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/127174
a B ~ After three-and-a-half hours of racing, winner Dan Smith (1) crossed the finish line eight seconds ahead of Paul Krause at the Gold Strike H & H. The start of the 250cc Pro wave heads out into the Nevada desert. Dan Ashcraft (2 15) finished third 250cc. Casey Folks Best in the Desert Series: Roulld 1 Smith edges Krause at Gold Strike VI By Anne and Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren JEAN, NV, J AN. 7 KTM-mounted National Hare & Hound Champion Dan Smith turned on a la te-in the-race sprint to grab the overall honors at the Gold Strike World Championship 22 H are & Hound VI, crossing the fin is h li ne less tha n five I seconds ahead of the Team Green 's Paul Krause to capture the pr estigious win for th e fourth tim e. " I went into this with a game plan," said the new KTM recruit. " It was my first race o n the new bike so I wanted to rid e easy at first to get used to it and then start racing la ter o n. It feels great to win this event - this is four times out of six now, and it's even better because I just changed motorcycles. I was really happy to do it with a new" company." Fros t on the ground and ic y temperatures greeted the riders as they lined up near Jean, Nevada , for th e start of the Gold Strike Hotel and Gamb ling H a ll / Dur alu be O i l sponsored, sixth-annual event. The banner dropped for the O pen Pro class at 9:00 a.m. and the rest of the field followed class by class at three minute intervals. Smith grabbed the holeshot as the first-wave riders left the li ne and led the charge up the bo mb run, but Kawasaki's Pa ul Krause was hard on his heels . "I was second with Dan and I passed him just pa st ' the bomb," Krause told Cycle News. " I 'led for a while but then I fell down when I hit a rock that was bigger than the fro nt wheel. ", KTM pilot Scott Morris and Todd Johnson were also high in th e early running 0[£ th e Open Pro start, and YZ250 pilot Dan Ashcraft got the jump on the 250cc Pros in the second starting wave. "I had a rea lly good start, " said Ashcraft. " I was leading all the way to th e bomb but th en I backed 0[£ fo r so me ditches a nd everybody passed me. They went through th e ditches like crazy people." Grant Palenske sailed past Ashcraft to take th e lead on his new Yamaha and Team Green's Ted Hunnicutt powered throug h in second. Mike Sixbery catapulted to the head of th e OY.er 30 Pro class inthe third starting wave and KTM 's Todd Campbell led the l25cc racers out into the 38-mi le first loop. Some of the racers were in tro uble the minute the starting banner fell. "I missed the start completely," said 250cc KTM pilot Daryl Folks. " I forgot my fanny pack so I rode back to get it and everyone took off when I was back at my truck." Out in front of the pack, the pace was fast and furious throughout th e 38 miles of loop one. The lead swapped back and forth as Krause, Smith and Yamaha pilot Cliff Thomas battled in close competition, with Honda pilots Chuck Miller and Kelly Sorenson not far behind. Only eight secon ds separated th e to p four as they raced down pit ro w for the first time. It was Smith, Hunnicutt, Krause and Thomas leading the way. An all-out sprint in the early stages of the race had made up the three-minute starting deficit and catap ulted th e 250cc Pro competitor, H unni cu tt, up to th e .front of the O pen ,~,~.~ ,~~! .~ps t