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/127176
Kawasaki-mounted Ted Hunnicutt passed Hallgath late in the race to finish third overall and secure the 250cc class victory. Nat'. H&H (Con tinued from page 24) 26 suffered two flat tires ear ly In the second loop. Mill er continued to lead the way in the ear ly stages of the second loop but the race was far from sewn up. " One time 1 saw a Kawasaki rig h t behind me and 1 thought it was Roeseler ," said Miller. "I thought he was going to catch me so 1was riding pretty hard. " The rocky terrain of the . second loop added to Mill er's problems. " I got a rear flat about I0 mil es ou t and that slowed me down," he said. " I guess the guys beh ind me got flats also or they would've pas sed me. 1 got a hole in my radiator too , from a rock gett ing thrown up. T h e radia tor was smoki ng pretty bad back there." The rocky course was also playing h a vo c wi t h Kra u se 's bi d for a Na tional victory. " I hit a roc k -on the firs t uphill in the second loop and ben t the fron t rotor, so that left me no front brake," said Krau se. "The whole second loop was just survival for me after that. " Despite their problems, Miller and Krau se were still ou t in fro nt as the race leaders swep t Past the 22-mile ma rk and started the homeward leg of their journey. Hallgath's YZ125 was still holding its own among the larger displacement front-runners in third overall and tir e problems had knocked front-running 250cc contenders Knapp and Morns off the pace and moved Smith through into fourth overall. " I got a back flat just out of the pits on th e second loop too everybody had flat tires," said Smith. Further back in the pack, Team Green was coming on strong. " I took off in about lOth after we changed the rear wheel and after that 1 just kept picking people off," said KX500 pilot Roeseler. Hunnicutt was also making his mo ve. " It go t a lot better after 1 go t out of som e of the du st and 1 was charging hard," said th e KX250 racer. " It was a good course definitely a challenging one, and 1 just went harder and harder and hard er trying to catch up." ' . Hunnicutt overcame new 250cc class leaders St earns and Kenj i Gauthier, pi cked off Smith and then started in on Hallga th. Even Kawasaki teammate Krau se was not safe as the race drew to a close. "T he course was great and it ga ve you some tim e to catch up in the tight stuff," sai d Hunnicu tt. " It was reall y well ma rked too. The club did a good job with it." But desp ite their last minute dash up th rough the pack , there was littl e the Kawasaki chargers could do to stop Miller. The miles were ru n ning o u tan d the elusive Honda p ilot was still two minutes ahea d as he cha rged into the finish to take the prestigi ous National event honors. " I got th e lead abou t halfway round the first loop and 1 led all the way from there," said Mill er, who thanked sponsors American Honda, Hondal ine, Sco tt , ICRT a n d Mi ch el in, and Bu tch Sm i th for pitting him. " I think Krau se got a flat becaus e he started to slow down and that let me get past and 'a fter that 1 just tried to keep it go ing. It was a good course - really rough, . and 1 like the rough rocks." Roeseler's loop two char ge was still going strong when he crossed th e finish line to claim second overall. "What a great race," said tile Kawasaki/Malcolm Smith /Scottl Du n lop z Be l- Ra yI P r o -C i rc u i t l Trick! Arai /CTII Acerbis/Tsubakibacked racer. ''I'm riding a IO{!jOO The defending 500cc National H&H champ Dan Smith w as feeling the affects of the fl u but finished seventh overall. nonetheless, at " the (SCO RE) Parker race next weekend and thi s was good