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/127118
00 00 O'l , .....-< Winner Dan Smith came from behind to take the checkered flag just 18 seconds ahead of Dan Ashcraft. '1 • l.· k " ... • '1 ~ I I '1 I II '" - ... 1 • ~ ..., -iII""~'" Smith (left) and Ashcraft continue to dominate the desert racing scene, finishing 1-2 at the Gold Strike Hare and Hound World Championship. Best in the Desert Series: Round 1 Smith hits'pay dirt in Gold Strike H&H By Anne & Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren LAS VEGAS, NV, JAN. 15-17 Team H usqvarna 's Dan Smith walked away h om the weekend wi th a ch am p ionship title, an impressive trophy and $700 in p rize m oney after overalling the Best 'in the Desert's Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall World Cham. . pionship Hare and Hound, held near Las Vegas. 18 It was a close race all the way as the desert's best battled it out over 128 miles of grueling Nevada terrain. The lead changed hands over and over again as racers and , their machines fell victim to the challenging course. When the checkered flag finally fell, after four hours of neck- in-neck c~mpetition, Smith grabbed the Win Just 18 seconds ahead of Yamaha's Dan Ashcraft. . "It was pretty close all day," Smith said. "I got a bad start and was just catching, catching the whole time. Can you believe I was looking down making sure that my gas was turned 'o n when they dropped the banner? Pretty stupid, huh? I was way at the back when we got to the bomb, but I had no problems at all after that. The bike ran like a top the whole way and I never fell or anything. I just spent the whole race gradually working my way up through the pack." The race, which Smith has won three times in five years , was formerly known as Whiskey Pete's World Championship Hare and Hound. This year's sponsorship for the race was picked up by the recently completed Gold Strike Hotel/Casino in Jean, Nevada. The change of name resulted in a smaller-than-usual turnout for the event, . b u t what the 221-rider field lacked in size was more than 'made up for by the quality of the competition. . The entry list read like a who's who of desert racing and also incl uded some impressive'non-desert entrants, like .N a t iorial enduro champs Kevin Hines and Dick Burleson, Pro motocrosser Greg Zitterkopf and Canadian Cross Co untry National Champion Guy Parrot. -The race drew entries from 17 states with racers coming from as far away as Massachusetts, Hawaii and British Columbia. Cold, clear, dust-free conditions greeted the racers when the banner dropped for the Open Pro division at 9:00 a.m. Thirty -one first-wave riders powered off the starting line, with Las Vegas' Barry Frehner, aboard a Husqvarna, and Kawasaki factory riders Ted Hunnicutt and Paul Krause leading the way across the rutted, brush- littered terrain that led to the smoke bomb. Danny Hamel' got the holeshot when the 250cc competi tors left the starting line just five minutes later and swept past the bomb to pick up the pink-ribboned trail with Hondamounted Greg Zitterkopf and Yamaha ' rider Darren Cartwright hard on his heels. Out in front of the field, Kra use was not content to stay back in third. for long. He blasted past Hunnicutt and Frehner and took over the lead just a few minutes into the the 34mile first section. "I got the lead and everything was great for a while but then I crashed," said Krause. " It was on one of the rare spots on the course where you could go really fast and I was tapped out. Me and a rock had a meeting and I guess the rock was a lillie bigger than me . I just didn't see it." The fall cost the Kawasaki pilot a lo t of time. Krause was forced to tear his KX500's throttle apart to get the dirt out, and then he rode the rest of the course on a badly bent bi ke. Krause's misfortune handed the lead over to Kawasaki teammate H unnicutt. who had stretched out a fu ll minute and a half by the time he hit the first gas just outside of Goodsprings. Frehner had disappeared from the running, leaving Ashcraft in second overall. Smith, riding in an all-out sprint to make up for his lack of concentration at the start, had rocketed into third overall, just 10 seconds beli ind Ashcraft. Smith was followed through by Husky teammate Don Griewe, Las Vegas CR500 pi lot Kevin Steele (last year 's Best in the Desert Series champion), and defending Whiskey ' Pete's champ Swee tland. Ziuerkopf led the 250cc division through in 16th overall, six minutes behind the overall, leader. Yamaha pilot Mike Baker was hard on his heels in 17th overall, and Kawasaki ride r Grant Palenske was figh ting to hold off a strong challenge from Carlos Serrano for third 256, 20th overall. Honda rider Eddie Arnet was running 33rd overall, and had a twominute lead over Las Vegas hotshot Sean Steele for the top spot in the 125cc division. Scot Harden had opened up three minutes over his nearest Vet class rival. As the course turned north and . headed out into loop two, HunniCUll'S luck started to run out. "I rode really well in the first loop , but I got a flat tire going into loop two and had to ride the whole loo p with it," Hunnicutt said. " I kept washing out so Ashcraft caught up pretty fast." Hunn icutt was still out in front as he raced toward the second pit, but with Ashcraft just three seconds behind, the lead turned over in the pits as Hunnicutt's crew struggled to change the front flat and a worn a u t rear tire. "I lost about three and a ha lf minutes changing both wheels and then I rode a bit wi ld at -the start of the third loop. I was trying to catch u p too quick and ended up paying the ultimate price - I crashed. I slowed down a bit after that," said Hunnicutt. Back in third place, Smith was closing fast. He stormed out of loop two just half a minute behind Hunnicutt and, like Ashcraft, took advantage of Team Green's tire problems to 'p ick up a position on pit row. Just over three minutes behind Smith, the desert racing theories of 1987 National Enduro Champion Kevin H ines were paying off and had rocketed the Massachusetts racer up from 12th at the first gas to fourth overall just 39 miles further into the race. "I'm not used to this desert st uff - I'm out of my element, so I was being pretty cautious at the ,start," said Hines. "I didn't prerun the smoke bomb, either, because the bike didn't arrive unti l , late, the night before the race, but I didn't think that was very important. I don 't think these races are ever won on the start, so I planned to 'start slowly, ride steadily and catch up gradually. I did all my catching up in the tig ht stuff but I'm not.used to the dust out here, so I had a lot of trouble passing people. I get pretty scared in the dust." Pushing hard behind Hines were.