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/127537
Overall and Open class winner Paul Krause was untouchable at the King of the Desert race. He led from start to finish and pocketed $1000 in prize money. Craig Smith was second overall but won a tough battle in the 250cc division. Krause is King of the Desert By Bob Bell f""\ ,., 1~(P[RL.u. 'K 38 VALLEY, CA, FEB, 1 5 a wa sa ki Tea m Green ' s Paul Kra use was un deniably the fastest rider at the AMA District-Sf King of the Deser t race, staged at the La ke Superstit ion O H V Area . Krau se powered his KX500 to a wire-to-w ire victory, and not o nly did he tak e ho me the six-foo t number-one trophy, he also pocketed $ 1000 in prize mon ey. Craig mith , riding a Kawasaki KX250, was anot her Team Green ride r who made it into the win ner's cir cle. Smith ende d up seco nd overall and scored the 250cc class win aft er a racelo ng battle with T im Funk, who was also Kawasak i mounted. H o n da-mounted Jason Co rf ma n and Kaw asaki rider Brent Colema n spent the en tire race in a dog figh t for the l25cc class numb er-o ne trop hy. When the du st had cleared, it was Corfm an who prevailed. T he King of the Desert event traditi on ally kick s off the fiv e-round Fu dpu cker Racing Team 's Budweiser/ Bud Li ght Superstition Championship Series. This year 's race featured a four-loop, 38-mile course. The co urse consisted of man y long, high-speed, cro ss-gra in straights, and an eigh tmi le section through th e Ruff Huff mu d h ills. As soo n as the green flag dropped, Krau se powered hi s Kawasaki into th e lead. But hot on h is tracks were KTM's Scot Harden and KTM-mounted Gerry Cam pbell. Near th e end of th e first lap, the thr ee leaders had motored away from the rest of the pack, as they headed into the mud hills. It was here where Cam pbell lost the 250cc class lead, when he cras hed and was for ced to retire . T his gave the cla ss lead to J ohn Flores, who had moved hi s way up thro ugh the pac k and was ru nn ing th ird. T he sta rt/ fini sh lin e area featured a supercross section wi th a table- top j ump, wh ich kept the spec tators very mu ch ent erta ined. When Krause came over the table-to p for the first time, he enjoyed abou t a 30-seco nd lead over Vet class leader Harden. Just before reachin g th e pit area, Flor es' mount came to a coasti ng stop, whe n it ran out of gas . This ga ve Kawasaki rider T im Funk and Sm it h th e first an d second place po sitions in the 250cc class. The du o were ba ttling neck and neck. Flor es managed to get some gas and ride into the p its, where he refueled. H e charged o ut of the pits and resu med withi n the top 10 overa ll, alt ho ug h far back of cla ss rivals Funk and Smith. In the meantime, Honda rid er Jas on Corfman a n d Kawasaki-mounted Brent Col eman were locking handlebars in a fierce battle for the l25cc class lead . Pat Flanagan was well out in front of the Senior class, running a strong race inside the top 20 overall. The seco nd lap saw Kraus e pull well ahead of Harden, while Smith and Funk cont inued to duke it out in third and fourth , respectivel y, dicing for the 250cc class lead . The duo eventually clos ed in on Harden and eventually passed the Vet class leader, wh o began developing rear brake problems when it started o ver heating. Eventually, H arden would lose th e rear brake co m p letely, but he sti ll ma naged to hold o n to the Vet class lead throughout the race. Harden 's nearest competitor was Dan Worley, but Worl ey was too far back to be a threat. I