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/127535
A pair of 250cc Expert riders wind their way through th e scoring chute. the next even t of th e weekend - tha t was the one with th e $5000 p urse at stake. "The 125 race was back to back with the Pro ra ce," Roeseler said. " I was lu cky that th e race was dela yed somewhat while the track was worked on . It gave me a chance to rest. My arm was getting sore by th at time." The first lap of the Pro race had a lot of action . Greg Zitterk opf and ATK rider Don Griewe were up front, but Zitterkopf seized on the second p avement section, and Griewe suffered a fai rly spectacular crash. " I went sideways on the pavement and hit the ground going pretty fast. Then I was sliding backwards on my hands and kn ees while a ll the riders were com ing directl y at me. It was Mike Healey sailed over the triples and finished third in the 250cc Expe rt class. Danny Hamel was the runner-up in both 250 and 500cc Expert classes. T y Davis, as well as Hea ley, was one of th e few to clear the triple jump. scary." Team Green star Danny Hamel was th e man who eventually ca me ou t of that first lap with the lead. Roeseler was solidly insecond and it looked like it would be the ba ttle of the century , as the two of them started pullin g away fro m the rest of the pack, which was led by T y Davis. On the thi rd lap, though , Ham el disappeared from the lineu p. "A stick went through my radiator hos e," H am el said. " Eventually the bike stopped." Hamel then added another story with a smile. " I heard later that I had crashed . People were telling how I had endoed a nd then been carried away in the helicopter. It was kind of int eresting," H amel said. " After Hamel dropped ou t, it turned out to be th e easies t race o f th e weekend," Roeseler said. " I go t a sign at one point that told me I had al most two minutes over Paul Krause, so I just too k it easy. I didn 't want to blow it." "I got a mediocre start and just started working my way up," Krau se sai d. " On the first lap , I followed Ty Davis over th e triple jumps, and he do uble-j um ped the first two and rolled over the las t one. I went over the m one at a tim e, but didn 't lose that much time. The next time arou nd, I was in front of hi m and it j ust about scared me to dea th when he tri pled all three and landed in front of me. I passed h im back that la p an d made sure I got away before he came to that jump again." Davis' aerial antics on the tri p le jump made him a favo rite with th e crowd. Every lap , he would try a little harder to please anyone wh o would wa tch. Everybody watched. Mike Healey was another crowd pleaser. The 250cc World Championship MX contender was riding an old, fairly clapped-out Suzuki RM250 th at was geared rather low and had to really wor k to get to the Iron t of th e pack. Bu t he always managed to clear the ma ssive triple. The crowd loved it. Eventuall y, H ealey finished in third, beh in d the two non-triple-ju mp ing desert racers. For winning th e Pro race, Roeseler too k ho me a $2500 pa ycheck. Sunday it started all over again. Roeseler, H amel an d Kraus e got back on the now-familiar course and put on another show, this tim e in th e 250cc class. "I've' never raced th is bik e," said Hamel, who dwarfed the tin y-looking 250 on the start lin e. " I' ve play-ridden it , though. It'll be fun." Krause also was putting in a rare appearance on a 250 just for kicks. H is bike is the same on e he will ride in enduros la ter in the year, and was fully equipped with lig hts. It was 250cc class regu lar , J immy Lewis who gra bbed the early lead on a KT M. " I got a huge holeshot and held the lead until the first road," Lewi s said. "They had bulldozed over the whoops since Saturday, and I took what I thought was a good line, and Paul Krau se and Roger Hu rd blew by on the new, smooth section. Hamel and I went back and forth for a while, pas sing each other severa l tim es. We both got back in fro nt of Kraus e and H urd. O n the second lap, Krau se and Roeseler went by me, so I was in fourth and stayed there. They ha d a better line in the whoops." " Kra u se and Hamel were really . equal to me in the desert section," said Roeseler of th ose first laps on the 250. "I had an edge in the motocross section . That's where I reeled them in. I had to really concen tra te. I just put my head down a nd rode as hard as I could." Roeseler fin all y passed Hamel for the lead and th en managed to pull away slightly, H am el, Krause, Lewis and Kenny Parry foll owed to the end. " After the 250 race I was hurting," Roeseler said. " I kn ew tha t Hamel was the hottest thing in the desert on a 500. I was th in king to myself that second place wouldn ' t be so bad. I think the 500 race turned out to be th e mo st exciting one of the weekend," Paul Kraus e go t th e early lead and stayed in front uncontested for th e fir st lap, then started racing with Hamel. ''I'd pass Danny and he would pass me back, and I would pas s him aga in," Krau se said. " My third lap was hell. Danny was right in front of me, and he passed a lapped rider. The lapper got so scared tha t he veered right into me. We locked bars and I went stra igh t into a yucca plant. Roeseler wen t by. The whole episode cost me ab out 30 seconds and I never could mak e it up." "After I passed Ty Davis, I saw Danny pass Krause an d I knew I had to get Paul too. I didn 't want Dan ny to get away," Roeseler said . " Once I was in second, I managed to gain a little on the motocross section, bu t Danny had a better line in the desert . On the fourth lap I found a new line. I went straight in one area and th at 's where I passed H amel. From th ere on in , it was just a matter of riding hard and staying up," Davis was fourth, but on ce again he was the crowd favorite because of his triple-jumping ability. In the end, that was fine with Roeseler. He had p lenty of spotlight to share. With hi s six wins in six starts he had a very, very good weekend. CIf Results (Unofficial) PR O: I. Larry Rceseler (!(aw); 2. Paul Krause (!(aw); 3. Mike Healey (Suz); 4. Ty Davis (ATK). 1%5 EX: I. Larry Roeselcr (Ka w): 2. Jell Kawell {Ka w). 250 EX: I. La rry Roeselcr (!(aw); 2. Danny Hamel (!(aw);3. Paul Kzaus« Kaw); 4. Jimmy t.ewi . (KTM ); 5. Kenny Parry (Kaw). 500 EX: I. Larry Roeselcr (!(aw); 2. Danny Ha mel (!(aw); 3. Pa u l Krause (!(aw); 4. T y Davi. (ATK). VET; I. Larry Roeseler (!(aw); 2. Rex Slaten (Yam); 5. Kenn y Parry (!(aw); 4. Darren CanwrighL U/ CLFD: I. Rex Slaten (Hon); 2. T y Davis (AT K). 13