Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Enduro champ Terry Cunningham won the Sunset Ramblers HS . Hundreds of riders attended the first 0-37 race of the year at the Jackrabbits HS near Red Mountain . Smith sails to Jackrabbits Hare Scrambles win By Oonnetta and Bob Murray 24 R ED MO U NTAIN, CA, J AN . 14 The cream rose to the top again as KTM 's Dan Smith, th e desert 's number o ne O JX'D rider. won th e first District 37 even t of th e year. the J ackrabb its M.C. H are Scra mbles held a t Teagle Wash near Red Mountain . Pri me racing co nditions greeted the lar ge con tinge nt of racers Sunday as th e desert had seen more than 24 hours of intermitt ent rai ns. The wea ther cleared j us t in time for the riders to prepare for th e race a nd th en they were treated to a rare, d ustless ride. " You o n ly get day s like this two or th ree ti mes a year:' said Yama ha's G ra nt Palenske. The course proved to be the tough est opponent for most of the riders who struggled to ma in tain th eir sta mi na over the three loo ps of 40 miles eac h tha t inc luded some tough terrain. Kawasaki T eam Gr een '. T ed Hunnicu tt took the lead at th e bomb, a lead that was to be exchanged with Smith man y times duri ng the first loo p. Smith stayed withi n 50 feet of H unnicutt, th en sna tched th e lead as the duo went th rough a set of wh oo p s. As the trai l wove irs way across a va lley. H un nicuu spied a bet ter lin e and found h im self in th e lead aga in, but not for lon g as Smith used the same tactics on him . T he pair was next raci ng do wn a sandwash whe n th ey bo th lost sig h t o f th e tra il rib bo n . H unn icu tt was first to catch sig ht of th e rib bo n, earni ng th e righ t to th e lead wh ich he kepi across (he next valley tha t led in to th e Lav a Mountains. T he twosome rode toget her across a choppy road a nd Smith p ulled int o the lead as they raced over a cou p le of sma ll hi lls. Sm it h sta lled hi s bike go mg down a canyon . allo wing Hunn icu tt to ta ke th e lead again. Hunnicu tt held onto th e lead for the rema in der of the loop wit h H unn icuH a nd Smi th en tering pit row just seconds apart, It had ta ken th em a few m inutes over an ho ur to complete th e 40 mi les. H un n icutt was firs t to leave the pits. but Smith was right there with h im. Five miles ou t, H un nicutt hit somethi ng and tried a handstand on his ha ndlebars. He dropped behind Smith , who charged ahead with the undispu ted lead. " I was sta rti ng to get a bad headache," said H unn icu tt. " I worked rea l hard 10 keep up with him, but my head was hurting so bad I cou ldn't thi nk straight enough to race." H un n icu tt trailed into the pits fifth at the end of the second loop and called it a day . Once H u nn ic u tt had dropped behind, Sm ith's on ly co mpeti tion was the co urse a nd his own stamina. He wo n o ut... tak ing the checkered nag several mi nu tes ahead of lhe seco nd pl ace rider. " It's a n ice way to begi n the year," said KTM 's Smith. " It was fun , challenging an d I lo ved carvi ng the turn s in the hill s, bu t it too k a lot of strength. At th e end of lhe first loo p , I lhoughl 'O kay, this is fun !' By the seco nd, it was ' Wow , I'm ge tti ng tired.' I just cruised the thi rd loop." With an o kay start, Ch ris Crandall had to wo rk hard chas m g ride rs one a t a tim e to e-.un , his seco nd place finish. With h is ,AT K's big ta nk, he was able to bypa ss first gas , mov in g up four slo ts in th e process. Out for a month with a broken foot, he said the lon ger he got into th e race, th e better he felt . " The race was great ." said Crandall . " It was so tough , so hard, so different. T he y sen t yo u fro m on e