Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eOFF·ROAD 22nd Vir~nia City GP ~ Approximately 700 riders turned out for this year's 22nd running of the two-day Virginia City Grand Prix in Nevada. ' Smith guns downRoeseler By Donnetta Murray Photos by Bob Murray VIRGINIA CITY, NV, MAY9·lO ith a $1000 bounty hanging o n the head of seven-time Virginia City Gr and Prix winner Larry Roeseler, Suzuki rider Rodney Smith rode into town and gunned-down the Team Green rider and rode away carry ing with him $1000 worth of silver bars, courtesy of the host club, th e Western States Racing Association, , and Kawasaki Team Green. Roeseler, who had won the five previous Virginia Cit y races in a row , settled for fifth this year, finishing behind Smith, Dan Richardson, Charles Halcomb and Paul Krause. A field of approximately 350 riders left Sunday's start line in the middle of the old mining town for the weekend's Expert/Az'B race, each line of 10 riders leaving at 15 second intervals ' in the timed event. Although the air was crysta l clear at th e 6500-foot elevation, the valley soon filled with dust as riders mad e their way through the canyons towards the rocky hills. The first lap of the grueling course was extremely dusty. One hour and 40 minutes later, the first rider made his appearance back in town. And it was Sean Lollar who had started on the first line. Right on his heels was David Meek Jr. and Halcomb, who had missed his line's start and didn't take off until severa l lin es later. David Porter ca me in eigh th, while the 12th man in was Richardson. "I was pretty mu ch trying to ride smooth and stay fresh ," said Richardson, who was rid ing a 250cc Kawasaki. " It was reall y dus ty and I was just trying to pl ay catch- up." Hard o n Richardson 's tail was hi s T eam Gr een team ma te Paul Kraus e, who was ridin g an Open bike. Richardso .had battled his way past Kraus e in a virgin area with big rocks. While th e spectators anxiously awaited for Ro esel er to ap pear, they were surprised to see Smith com e by in 18th. The pits were buzzing while people were trying to find out who the leader was on adjusted time, As it turned out, it was Smith, on his borrowed Suzuki RMX250 , leading the way. "My game plan the first lap was just to survive," said the UFO/FMF/Race Tech/Power Bars/Dublin Kawasaki! Delta Park Athletic Club/Silkolene/ W 22 sure how many, because I can't count that high." Smith had his fastest time in the third lap and was showing no sign of fatigue as he came by leading both , physicall y and on adjusted time. He asked h is crew how many laps were left and if he should " cruise" or " pin it . Loll ar was second in, while Roeseler fou ght nausea from dust in his throat and lungs to hang onto third. Next in were Richardson and Krause. Halcomb lost a little time during the third lap. H is muscles were starting to tig h ten up and his lower back was getti ng sore. He had let Smith by earl ier in the loop. By the fourth lap, exhaustion was evident in all the racers, except Smith, who was so far ahead of the pack, that he was th e only rider to go out on another lap. The checkered flag flew at four hours and 30 minutes, a short while after Smith had jetted out onto the course for the fifth time. After most of his weary counterparts had finished and were resting in the shade, Smith finally crossed the finish line, seeming hardly out of breath, five hours and 19 minutes after the start. " I could go another lap and it wouldn't bother me," said Smith, who was making his second try at the Virginian City Grand Prix. He first compe ted in the event when he was 13 years of age. The winner of that race 15 years ago was Roeseler. Although Halcomb was physically th e second rider to finish the race, Richardson aced him out of second