Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

9HARE ~ HOUND Battle-to-Victory ~ KTM's Danny Hamel scored the overall win in the Battle-to-Victory, finishing almost 10 minutes ahead of his nearest rival, Dan Richardson. Hamel takes charge at Lucerne By Anne and Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Bevem LUCERNE VALLEY, CA, NOV. 24 T M'S Danny Hamel dusted the competition at the Battle-to. Victory '90, the replacement race for this year's cancelled Barstow-toVegas Hare & Hound. The IS-year-old from Boulder City , Nevada, completed the grueling 109mile race through Lucerne Valley in just under three hours to take the overall honors nearly 10minutes ahead of his nearest rival. "It . feels good to win this race because Bvto-V is the granddaddy of all desert races ," said Hamel. "Barstow-to-Vegas is a really important event and we need to do something to bring the real race back again." Second overall went to Honda privateer Dan Richardson, with Robert Laughlin, John Rudder and Vet hotshot Paul Ostbo rounding out the top five. Battle-to-Victory was organized by District 37's Sports Committee after the BLM closed the traditional B·lO-V course due to environmental concerns. The three-loop alternative course drew just over 400 riders, far fewer than the 1200 entries the Thanksgiving weekend event usually draws. "We have to face facts. This isn't the normal Bvto-V," said Dave Kersting of the organizing committee. "There are fewer entries this year and we didn't draw as many out-of-staters as we usually do, but at least it gives everybody something to do on a weekend." Proceeds from the event's $40 preentry/$50 post-entry fee will go to District 37's conservation and legislative efforts to help bring Barstow-toVegas back in 1991. Battle-to-Victory drew riders from as far away as Oregon and Texas, but it K 10 was not the star-studded affair that Bto-V watchers have come to expect. Defending champ Dan Smith was sidelined by prerunning injuries from the Baja 1000,and other top contenders like Larry Roeseler and Bruce Ogilvie were not in the starting lineup. . A new B-to-V Kids class drew 16 entries and set a record for the youngest rider when two four-year-olds took their places for the row five start. The Kids headed up the bomb run and completed a IO-mile section of loop one. The banner dropped for the Amateur/Expert start just after eight a.m . and the racers powered north up the valley towards the start of the first 35mile loop. Kawasaki's Ted Hunnicutt was out in front all the way in the drag race to the bomb with ATK's Chris Crandall hard on the gas in second and Hamel's 540 DXC KTM powering through in third. "The key to the whole thing was picking a good line and I knew I had the fastest one there," said Hunnicutt. "I got off the line really fast and after that it was easy." Early-morning shadows made the terrain hardto read and the dust hung on the still morning air ." "They turned us and ran us straight into the sun," said Kawasaki KXl25 pilot Roger Hurd. "It was really dusty off the start and we were going uphill right into the sun. You couldn't see a thing." A lapse in concentration when the banner dropped put KTM's Jimmy Lewis in the thick of the dust. "I forgot to put the bike in gear or it hopped out or something, but it wasn't a very good start," said Lewis. Honda-mounted Dan Richardson, a former ISDE rider, finished second overall and first in the 250cc class. The Battle-to-Victory race attracted more than 400 riders, " I was pretty far back so it was really dusty and that held me up for a while." Hamel wasted no time breaking out of Crandall's dust. He dodged past the Open class contender in a rocky section just five miles from the start and settled into stride in second. "I could see Hunnicutt all the way," said Hamel. " I was just hanging back a bit out of his dust." The front-runners made short work of the first 35 miles and headed into pit row just before 9· a.m. Hunnicutt was a minute ahead of Hamel, with another two minutes back to Crandall in third, and half a minute back to Paul Ostbo in fourth. Richardson's CRSoo dashed into pit row in fifth, with Laughlin, CR250 pilot Jeff Case, Rudder and Vet 250cc contender Kenny Parry chasing hard all the way. The leader of the 125cc pack, Jeff Kawell, headed into loop two in 10th overall, but the 125cc class lead turned over to Lewis when Kawell had to double back to the Kawasaki pit to change a front flat. A promising early run by ATK's Greg Zitterkopf bit the dust when he went over the bars and reportedly broke his hand near the end of loop one, and Kawasaki pilots Roger Hurd and Brett Howell threw in the towel soon after. " I fell twice and then I got a nat and it just wasn't worth it," said Hurd. " People are having a lot of trouble following the course. It could've done with a lot more ribbon and arrows," said Howell. "They should've stuck to the original plan and let us have a fourday weekend off." . Hunnicutt stretched his lead in the 39-mile dash around loop two. "The race was going.all my way," said Hunnicutt. "I could look back from the tops of the hills an d see Hamel's dust way back in the distance. I had some good distance on him so I could ride my own race and just concentrate on finishing." Dust and rocks started to spread the rest of the field out as they raced towards pit number two and many riders were taken by surprise when loop two merged with loop one for the final run into pit row. "We didn't know the trails came together and all of a sudden we were with the first loop guys, passing people like crazy," said Ostbo, who was locked . in a neck-in-neck battle for third with Richardson. "I recognized the loop and thought we'd gone the wrong way,. so we rode maybe a mile back to last check to see where we'd gon 1r wrong. They said we were on the right course but that cost us some time." · d The merging trails put Hunnicut back in the dust and the race leader came to grief just one mile shy of pj ~ row. " "I was in some Novice's dust and I hit something hard and fast," said the KX500 pilot. "I didn't have any warning at all and there was no way of saving it. I don't .know what I hit and I couldn't get up lO go back and .. I00 k." . ~l Hunnicutt landed in a bush with his ..6 bike on top of him. "I've got tire marks all over me, I'm bruised pretty badly and I think I sprained my wrist," said Hunniciif number one plate holder in the Opeo n class for 1991. "I was really, reall ' angry that it happened. Everything ;> ~ was going so well." The crash put Hamel in the lead going into loop three and the KTM ace never looked back. "The first two loops were main y valleys and really, really fast stuff with lots of whoops, but the third loop was really bitchin,' said Hamel. "It was really technical and really tough. "'I . loved it." While Hamel pushed to open up lead, the competition was giving him an unexpected helping hand. Crandall charged into the fina l loo p jus t four minutes behind Hamel in second, but a blown shock forced him to douili~ back for repairs. ;. "We ·had to replace the shock and that cost us some time, then the shock we put on wasn't really right," said Crandall. "I had to work really hard:" Laughlin inherited second p lace nine minutes behind Hamel, with the : m e

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