Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Suzuki RMX250-mounted Danny Hamel worked up through the dust after a mediocre start to finish second overall at the 1OO's M.e. National. Only six points separated Dan Smith (N1 ) and Larry Roeseler going into the final National of the series, The win and championship went to Smith , AMA National Hare and Hound Championship Series: Final Round Smith snags win, title at Lucerne By Anne and Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren LUCERNE VALLEY, CA, OCT, 22 KTM's Dan Smith sprinted 80 miles a t the head of the pack to take the ch eckered fla g first an d win his fourth National Championship title in a row at the 100's M.C. National Hare & Hound held at Soggy Dry Lake · ' Th e f l~a I roun d 0 f th e seveneven t senes was th e most hot! y- 14 co ntested race in th e cham p io ns h ip's four-yea r h istory. Onl y six points separated Sm ith and Kawasak i T eam Green ' s L a rr y R o esel er fo r th e Nat ional ti tle, a n d many of th e clas s titles were a lso up for grabs. "This year 's series went ri ght to th e wire so things were prett y ten se," said Sm ith. " I wasn 't really nervous but th ere was a lot o f pressure on m e. I had my ra ce face on th e day before th e race, not just the morning of th e race like I usually do ." But th e tension didn 't last long. Smith wa s out in front of th e competition just six mi les into th e race an d slid h ome to capture' th e Nati onal titl e two hours later. "Th is m ak es number four and it feel s grea t to win it again," h e said , " b u t beli eve m e, I'm happy it' s over. T h is was th e tou ghes t series so far fo r me, ma inl y beca use th e broken collarbone at th e beginning of th e year put me so far beh ind. It was a long. uphill battle, but it feels good now.:' · The 1989 series was just as tough for Roeseler , who finis hed fift h a t Lucerne a nd took seco nd in Na tio nal points for the seco nd year in a ro w. " I en ded up seco nd again but th a t' s o kay," said Roesel er. "S mi th is a good rider a nd I ha ve a lot o f respect for him , and I'm happ y with m y yea r overa ll. I' ve h ad so me exceptiona lly good wi ns th at I'm happy with a nd I've also h ad a broken neck an d back , so I'm happy just to be riding again." The ra cers were hoping for a dustfree ride as th ey mad e th eir way to th e event, but rain in th e su rro u nding area sto p ped a few miles short of Lucerne Vall ey and sun , wind and swirl in g dust greeted th e 550 competitors as th ey lined up for th e 10 a.m. sta rt . Smith exp loded o ff th e so u th end of th e line wh en th e banner dr opped for th e first wave of ride rs, an d Kaw asaki 's Paul Krau se took the hol esh ot o ff th e north end. T he rest o f th e field d isappeared in a thick cloud o f dust. " Boy was it dusty off th e start," said Team Green's Ted Hunnicutt, wh o left the line with the 25Occ · National title already under his belt. " I got th e worst start in the world an d th e line I had was really sooty an d rough. I just wa sn 't willing to go that fast in th e dust. You couldn't see a thing." A last-ditch battle for the Vet Expert title eru p ted th e minute the starting banner dropped. Kenny Parry put his Kawasaki KX500 out in front in th e dash to th e bomb, with KTM 's Scot Harden not far behind. Kerry Fowler, the th ird racer in co ntentio n for the championship, was not as lucky. " I cras hed on the sta rt, b lew all th e oil out of my forks a nd flattened the front tire," said th e H ond a CR500 pi lot. " My poor bi ke was tras hed and I had to ride like that all the way." The first loop went east th ro ugh th e Reaga n Mountains then tu rn ed north across Galway Dry Lake, and Smith was ch arging hard a ll the wa y. " I got th e lead o ff th e sta rt and I reall y pushed hard," said Smith. " My ga me p lan was to get out in front a nd sta y th ere. There were a lot of Kawas aki riders out th ere and wi th me a n d T eam Green 's Roeseler so close for th e overa ll, I wa sn 't sure wh at th ey'd do. I didn 't want to get ca ugh t by a nyone o n a Kawa saki so' I was trying to stay in front a ll th e way. " T he clea r a ir a t the head o f th e fiel d gave Smi th a n adva n tage as he cha rged through th e fast-pa ced terrain , but a little dust wasn 't ab out to stop Suzuki pil ot Danny Hamel. " I didn 't ge t th at good o f a sta rt, " said , Hamel , " bu t I started to work m y wa y up as soon as I co u ld. The dust was reall y bad and I had to tak e o ne rider at a time, but I came up thro ugh th e pa ck okay once I got going. " . Hamel elbowed h is way up past th e faster starters a nd soon captured second, and KTM pilot Tom Wi llis battled hi s way up to th ird. Dale Knapp's 1987 Husky wa s in full cry not far behind. Jimmy Lewis had th e 125cc title a ll sewn up wh en he -went into th e race, but th at didn 't slow him down for a n ins ta n t. The Yamaha pilot wa s hard o n th e ga s a ll the wa y a nd wa s o u t in front of hi s 125cc rivals before the halfway mark in the 42-mile first loop. Up near th e front, things were going downhill fast for Vet hopefu l Parry . " I had a gr eat sta rt and 1 thought things were going to go really well but people were passing m e all over the pl ace," sa id Parry. " Normally yo u work your way up during the ra ce but for some reason today 1 worked m y way back," Parry lost th e Vet class lead in a fall near the 15-mile mark and Harden took over wi th Mike Sixbery hard on hi s heels. The fast pace co ntinued as the co urse blasted down Johnson Valley towards the p its . "We laid th e first loop out with everybod y in mind ," said 100's M.C. referee John Carmona. " We wan ted the ATVs and th e novices to have some fu n so th e experts will fly through it, but wait until they get to loop two. That loop is aimed at th e National riders. It's tougher and more technical, and if you don't pay a tte ntion it'll tak e yo u down in the first 15 miles," Smith push ed to th e limit a ll th e way to th e pits and comp leted the first loop in just under an hour. Hamel rocketed into th e p its half a minute behind and was ba ck on the trail just a few seco nds lat er. " I got within 100 yards o f (Sm ith) right aft er th e pits," sa id Hamel. " T hey had a good downhill with lots o f rocks a bo u t five m iles o u t a nd I ca ugh t up to him th ere, but that was it. H e got a way a fter that and all I ca ugh t wa s hi s dust." Willis flashed through th e pi ts a minute behind Hamel in third, and Knapp, Roesel er and Krause raced through in qu ick successio n one minute later. Ron Bragdon led th e Vet contender s into the pits in seventh overall just ahead of Greg Searle and Vet Expert Mike McDonald.jmd Garth Sweetland ro unded o ut th e top 10. Lewis brought the firs t 125 into the p its in 18th overall, more th a n a minute ahead of YZI25 p ilo t John Braasch. The 38-mile second loop headed o u t through th e Fry Mountains and turned north towards Red Hill, and Smith was in front a ll th e way. Hamel contin ued to run unchallenged in seco nd but positions were turning over fast further back in the

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