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/126995
Mike Baker (2), who finished second overall in last year's B-to-V, and Mark Vanscourt (117) finished inches apart for eighth and ninth overall. Suzuki-mounted Chuck Miller idl~s through a check point on his way to an 11 th overall finish. Miller captured seventh in the 250cc class. Bruce .ogilvie was running third overall after crossing into Nevada but crashed after getting wire wrapped up in hjs front wheel. Desert hotshoe Don Griewe was running near the front of the pack before the needle clip i!l his !:tusky's carburetor popped off. 12 and I thought I was going to end up second," Canwright said. "But then I started catching him right at the end. The course got rougher and I think maybe Paul was getting tired. I caught him just a quarter mile from the finish." The two racers were neck-in-neck as they turned the final corner :leading to the finish line. With its rear wheel scrambling for traction on the rocky road, Canwright's YZ250 edged past Krause to grab the number one position with just 100 yards to go and streaked across the finish line just two bike lengths ahead of the Open class Kawasaki that had led almost all the way. Cartwright's 250cc victory headed an unprecedented 250cc finishing lineup that saw quarter·liter bikes take 10 of the top 14 placings. "It was a close finish, that's for sure - Paul sure gave' me a good race," said a dusty but obviously elated Cartwright, who thanked Montclair Yamaha, Malcolm Smith, F8cL Racing Fuel and Austin Racing. ·"It sure feels ~ood to win this one. It's my first ume ever at the B-to-V, unless you count the time I rode it in 1974 when I was 13. It's a good race. It's . really fast but it had some challenging terrain too." "Darren had a grea~ ride," said second-placed Krause. "He was right there all the way and was iust too strong at the end. This is my best finish at the B-to-V, but I'm really bummed. The bike ran great; I was really happy with it. I'm looking forward to riding with Kawasaki all year." Krause thanked Kawasaki, Hallman, Shoei, Smith, Ascerbis, Spectro and Metzler. Krause's nearest competition in the Open Expert division came from Husqvarna rider Matt Schweitzer, who finished a distant 17th overall. Palenske's CR250 was still going strong in the final sta~es of the race and crossed the fimsh line just behind Krause to clajm third overall. "They graded a few of the -. whooped-out sections of the course so it was a bit faster than other years, but it was a fun course," said the Laguna Beach, California, racer, who thanked American Honda, HRA, Showa, Metzler, O'Neal, RK Chains, Shoei, Ascerbis and CSR Racing. "My biggest problem was with my vision. I just got new contacts and I couldn't see a thing in the last section. " - Vet Expert Mike McDonald kept his blistering, early pace going right up to the checkered flag to steal fourth overall, narrowly edging out fellow Vet Expert Ogilvie. "That was a pretty fun course," said McDonald, who is backed by Team Green/Kawasaki of Riverside, Answer, Works Performance, DRS and Viewfinders M.C.. "I got lost a couple of times and my rear brake went out about halfway through, but it was fun dicing with everyone the whole way. It feels good to beat Ogilvie too, that's for sure." This is the same bike Dan (Ashcraft) and I won the (SCORE Baja) 1000 on," said Ogilvie, whose offthe-trail excursion late in the race forced him to settle for fifth in the final standings. ':1 just washed the mud off and brought it out." Ogilvie thanked American Honda, Hondaline Apparel, K8cN and Ray Plumb for building his bike's motor. KX250 pilot Larry Roeseler finished hard on Ogilvie's heels to claim sixth overall. "This was a typical B-to-V for me," said Roeseler. "I've never done good in this race..It's so dusty and there are so many riders that the start is critical in this race, and I was back about 15th at the bomb. I kept passing guys but it's pretty tough In all the dust and this is as far up as I managed to get." Roeseler was followed in by a trio of 250s piloted by Hunnicutt (Kawa· saki), Baker (Yamaha), and Vanscourt (Honda). "I went into this with a bad knee and I twisted -it again today," said Hunnicutt. "I really have to say thank you to Kawasaki and CTI for getting me a knee brace for this race. I don't think I ,could've ridden without it. I got sick during the race, too. I don't think this morning's oatmeal settled down too well. A whole lot of people got by me then. They just freight-trained me, but I got most of them back again. I guess I had a pretty good day, all in all." Baker said his ride ran into difficulties after the second pit. "I got water in my gas at pit two and went from fifth back to about 15th," Baker said. "I had to stop and empty all the gas out and then watch !=veryone go by until I got some more - that made me pretty mad'" "h was exceptionally fast," Vanscoun said, "but it was really close the whole way. We had a lot of fun battling it out." Following Vanscourt in at the finish was Arnet, who completed his wire-to-wire win in the 125cc Expert division a high 10th overall. Amet brought his CRl25 home a full six places ahead of his nearest 125cc 'competition, which came from Yamaha pilot John Braasch. "This is my second 16th overall in a row at this event - is that some kind of record?" asked Braasch, wh'o reponed iii trouble-free ride. "I had a few interesting moments just after