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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127560
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AMA National Hare & Hound Cham~ionshi~~S_en_'es_:R_OU_D_d1
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Ty Davis ran in the second spot for most of the race, but slipped to third near the end.
Nearly 550 riders turned out to enjoy the moist trails and nearly dust-free conditions.
Brandon Gerber got up from this nasty first-loop get-off and finished 13th overall.
12
Utah's Mark Lundgreen was the only
racer to praise the course for its whoops.
"They're a good way to pound you into
shape," the KTM 550 pilot explained
after the race, but none of the California
riders within earshot looked convinced.
The dicing got closer as the racers
passed the halfway point of the loop
and began the final run to the checkered
flag.
Hamel was safely in front of the
action, but Hunnicutt, Davis and
Roeseler were locked in a 20-mile-Iong
duel for second place. Lewis and
Rudder were dangerously close to
Zitterkopf's lead in the 250cc class, and
Capt and Kawell swapped the 125cc
lead once or. twice in the tight sections
·after Capt lost second gear two miles
into the loop.
"There was a lot of dicing and it was
great because you could see," said Open
Expert Todd Hoy. "There was hardly
any dust at all, but that also made it
hard to catch people because they could
see too."
As the finish drew closer, the going
got tougher. Gerber blamed it on two
weeks without riding due to the two
feet of snow at home in Utah. Kawell
blamed it on "too much McDonalds;"
Vet KX250 racer Mark Haugen confessed to "too much football and holiday stuff;" and Dan Richardson said it
was the fault of stock suspension and a
tiny fuel tank that twice ran his brandnew CRSOO dry.
Hamel needed no explanations. He
completed the 42-mile second loop in
just over an hour, and had time to wash
his face and replace. some lost fluids
before the next rider's dust appeared on
the horizon.
"The second loop was a lot of £un,"
said . Kawaski/ Answer/ Acerbis/
Beam/Bieffe/ Braking/Dunlop/Don
Joy /F&L/RK/IMS/Maxima/Magnum/
N-Style/Pro Circuit/ Powerbar/
Scott's/Scott/Sprocket Specialists/Back
Canteen/MXA-backed Hamel. "It was a
great, challenging loop - definitely a
National-caliber loop, and they had a
really neat downhill halfway through
it."
Hamel reported a completely trouble-free ride: "I never fell down and
everything worked perfectly. I never
had a problem all day. I never saw anyone behind me; I never even looked
back."
Hunnicutt, Davis and Roeseler were
back and forth all the way to the final
valley, where Hunnicutt decided it was
time to take a stand.
"Everybody was riding so great. All
three of us were going from second to
fifth, back to fourth; Then I just said,
'this is it,''' said Kawasaki/Dunlop/
Renthal/Tsubaki/ Pro Circuit/Trick/
JT / Alpinestar /Shoei/Cobra/iMS/
Acerbis/Bel Ray/Scott's/CTi/ Powerbar /NGK/Bar
Snake-sponsored
Hunnicutt. "Things came together for
me right at the end."
Hunnicutt's finishing burst put him
in second, five-and-a-half minutes
behind Hamel. Davis was just a few
bike lengths back in third overall and
Roeseler drafted in behind him for
fourth.
"I was trying to hold (Hunnicutt) off
because I knew we were headed back to
the finish, but he got me about eight
miles back," said Team Geen-backe
Davis. "I could pull away a little bit in
the tight stuff but on the flats it was
tough."
Dave Ondas completed the KX500
sweep with a illth-overall flnish, ahead
of the first 250cc, which was piloted by
Zitterkopf in sixth, and Vet Open Expert
Staten in seventh.
"It was tough - really tough, especially with my bad start, but I just kept
hammering," said KTM/Duralube/
Thor /Sunoco/White
Bros./IMS/
Smith/Dunlop/PEP /FMF /Shoei, GP
Stabilizer /EK/Renthal/Acerbis-sponsored Zitterkopf. Second in class and
eighth overall, Lewis limped away from
the finish to treat his scraped leg, and
Rudder finished seconds behind him to
claim third 250cc and ninth overall.
"Therers an awful lot of competition
out here. I just tried to ride smooth,"
said Rudder. While Kawasaki of
Riverside/Sunoco/Race Tech/FMF/
Xtreme/Torco-backed Staten limped
back to the pits to ice his injured foot, Ed
Pierce, Jr. brought his KX250 home in
10th overall to claim second place in the
Vet class and Ron Lawson took third on
a CR250 in 21st overall. Jeff Capt, who
has topped the 125cc division in the
Nationals and in District 37 for two
years in a row, logged another class win
in 17th overall, two places ahead of fel10w-KXI25 racer Jason Kawell, and Bill
Salzman, racing Over-50 Expert on a
Husaberg, startled the Over-40 competitors when he topped them by five places
in 46th overall.
"This is my first race in two years.
District 37 won't let me have a district
card anymore," said Salzman, who had
a pie-plate number taped to the front of
his bike. "I got a dead-last start and had
to grind my way up through the pack. It
'was a very interesting course and a lot
of fun."
Steve Thompson topped the Over-40
ranks in 51st overall aboard a KX250,
despite blisters on both hands that made
it hard to hang on in the final stages.
Steve Barklow flnished four places back
for second on his KX250 and T.V.
Holmes, who nearly didn't ride the race
because "last year's course was full of
roads," was a pleasantly surprised third.
"It was a great course this year. I'm glad
I came," said Holmes.
. Less than a minute separated the two
top Amateur-elass riders, who finished
the race with a five-mile sprint to the
checkers.
"It was so hairy," said Denny
Davidow, who was nipped at the flag
by Dale Morse. "We were wide open on
the cross grain. He rode really well." CN
Unofficial Results
O/A: 1. Danny Hamel (Kaw); 2. Ted Hunnicutt
(l