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/127413
Scott Morris finished second to Hamel in the Open Pro division . Fourth overall finisher John Rudder was the runner-up in the 250cc class. Bill Maxim easily scored the win in the Over 38 Pro class. 42 cactus in my leg 15 mi les into the race and crashed in fourth gear right after that, I fell over three or four times, my hands were so bad I couldn't ride and my kidn eys started hurting so bad I got a headache," said Folks. "The whole way I was thinking, 'you ought to retire, Daryl, you ought to reure.''' Many of the top contenders had done just that, Mark Morri s drop ped out with a " headache from hell," after he highsided his Kawasaki KX250 and lan ded on his helmet, Kawasa ki 's Joey Lane reti red wh en he lost hi s rear brakes in lap two, and Brandon Gerber called it quits when his KTM ran out of brakes and lost its clutch. A stack of pancakes effectively ru ined Greg Searl e's shot at the 250cc class championship. " I had pancakes for breakfast. They tasted kind of funny, but I didn't think any thi n g about it, " said Searle . " I started getting reall y sharp pains in my stomac h in the first loop, and in the second loop I had to stop and take my helmet off because I heaved twice." Charl ie Kline's Suzuki was at tfte head of the 125cc Pros when the fin al loo p bega n. Carwright was still leading the Over 30 Pros and Kawasaki KX500 pilot Bill Max im was on hi s way to a wire-to-wire win in the Over 38 Pro division. Two ra pi d circui ts of the course had put 26-year-old Sean Steele at the head of the Sportsmen contenders on a 1987 Honda XR250, whi ch he bought for $100. But with 120 m iles still to go , the race was far from over. The riders were starti ng to tire. Cactus spi nes were taki ng a toll and the course had turn ed into a grueling 40-mi le ro ller coaster. "The first lap was reall y fun. The second lap was a bit less fu n, and the th ird lap was no fun a t all . It was just u n believably bruta l," sa id Richa rd Wilk, who rode a T KM in the Open Expert Spo rtsman class. " It was so rough it made you want to qui t racing. I just kept thin king , 'I can't do this to my body anymore.''' As the la p con tin ued, th e even t .changed from a race to a test of fitness. "1£ you were going to finish th is race, you had to be in shape," said Over 30 Pro Lee Pearson. " By hal£way through the last lap, I had absolutely nothing left. I wanted to snap back but there was no snap left," But ou t in front, Hamel made it look easy. He kept stretching his lead all the way to the finish, and when he too k the checkered flag after four hours and 10 minutes of racin g, he was a full 10 minutes ahead of his nearest rival. " It was an excellent course and I never had any ·problems. Everything worked great," said th e KTM / Answer/ Du ralube/ Metzel er/ Acer bis/S hoeil Sprocket Specialist/ Ba k Can teenbacked rider. Ham el's win ning share of the purse was $218. Lewis crossed th e finish line in second to take th e 250cc Pro win , and collapsed on the handlebars. " I haven 't felt thi s bad si n ce (the ISDE in ) Sweden . I'm just beat ," said Lewis. Scott Morris, who was third overall and second in the Open Pro class was as exhausted as Lewis. ."I'm too tired to talk. That's got to be one of the toughest races I've ever ridden," said Morris. John Rudder's ATK followed Morris home in fourth overall (second 250cc Pro) and Brent Fox claimed fifth on his Yamaha, despite losing his rear brake 15 miles from the finish. . " It was a lot of fun, but you had to be on your toes the who le way," said . Rudder. " 1£ you overshot any turns, you could definitely get hurt." Cartwright claimed the Over 30 Pro win in six th overa ll, nearly 20 minutes ah ead of second pl ace finisher Lee Pearson, an d T om Bradshaw was thi rd . Charlie Klin e completed the course in just over five hours and topped the 125cc Pro class in 23rd overall. "I' ve got choyas stuck everywhere in me," said Klin e, who beat Over 38 winner Bill Maxim by just haI£ a minute. " Some of th e uphill sandwashes were a bi t slow on a 125." Sean Steele kept hi s four-stroke ' H onda in the lead all the' way to the ch eckered flag and led the Sportsmen finishers in eigh th overall. " No problems at all," said Steele. "I lost my exhaust right at the finish. I'm going to walk back and get it." Craig Hu ffer won th e Over 25 Sportsmen class in ninth overall and . Over 38 Expert Mike Godfrey tied Over 30 win ne r Rich ard Wilk for 11th overall. ''I'm exhausted," said Wilk. " All I want to do !s go to bed." ar Results O/A: 1. Danny Hamel (KTM); 2. J immy Lewis (KT M); 3. Sam Morris (Kaw); 4. 'john Ru dder (ATK) ; 5. Brent f ox (Yam ); 6. Dann Canwrigh. (Yam); 7. Dary l folks (KTM ); 8. Sean Steele (H on); 9. Craig H,uller (Yam ); 10. Lee Pearso n (KTM ); 11. Milte Godfrey (Suz); 12. Richard Wilk (KTM) .13. Mike Heers, Jr. (KTM) ; 14. Kevin S"",1e (Hon); Is. Dave Kerr (Hon); 16. Eric Larson (Yam); 17. Tom Barbero (Hon); 18. Kay Jewel' (Hw); 19. Tom llradshaw (Kawe); 20. John S,eele (KTM).