way into pit one. "I don't know exactly where 1went .wrong but I took the old course into the first gas and missed a whole new section they'd put in/' said Smith, whose mistake became obvious when he thundered into the Rasor Road pit a full six minutes ahead of the rest of the field. "By the time I knew .I'dJaken the wrong course, I didn't have enough gas to go back, so I had · to go on to the first pit and then go 'baCk to get the check I missed. It must've cost me about 20 minutes.. ., did a lot of catching up' after that 'and was starting to do okay again, but I broke a chain about 10 miles &om the finish and that put me back down again. But I still had a heck of a day and raced with some really neat guys." Other' early casualties included Team Honda's Dan Ashcraft who . reportedly dropped out after a getoff just a few miles into the race, and · Kawasaki pilot Randy Morales ~ho put in a lopsided 25 miles after losing a foot peg just '0 miles into the race. I With Smith retracing his steps in search of the missed check, the lead went to Cartwright, who stretched out ~ 42·second m~gin over .Krause by the time the racers shot through the Zzyzx Road freeway underpass. But the YZ250 pilot's winning run bit the dust less than five miles .further on. . "I center-punched a big rock not long after the first pit and went flying sideways through the air," Cartwright said. "I was just getting up when Paul (Krause) went by. My bike went down hard and bent the bars pretty badly, so I had to ride the rest of the race with everything pushed over to one side." .' Cartwright was bad in the saddle in s~onds and set off in hot pursuit of Krause. Hard on his heels, 10 third overall, was Honda-mounted Palenske. Open Vet Mike McDonald, a1iaar:4'a Kawasaki, was putting in .the n(te of his life in fourth overall; at b.yzx Road, McDonald. was just over one and a half minutes behind the race leader. As the racers started to spread out at the end of the first hour af racing, fifth overall was in the ~nds of Team Honda's Bruce Ogilvie, with YZ250 pilot Mike Baker trying to better last year's second place finish from sixth overall. Suzuki rider Chuck Miller was pushing hard in seventh, less than half a minute in front of Ted Hunnicutt's 250 Kawasaki. Derrick Paiement and Tom Willis rounded out the top 10, while Eddie Arnet screamed through at the head of the I25cc field in II th overall. Out in front of the field, Team Green's newest recruit was s.till going strong. Pouring on the throttle despite the pain of tom ankle ligaments, Krause led the field through to the second. gas at Halloran Springs, determined to take the win in his first ride as a Kawasaki factory pilot. . "I was pushing really hard but I wasn't having a good ride at all," said the KX500 pilot. "I wasn:t hanging on or riding good. I was allover the place. I just couldn"t get it together. Darren was riding really well and he was right behind me the whole way. The only thing that saved me was that it was fast and dusty. With a bigger bike I could stretch it out in the fast stuff, but . he'd catch me every time in the tight stuff. " Cartwright was 'just !l0 seconds behind Krause as they cleared the Honda CR250-mounted Grant Palenske (112) battled with Krause for the lead most of the race. Palenske eventually finished third overall. Halloran Springs pit. 'When' Palenske, Ogilvie, McDonald, Baker and Miller all cleared ,the Halloran Springs check within four minutes of the leader, it was apparent the race . was shaping up as one of the closest B-to-V events ever. Paiement was the next rider through in eighth overall, clearing the check with Kawasaki's Larry Roeseler and KTM pilot Tom Willis . all over his rear fender. Arnet was continuing his domination of the 125 class a few seconds back in II th . overall. Hunnicutt and Baker were still high in the running and last year's B-to-V champ, Cliff Thomas, was fighting it out for 14th overall with AMAiDistrict !l8, 250cc hotshot Mark Vanscourt, who was riding a Honda. Krause was still going strong as the course crossed Cima Road 'and headed into the. tight, rocky terrain ohhe Clark Mountains. He tackled the tricky uphills like a surefooted mountain goat, pouring on the pressure in an effort to shake off the tenacious Cartwright. . . . As the first trail of dust appeared out of the hills above Stateline and began the sprint across the valley to pit three at Whiskey Pete's Casino, Krause .still held the number one spot, but Cartwright was just !l0 seconds behind. Krause wasted no .time as he headed into the final section of the race that headed toward the finish line near Sloan, Nevada. "I'd led all the way since about Baker, but I knew I was in trouble going into the last section," Krause said. "I still wasn't riding well and my foot was bothering me by that stage. When there were r9£ks around I'd cringe. I just knew I was going to hit my foot on something and kill it completely. I knew there was a lot of tight, rocky stuff coming up and I just hoped I could make it." Ogilvie had elbowed liis way past Palenske to claim third overall as the racers cleared the Whiskey Pete's pit and was hard on the ~ as the course hit the ·wide-open. pole-line road that paralleled Interstate 15 for six miles. Ogilvie's last-minute dash had the big Honda thumper all wound out and he was making up ground on Cartwright. "I got right up behind Cartwright about half way through the final section and was within striking distance. of Krause' and then I bas:ically gave the race away," said O~lvie.' "I got a bunch of bailing Wll'e wrapped up in my front brake right off the start arid sometimes I'd have a brake and other times I wouldn't. f was on a road right behind Cartwright when we got to a comer. 1 grabbed the brake and nothing happened. I went over a ledge. and down into a bi~ ditch." . A battered and bloody ORilvie emerged from the ditch with his Honda intact and was soon back in the race, but with just 10 miles to go, his chances of taking the win were over. Palenske's Honda CR250 had reclaimed third and McDonald's flying Kawasaki had moved through to capture fourth overall The final section of the grueling I 7o-mile race also spelled disaster for hard-charging KTM jockey Tom Willis. WiUis was reportedly tapped out on the pole-line road leading out of Stateline and was unable to slow down enough to make the 9()Il turn that led under Interstate 15 at the end of the wide-open dirt road Willis reportedly overshot the comer and plowed through a barbed wire fence, suffering numerous cuts and a fracture in his back. With the finish line approching, the race-long battle between Krause and Cartwright was heating up. . "I'd been behind Paul all the way . il

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