pl ace by one second on adjusted time. "I was glad we stopped at four laps," said R ich ardson . " An o th er lap wou ld 've been really tough. I ·was dead ." Vet class winner Halcomb, as well as Roeseler, were slowed on the last lap while an injured rider was loaded int o a helicopter. . Krause finished fourth overall and first in the Open class . Nine seconds back finished fifth-overall Roes eler. "I h it the wall o n the fourth lap ," said Roeseler. " I fell again and that drained me. Then we were stopped by the heli copter. Coming in, I knew I co uld n' t make ano ther lap. I actually didn 't kn ow we were finishing or I cou ld' ve gone faster at th e end. It was a tough course, the combination of the du st and trail. If it had been wet, i t would've been real fun . But, I will definitely be back next year to try for my eighth win ." Vet rider Curt Wilcox p laced sixth overall and second in class. Team Husqvarna's Nielsen found a little extra energy on the last lap, as the adrenaline started kicking in . He and I I Bieffe/Sports Racing Gas/ N Style/ Dunlop/Regina Chains/Smith Gogg les z' An sw er /Wis ec o -spon sor ed Smith. " It was really dusty out there. I made som e good moves and came o ut lucky." Roeseler was fightin g th e du st right from the start. He said everythi ng was going pretty good un til halfway through the first loop wh en he fell while trying to pass a rider. Smith got past him, then Ro eseler got caught up in traffic. " I didn't think it (th e crash ) was a big deal ," said Roeseler. " I thought I would have plenty of time to catch up." Roeseler finished the first lap in 22nd position. The next rider behind Roeseler was Ted Hunnicutt, who had taken a nasty spill in the rocks and'was seeing stars . In addition to refueling, he required a new helmet. Although Hunnicutt forged ahead, he soon realized he was in no shape to race and returned to camp. Next into th e pits was H usqvarna 's Dan Nielson, who said , " I started out about midpack, but I couldn't see a thing. I wat ched the helm ets barely above the dust and just bounced off the rocks trying to survive." By the second lap , the riders were dealing with silt ruts through the trees that sent up puffs of fin e d ust. Lollar, now riding with a front flat tire, was again first to finish the loop. T wo minutes back came Halcomb, the n Meek. During the second lap , R ichar dson had pull ed over th inking h e wa s letting Roeseler by. Inst ead it was Smith wh o roosted by for fou rth . Roeseler also got by Rich ardso n for fifth. The next two rid ers were Porter and Krause. The du o had been dicing until Porter fell in a left-hand turn. Porter got Kraus e ba ck before th e hom e check . . KTM 's Greg Searle , the last rider off ' the line, was making gr eat stri des each lap. " I crashed once in the first loop trying to get by a guy in the rocks," said Searle. " It threw me over the bars, but I got going again fast. Then, while following some riders, I realized they were lost. I lost five minutes there. I passed a lot of riders during the first two laps in all that dust, but I'm not his fellow competi tors dueled, as they fishtailed throug h th e loose rocks. He fin ished seventh overa ll with Meek ri g ht beh ind him. In hi s eig h th consecu tive Virgi nia Ci ty race, Porter's time was nint h best overa ll. The last guy off the line man aged to fini sh in th e top 10. Searl e had started to fade during the last lap but was abl e to keep a stead y pa ce. Chris Peterson was th e fir st B class rider to cro ss th e finish line in 17th overall. Only about half of the star ters finished the race. Saturday 's riders were treat ed to cooler weather and a slight wind, which blew away some of the dust. In his th ird-career finish out of five starts, 125cc rider Brian