type of terrain right into a no ther. ,. Rob ert La ugh lin was sitting tight in second place unl il he was passed by Cranda ll o n th e th ird loop. Ridin g desert for th e firs t ti me, th e for mer Na tional mo tocrosser a nd supercross co mpetitor held o n for a th ird pl ace fin ish . Pa lenske was racing a " firs t" of hi s o wn. He moved up this year to th e Vet class for rid ers o ver 30 years. He fin ish ed fourth o vera ll and first in hi s new cla ss. Greg Searle maintained hi s po sition through out th e three loops to daim th e 250cc class and was fifth overall. Eric Hall gath powered hi s l25 cc to th e max tryin g to keep u p with th e big bik es. He was able to pass man y in the tighter sectio ns of th e co urse. Alt hou gh he cras hed rea lly har d o n the fina l lap, hi tti ng his brak es going do wnh ill and th row in g him self o ver th e bars. he was able to get back 0 0 and fin ish the race for a sixt h overa ll spot and first in the l25cc class. Brad Fay had brak e problems of his o wn whe n he lost h is bolt and clamp. Thai did n't stop h im froin fin ishing seventh, followed by Paul Krause wh o had ru n ou t of stea m follo wing two strong loops. Ro und ing out the top 10 were J eff Black and J im Cla rk. Craig Hunter cl aim ed the firs t overall Amateur titl e o n hi s KX250, while Bill Maxim mad e his lon g tri p down from Lake T ah oe worthwhile by nailing th e Senior win . An na Cody Merritt survi ved all three loo ps 10 ga mer the \Vom en 's win. Results O/A : t . Dan Smith (KTMt; 2. Chr is Crandall (ATKI; 3. Rober1 Laughli n (Hon); 4 . Greg Searle (KTM); 5 . Eric Hallgal h (Yam); 6 . Brad Fay (Yam); 7 . Paul Krause (ArK); B. Jeff Black (Hont 9. J im Dark (KTM). OPEN EX: t . Dan Smith (KTM); 2. Chris Crandall (A TIC:); 3. Robert Laugh lin (Hon); 4 . Paul Kraus e (ATK); 5. Jim Clark ( KTM~ 250 EX: 1. Greg Searle (Ja M); 2. Brad Fay (Vam); 3 George Penni nglon (Kawl; 4 . Si eve Kir k Jr . (Yam); 5 . Robert Baehr lKawl. 125 EX; 1. Er ic Hallg.th (Vam); 2. Jeff Slack (Han); 3. Ed Pierce (Yam); 4 . Kelly Pale (Yam). VET OPEN EX: 1. John Silva (ICaw); 2. Si eve Ot is (Yam); 3. Mike McDonald (KTM); 4. Robert Dunlap (Kaw) . VET 250 EX: 1. Granl Palenske (Yam); 2. Downh ill A lexander (Suz); 3. Tom Cosl a; 4 . Seen And erson (Yam); S. 8~:~iS~nE~n, ~~~~~axim (Kaw); 2 . Bob Ashcr af1(H an); 3. Mik e Condit (Han); 4 . Cleon Loonsfoot (Kawi . SR 250 EX: 1. Dave Kerst ing (Kaw); 2. Ron Hall (Suz); 3. Oon Doerksen (Yam). OPEN AM : 1. Steve Cole (ATK); 2. Kurt Hinl z (Han); 2. Scan Herweg (KTMI; 4. Rich Chrislenson (Honl; 5. Brett Hoff man (Kaw). 250 AM : 1. Craig Hunter IKaw); 2. Oavid Ondas lKawl; 3 . Scon Hammond (VarnI; 4 . Forresl Brueske (Honl; 5. Bren Bell (Yam). 125 AM : 1. Oana VanSl ee (Kaw l; 2. Gary Chr ist ie lK8wl; 3. Angel Figueroa (Yam); 4 . Chris Si ew art (Kaw) . OPEN AM : 1. Ji m Weichers IATK); 2. Darro l Taylor (Hon): 3 . Rich Hazen (Kaw ); 4 . Joel Bilon a (ATK); 5. Denn is Knuckels (ATK). VET 250 AM : 1. SI8Ye Barklow (Yaml; 2. Marlt Harpwood (Suzl;: 3. Si eve Gilmor e (Yaml; 4 . Jim M ill er (Yaml; 5 . Bob Williams (Husl . SR OPEN AM : 1 . Ross Barnes (Kaw). SR 250AM: 1. M ike Burn en (KTMI; 2. John Barnen (Yaml . OPEN NOV: , . Jerry Syrd (Hon); 2. Oargos Longu ; 3. M ike Shan non (Yam); 4 . Gary Shaw (HonI; 5. A lan DeWI" (KTM) . 