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/127373
Hamel, fro m Boulder City , Nevada, wo n in the opening round of the Nationa l Championship Hare&: H o und Series in January and was leading the second ro und two weeks later before a bro ken chain sidelined the 6' 3", 210pound racer. me o u t tha t 1 did so wel l. It gave me a lot of co nfi dence in wha t 1 co u ld do and in my a bilities." With Smith retiring after the 1990 seaso n to pursue a career in o rr-road tru ck racing, H am el stepped up a nd in heri ted his ride in th e O pen class after spend ing'most of his tim e raci ng in the 250cc class. "Larry (Roeseler) is such a versatile rider, he can ride a motorcycle anywhere. Stick him on the moon and I betcha he'd rage.' , " I basicall y wa tched h im ride. It was lik e th e first time r wen t pr e-runnin g wi th h im a t the Parker 400. 1 just watch ed h im ; watched how he slid on the road s, a nd the washes, a nd everythi ng he did . Basicall y 1 tried to do it the wa y he did. T he n everyt hi ng started cli cking." 'Ht was great going from an amateur racer, buying my own parts and everything, to a paid rider for KTM." Perh a ps Ha mel's grea test ac h ievrnent to da te is practically so loi ng the e n ti re 680- mi le Ba j a 1000 la st Novem ber a nd finishing a remarkable second overa ll. " Da n go t hurt th e Monday before th e race, and we basically didn't hav e a ny back-u p riders tha t we rea lly felt co nfiden t in, that we co uld put a ll of o ur support in . I d idn' t th ink I co uld do it, but once the race got go ing : your ad renal in gets going a nd you j ust do it; you do n' t even th ink abo u t it. You just do it. Wh en 1 first go t orr the bike after 250 m iles, my hands were already bli stered. 1 was like, 'O h no, what a m 1 go ing to do now ?' But I just taped up my ha nds, gritted my teeth a nd wem on. " Before the race 1 talked to j ack J ohnson (for mer deser t raci ng ace) a nd he to ld me wh a t he did wh en he soloed the Baja 500. He said the da y befor e the race you do nothi ng - si t in your roo m , dri nk a lot o f liquids a nd just do not hing. T hi s is wh a t 1 did, whil e Dave Chas e a nd Ni les Ussery wen t over th e bi ke a nd got it a ll prepped . Basicall y all 1 had to do was race a nd 1 j us t went o ut a nd did it." During the race, Ha mel go t so me breat h ing tim e orr the bik e thanks to j oh nson and Chase. "Jack rod e 50 mil es a nd Da ve rode o ne of the toughest sectio ns of th e co urse which was 20 mi les - all the wh oops. 1 did the rest. It reall y £l ipped " I rea lly feel more co mforta ble on the O pen bikes, beca use I'm such a big rider. So 1 j ust feel rea l co mfortable o n the bike and it 's wor kin g rea lly good. I' m super happy." Ha mel' s debut o n the Open class 540cc KTM was a complete success, wi nning the opening rou nd of the Nationa l Championship H are &: H o u nd Series by more than four minutes over runner-up Pa ul Ostbo, At round two, two weeks later, Ha mel was leading the race un til a bro ken chain ended h is ride. " I was third off th e start, but 1 wor ked my way u p into the lead. 1 pulled o u t to a two m inute lead o n Teddy (Ted . Hunnicutt ), th en m y chai n br ok e a t 35 mi les. 1 didn 't ha ve a masterlink in my fannypack l 1 was bummed." Ha mel feels hi s two main co m pe titor s for the n um ber o ne plat e this year will be Ka wasaki T eam Gr een riders La rry Roeseler a nd Ted H un n icu tt. " Larr y is such a versa tile rider, he can rid e a motorcycle a nywhere. Sti ck him o n the moon a nd 1 betcha he'd rage. "Ted (la ug h ter) - h e ' s l ik e a ' kam ikaze pilot. He's fast. " H ow does Hamel compare his ridi ng style to those of R oese le r and Hu nnicutt? "My style is a mixture between the two , 1 think. 1 never pus h beyo nd m y lim its. I know wha t my limi ts are . 1 never like to go beyo nd them beca use tha t's when you ge t hurt. It 's no t worth it to cras h a t 100 mph. I don 't kn ow how they're go ing to be when the races get to ugher and mo re technical. T he first two races were very fas t a nd weren 't that technical. 1 li ke rea lly tech n ica l co urses that are real de ma nding. The kind that ta ke a lot o u t of you. T ig ht, second or third gea r th e who le race. 1 do n 't like long valleys and big whoops." Hamel cla im s he has no rea l secrets o r special tricks to make h im go fast in the desert . " I just live here in southern Nevada a nd ride rig h t out fro m my ho use. Every day after high school 1 wou ld go riding. 1 d id a lot of riding and 1 j us t go t co mforta ble with the desert .a nd the desert speeds tha t you have to go. T he n 1 hook ed u p with KTM a nd go t th e bikes wor kin g reall y good, and everything started tak ing shape. T hat 's about it." "I like really technical courses that are real demanding. The kind that take a lot out of you." When Ha mel' s not busy racing his time is either spen t attending co llege, a t work, tra ining on h is mountain bike or pract ici ng o n his mo torcycle. " I' m a fu ll- time college student a t junior Co llege of Southern Nevada. I'm taking all the basic classes right now , so 1 can transfer to U NL V. I' d li ke to ge t my degree in bu si ness manag em ent. 1 al so work for m y dad, Roger, in the afternoons - he's a roo fing co nt ractor." Both Hamel' s mom (Marcia) a nd dad fu lly back their so n's racing. "They bo th go to the races - they are my pit crew, basica lly." H a m el ' s lon g-ran ge pl an s a re simple. " I just want to do the best that 1 can. 1 g uess my goal is to b eat Dan Smi th 's record, to beat him , but I do n't know. H e left an impressive mark. I'm j ust going to do my best. That's all 1 can do. " CN 13