practice." Kawasaki/Dunlop/RenthallTsubaki/Pro-Circuit/Bel-Rayl AXO I Trick-sponsored Hunnicutt netted thi rd overall and first in the 250cc division. Hallgath pushed his YZ125 to the limit all the way and crossed the finish line an amazingly high fourth overall. " These guys got me near the end," said Hal lgath, pointing to Roeseler and Hunnicu tt. " I tried everything 1could but 1just couldn' t sta y in front of them. 1 had a good tim e though with no problems and 1 thought it .was a good course reall y cha llengi ng." The best part of the course, however, had nothing to do with the terra in , said Hallgath. " There were two topless ladies out there in the second loop," he said. " They were real cute so 1 stopped for a while." The Yamaha p ilot thanked JT Racin g and AI Holley for hi s motor work. "T hat's about it for sponso rs - I really need some. I'm a privateer and th is is my own bik e." Krau se brought his KX500 home righ t behind Hallgath to claim fifth overa ll, and Gauthier and Stems co nt in ue d th eir ra ce-l ong 250cc battle right up to the checkered flag . " We had an incredible race," said Gauthier. " We were less than five seconds apart the whole second loop. We were backwards and forwards all the way. I was catching Smith right before the finish and had slowed down .for his dust and (Stearns) got me back. 1 got him again just a few feet from the finish. It was an incredible dice." . Gauthier brought his R M250 home in sixth overall, with Smith taking seventh and Stearns just inches behind in eighth. "I just had a bad day pretty much," said KTM America/Hi-Point/Scott/ Metzel er l Ara i/Autol itel Acerbisl F&L/Z Racing/MaximalTsubakil Sunline/Exceed Sports Nutritionbacked Smith, whose seventh overall finish gave him fourth place in the open division. "T he first ' National of the year doesn't seem to go well for me. Last year 1 came in 16th in cla ss or something, so th is reall y isn' t so bad. At least 1 got a finish and this will give me some points to build on for the rest of the season ." Arizona racer Garth Sweetland overcame a two-kick start to fin ish ninth on an Open class Husky and KTM hotshot Scot Harden took the Vet class honors in 10th, just 12 minutes behind the overall winner. J im Clark was the first Amateur class racer to cross the fini sh line in 48th overall and AI Guzman too k the Super Seni or win in 63rd overall. • Results 0 / A: 1. Chuck M iller (Hoo t 2. Larry Roeseler (Kawt 3. Ted Hunn icun (Kawt 4. Eric Hallgath (Yamt 5. Paul Krause (Kaw); 6. Kenji Gauthier (Suzt 7. Dan Smith (KTM); B. Scon Steams (Suzt 9. Ganh Sweetland (Husl; 10. Scot Harden (KTM t 11. Roger Hurd (Kaw); 12. Ed Pierce. Jr. (Yamt 13. Grant Palenslte (Yam); 14 . M ic;ltell Brix (Suzt 15. Scon Davis (Han); 16 . Tom Kelly (Varni; 17. Kenny Parry (Kaw ); lB. Jimmy Lewis (Yam); 19 . Mike Kornwinder (Han); 20 . John McCorm ick (Honl . OPEN EX: 1. Chuck Miller (Honl; 2. Larry . Roeseler (Kaw ); 3. Paul Krause (Kaw). 250 EX; 1. Ted Hunnicun (Kaw); 2 . lCenj i Gaut hier (Suzl; 3. Scan Stearns (Suzl. 125 EX; 1. Eric Hallgath (Yam): 2. Mickell Br i. (Suz). VET OPEN EX: 1. Scot Harden (KTMI; 2. Kenny Parry (Kaw); 3. Mike Mulconery (Husl. Vet 250 EX: 1. Jim Eveland (Yamt 2. John Tobin (Varni; 3. Scon Anderson (Yem). SR OPEN EX: 1. Bill Saltzman (Hust 2. Gary Garland (Yam); 3. Ron Paproski (KTM). SR 250 EX: 1. AI Hull (Yam); 2. Dave Kersting (Kaw). OPEN A M : 1. Jim Clark (KTM); 2. Bryan Hol mes (Han); 3. Eric Gra! (Hool. 250 AM : I .Tony Modica (ICTM); 2. John Garner (Vam); 3. David Graham (Yam). 125 AM: 1. Keit h Loonsfoot (Kaw). VET 250 AM : 1. Tim Nething (Hus); 2. Charlie Spellman (Kaw) . OPEN NOV: 1. Jeff Capt (Hont 2. Dean Hunter (Kaw) .