250 _ NOV: 1. Baby Bomb Gaeu; 2. Rich Myers (Ya,:,,); 3. Dan iel Cleveland (Yam); 4 . M ike Adams (Yam); 5 . Rid Mon iot:(Yaml. VET OPEN NOV: , . Dean Talavera (KTMJ,: 2. John Sides (Hon); 3 . Randy Perkins (Hon): 4 . Jim 51'chen (Yaml; 5 . Ronald Evans (Yaml. . S/SR : 1. Dd Pos1ma IATKl; 2. Al Guzman (lUiwl; 3 . M COSSto (Ka w); 4 . Bill Prtdemor e (Yam) WMN EX: 1. Anna Cody Merritt (Kaw) ver Cunningham tops Sunset Ramblers Hare Scrambles By Wes Miller G ALI O N, OH, JAN. 7 Na tio nal Enduro sta r Terry Cun ni ng ham from Ath en s. Ohio. too k th e overa ll win a t Su nse t Rambler s M.C. T wo·H our H are Scra mbles. U nseaso na lly warm tr mpera tures th aw ed th e frozen terrain, and in doing so, lurned the track in to a quagmire. Cunningham , aboard a new 1990 Kawasaki KX250, blasted into th e lead off th e sta rt. Eric Buroff, Yam ah a YZl 25-mounled a nd Chad Coo n o n a KTM 250 ga ve chase for severa l lap s. Bolh riders event ually lell off lhe pace , bu t won their respective classes a t th e fin ish . Halfway through th e race, Cunningh am held a co mmand ing o ne·la p lead , even lua lly build in g it to two laps at th e finis h. O ne of th e d osest baltles came dow n to th e dosin g laps as Kevin O utl and o n a KDX200 overca me Ken Frankenbc:ry o n h is Honda CR250 to ta ke the Senior clas s win. Craig Ha yes mad e a lo ng trip from Springfield , Illinois, payoff as he domina ted the O pen class o n a Husky 400. As the ch eckered n ag fell and Cunningh am was told tha t he won, he ju st sm iled and said, " Yeah, but I crashed a few tim es." Resul ts 0 1A: t . Terry Cun ning ham (Kawl. 0 1A B: 1. Dave Hopper (Han). MINI JR: 1. Mark Heller (Yam); 2. David Miller (Yam); 3. Joe Stacy (KTMI; 4 . Mike Smith (Suz); 5. Sieve Teague (Kawl. M INI SR: 1. Vince Karnow (Suz); 2. Ryan Weaver (Kaw); 3. Nil. Mi ll er (Kaw l; 4 . Chad Dalenb urD IKaw); 5. Rory Swartz (Yam). 125 : 1. Eric Buroff (Yam); 2. Kirk Je ff r., (Kawl; 3. John Baum IKTM): 4 . Dave Green ich (Suz); 5. T.J. Martin (Kaw). 250: t. Chad Coon (KTMt 2. Jell Esbenshade (Hont 3 DaVid Johnson (Kaw ); 4 . Oavid KninJe (Hon t: 5. Brian Ranki ns {Kaw l. 250 B 4-STRK: 1. Richard le\ringslon (Han); 2. Hen ry Levingslon (Sla); 3 . De.an Levingston lHont " . Bill Ball (Hont 5. Jason Lacey (Suz). 250 S 2- STRK: 1. Robert Cram er (Han I; 2. Br ian McCI inl odt (Hon); 3 . Rick McWale rs (!(awl; 4 . Trevis Ruh l (Hon); 5. Bob Sl one (Han). OPEN: t . Craig Hayes (Hus); 2. Don Sombel i (Hon); 3. Greg Matern (Hon); 4 . Andro Vance (Hon); 5. Joh n Jones IHon). OPEN B: 1. David Bohrer (Yam); 2. Cory Orewiler (Yam); 3. M ichael lear (Yam); 4 . Dan Vaughan (Yam); 5. M ilte Nickelson (Hon) . SR: 1. Kevin Outland (Kaw); 2. Ken Frankenbery (Hon); 3. Bob Carpenle r IKaw); 4. lewis Harry (Yam); 5. Rober1 Din inger (Han). O'Dell tears if up at SoCal Trial By M ike Cushionbury NUEVO, CA, J AN. 14 Ji m m ie O 'Dell o verca me rai n , greasy mud and slick rocks to clai m th e Cha mpio ns hi p In term ed ia te c lass wi n a t th e So u the r n Ca lifo r n ia T r ia ls Associa ti on 's fir st -ev er Kangaroo Rat Assistan ce Pr oject Trial. O n O'ne il's first loo p, he rode th e nine sections qu ickly a nd co n fide nt ly, losin g 26 poi nts and ca p tu ri ng the early lead. Mike Cus hionbury follo wed in a close second with 27 poi nts a nd Brad McCell an held fast in thi rd with 28. Will iam Merritt a nd Kir k Hathaw ay were loc ked in a tie for lou rth wit h 30 apiece. On the second loo p , O'Dell didn 't Iare quite as well . losin g 29 poi nts, which gaVf' him a two- loop tota l of 55 poi nts . Md '.ell an beuered hi s Iirst loo p score by two, and lost just 26 points. This was good enough to give him a one-point lead ovc-r O'Dell. Merr itt cam e out of his £ourt h -place tie to ho ld third wit h 57. / On the final loop, McCella n lost 24 points while O 'Dell lost 2 1. givi ng O 'Dell the wi n Wilh a 75t ' in l t",a l. McCellan followed dose in secon with 78. Jeff Nielson was third, falling behind after a firsl .loop score of 36, bUI riding superbly o n the next two to lose just 22 poinlS on each for 3 three- loop