Garrahan jumped out to a decisive lead and never gave it up. In the first lap , he, like every other rider, was faced with a gnarly bottleneck on a steep, narrow, rocky trail. After three attempts, he finally found a way around it. His third lap performance was hampered by an upset stornache and headache, forcing him to dismount on the course for a short time. He also came into the pits after the third lap with both front and rear tires flat . Fired up by his lead , the All American Honda of Santa Cruz and Thumbs Up Club-backed Garrahan paced his 125cc Honda to the win . The runner-up was Vet rider Dana Slater, who logged his first finish in four tries. His crew kept him going by patching his blown sidecase with a rag in the first pit. David Fedor had little trouble other than overshooting two turns. He cleared the bottleneck uphill all four times and waspleased with his third overall finish. Riding a Honda 125, Corey Steele rode a steady race to place fourth , while Tim Fitzpatrick found eight years off from riding to be a hindrance. He finished fifth in spite of arm and leg cramps. ClOI Resu lts SUNDAY 0 1A: I. Rodney Sm ith (Suz); 2, Dan Richardson (Kaw); 3. Charles Halcomb (Suz); 4. Paul Krause (Kaw); 5, Larry Roeseler (Kaw); 6. Curt Wilcox (Hon); 7. Dan Nielsen (H us); 8. David Meek Jr. ; 9. Dave Porter; 10. Gre~ Sear le (KTM). 250 A: l , Rodney Smith (Suz); 2. Dan Richardson (Kaw); 3. Larry Roeseler (Kaw); 4. Dan Neilsen (H us); 5. David Meek Jr , VET A: 1. Charles Halcomb (Suz); 2. Curt Wilcox (Ho n ); 3. Andy Segal e: 4. Don Franklin: 5. Brian Manley. OPEN A: l , Paul Kraus e (Kaw); 2. Greg Searle (KTM ); 3. Ja y Heyins: 4, Joel Ellis ; 5, Sccu Meyer. SR A: 1. Vic Hannan; 2. George Hendrix ; 3. Eddie Egyed; 4. Ga ry Va nderpool; 5. Louis Marshall. 125 A: I. Jon Almberg ; 2. Mazk Kerling; 3. Cole Marshall ; 4. Edd Pri ce; 5. B.J . Almberg. 200 A: I. Ron Rumbolz. . 250 B: I. David Froman ; 2. J oe Newman: !I. Steve Hark ov; 4. jim Math eson ; 5. Bill Henry . VET B: I. Scott Reynolds; 2. Wayne Hat ch; 3. Edward Golden ; 4. J ohn KneisIy; 5. Bob Bushey. OPEN B: I. Chris Peterson ; 2. Ryan O' Callaghan: 3. john Webster; 4. Raym ond Spore; 5. Stephan Sattl er. SR -B: I. Al Garra ha n; 2. jack Varnum ; !I. Terry Packer; 4. Stephan Thompson; 5. Ken Regevig. 125 B: 1. Darryl Gee; 2. Steve Iovin o. 200 B: 1. Mike Demaree ; 2. Don Shipman. WMN A: I. Su san McWilliam s; 2. Debbi e Kane. 250 C: I. Ru ss Mart inez; 2. Man H arvey; 3. Nick Prater; 4. j ohn T rabuco; 5. T on y Soares. S/SR A: I. J ames Reger; 2. Fred Sumra ll; 3. George Walker; 4. Vern Hol thou se. S/SR B: 1. David Kin g; 2. Don H opk ins; 3. J im Morri son ; 4. J ohn Balzer; 5. Robert Kell y. SATURDAY VINT OT AlB: I. J erry Brown: 2. Richard McMaken ; 3. Ga ry Eglofl ; 5. Bob Smith, 125 C: 1. Brian Garrahan; 2. Cor ey Steele; 3. J ason Low e; 4. Mike Dirb y; 5. Matthew Vulk . VET C: 1. Dana Slater; 2. David Fedor : 3. T om Robertson: 4. Fred Weichers; 5. Larry Conna lly. OPEN C: I. Tim Fitzp atrick; 2. Chris Rogers; 3. Colin Guy Steve Schroeder; 5. Greg Sorenso n. S/SR C: l. Thoma s Unger; 2. Ru ss Hewett ; 3. Rab en Wade; 4. J ack Bun ch; 5. Wayne Fitch . 200 C: I. J elf Kraetsch: 2. Barry Beck; 3. Chri s Sykes; 4. James Prall; 5. Charles Battaglia. SR C: 1. Bob Kellar ; 2. Gary Turner; 3. Gary Moniz ; 4. Russ Greenfield; 5. J oel Boucher. BOMBER: 1. Steve Fin ley; 2. Rus s Daley; 3. Matt Glock; 4. Doug Olson; 5. Ron DOlSOn. VINT SM: I. Jack Baughman; 2. Jon Bilotta ; 3. Brand on Fisher; 4. J ames Ackers. WMN C: 1. Michelle Danson; 2. Lisa T ermini. VINT VET: 1. Michael Osteen; 2 Norman Franci s; 3. Myron Lapka; 4. Alan Ghaleb; 5. Larkin Wigh t. VINT OT C: I. Dennis Van Fundy; 2. Fred Royce; 3. William Pitts; 3. Ed Meagor.

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