tOla) of 58. In Expen class competitio n, Nationa l number 12 T odd Ro per took lhe Ie-dd ' a fter the first loop wi th 27 poi nts. Paul Webster a nd Tom Hamann were held ina tie fo r second wi . h 31 points eac h. n ave Wehster foll o wed close ly in th ird wi th 34. Ro per scored 23 on th e s<'Cond loop and still held o n to first wilh 50 points lo ta l. Pa ul \Vebsler broke th e tie with hi S 21 to move int o 'secn nd wit h 52, foll ow ed by Ham ann who had a 65 poi nt to tal. On th e th ird and lin al loop, Web ster haJ a horrend o us endo off a IS-foot rock in sect ion o ne, end ing hi s da y. H is brolher, Dave, decided to pull o ut of compe rilion to watch o ver Paul, wh o was not serious ly inj ured but was still hurting badl y. With the Websters o ut, Roper ran away with the viclory; hi s to tal fo r th e day was 77 po ints. Ham ann follo wed in second with 96, wh ile Mark O lda r moved up to Ih ird wilh a 116 point 1 tal. 0 R ick Daffern lOpped th e Ch ampion shi p Adva nced dass with a 77-point to tal. Thomas Engelhardt led after lh e first loop with 29 po int s, wh ile Daffern foll owed with 30. On th e seco nd loop, En gelh ardt loSl 32 po ints an d the lead ; Daffern nnly lost 23. This gav e Daffern a seven-poi n t lead, with a total of 5 ~ points compared 10 Engelhardt's 60. On th e fina l loop, Daffern lost ,24 poi nts, giving him an easy victory over the 89-point tota l of ja<:k Hem inway, wh o mov ed a head of Engelha rd. by vi r tue o f hi s 23 .on th e f!nal loop. Engelhardt lost 31 POints o n hIS last tri p ' th rough th e sect ions and held third with a to tal of 92. Results EX: 1. Todd Roper IApr ); 2. Tom Hamann (Bel l; 3. Mart. Okla r (Mer). EX VET: 1. Gary laP1anle (Han). A!JV C"SHIP; 1 . Rick Dattern (Yam); 2. J ack Heminway (Yam); 3 . Thomas Engelh ardt Ifanl. A!JV VET: 'l , Kenl Graham (Yam); 2. Art Webst er (Yaml; 3. Gary Conrad (Fan ~ INT C"SHIP; 1. Jim mie O·DeIl (Yam); 2 . Brad McCell an; 3. .Jeff Nielson (Yam): : INT VET 1. GuY W ard IFan ); 2. Sruce DeHaven tBett 3. ijQn.~~lip: r. GuY Smilh (Yam); 2. Lee hoh h 3. Paul Joh nson (Yam). (Yam~ NOV V£T; t . Paul DeArmond (Yam); 2. Llrry Var nel (Yam); 3. Randy M inier (Bet). NOV SR: 1. John Collin s (Bel t 2. Randy Thorn l on (Yam~ 3 . mark Alpen (B et ). NOV S/SR : t . Dave Sl anley (Yam); 2. Joe W irt h (Yam; 3. Duane Sl one (Mer). BEG C'SHrp: 1. Ray Lackyard (Yaml; 2. Oebi Lazza" (yam). BEG V£T: 1. Del Harl and (Yam); 2. Ed Bei1Z81 (Yam); 3 Kirk Sl~(Yam) BEG SR: 1. leslie Brewer (Yam); 2 . Larry Demas (Yam) 3. Gary Wac htl er (Yaml BEG S/SR: t . Dave Balter (Yaml. Riders honored at 0.37 Sports Awards Banquet By Kit Palmer BUENA PARK , CA, JA N. 6 Mor e than 2 10 of AMA District 37's top har e &: h o u nd a nd end u ro co m pe ti tors wert recognized in a jammed-packed room at the Buena Park HOIeI for the a nn ua l yea r-e nd AMA D-37 Sports Awa rds Banquet. 0 ·37 president Ken Boyd hosted most ol tit, dinner/tro ph y prese nta tio n and said , " We an here to hon or th o se of you wh o have demo ns tra ted exce llence in o ur sport, But let' s n ot for get the wives, girlfrie nds. mo ms, dads a nd frie nds wh o pit. pla n and support th e ride rs. Without thei r dedi cation , a ll those races wou ld not have the exci teme n t to share:' The evening was high lig hted by a q uestion a nd answer segment wi th Bo yd and D-31'" rrurnber -ort e H ea vyweig ht division desert racer a nd fo ur-time Na tio nal Har e 8c Hou nd Champion Dan Smith. Boyd a nd the facto')' KTM rider. Smith, kep t Ihe a udience in stitc hes, as wr ll as allcotivc whe n the National champ revraled some of his most "sacred " riding secrets and racing tech n

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