Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eOFF ROAD e AMA District 37 Best of the West Series: Round 2 At the completion of the first lap, Keen was well out in front. Second place belonged to Forward, and a steady stream of riders followed, with some of the Super Seniors cracking into the top 15. "Double Jump" Dave Kersting was out in front of the Super Senior group, slicing his way through the younger guys. Starting from the fifth row left the older riders with a slight disadvantage, but the competition pushed the class leaders farther and farther up in the overall standings. At the checkered flag it was Jim's Motorcycles/Ed's Honda-backed Keen with a clean win. "I just got a good start and pulled out," said Keen. "I usually ride enduros but I did this race last year and I wanted to win again. I borrowed my dad's CRSOO to ma,ke it a little easier." Over 1700 entrants turned out to battle in the Adelanto Grand Prix. The event has become the largest District 37 race of the year. These two unidentified riders had trouble negotiating the infamous Adelanto water jump. Hamel, Davis dethrone Roeseler at Adelanto By Ken Harvey, Jr. Photos by Heather McNabb &: Harvey ADELANTO, CA, FEB. &.7 na race that had come to be known as a Larry Roeseler benefit, Kawasaki Team Green riders Danny Hamel and Ty Davis stole the show from their teammate Larry Roeseler, winning five different classes between them at the Desert Vipers' Adelanto Grand Prix. In years past, Roeseler has been known to routinely win all seven of the races that he was qualified to compete in, but his sole victory this year came in the Veteran division. Hamel, who has started off the 1993 season by winning nearly every race he I 16 has entered, won three of the four races he competed in, while Davis won two classes and posted strong finishes in all of the other divisions he contested. Over 1750 racers competed in what has become the biggest race on the District 37 schedule. The spectator turnout is also the largest of the year, lining the motocross section and gathering at the major spectator points throughout the course. The Desert Vipers have a well-organized arrangement with the city of Adelanto, which allows the racers to run on the paved and dirt streets of the city. Even the mayor was seen checking out the racing action, and presen ting the Pro class awards on Saturday night. The lO-mile course started in town with a half-mile pavement strip before heading off into the desert. For the next eight miles riders headed into the surrounding desert, where the ll-race schedule made for the development of some of California's largest whoops. The course then made a couple pavement jaunts as it looped back to town, cutting through several industrial complexes before putting the racers through the motocross section. The Vipers went allout for the spectators, providing grandstands, an over-under bridge, a triple jump, and the ever-popular water jump. The first race of the event was the Unclassified division, which most riders use to learn the course. Not so for Hamel and KTM's Greg Zitterkopf, who were charging from the start. After overtaking a few riders upon exiting the pavement section, Hamel was quickly out in front. By the completion of the first go-around, Hamel had established a small lead over Zitterkopf. The crowd went crazy when Zitterkopf jumped the triple on the first lap, while most other top riders opted to only double the obstacle. Zitterkopf gained on Hamel through the second lap, and was right on the leader's rear fender through the motocross section. It seemed t]lat Zitterkopf might make the pass for the lead on the third circuit, but Hamel emerged alone in the lead as he came through for the final lap. Zitterkopf's K1M had sucked dirt and begun to run poorly, and he chose to back off of the pace of Hamel, who cruised in for his first win of the weekend. The Seniors and Super Seniors were the next to tear away from the pavement start, and right off the bat spectators were asking, "Who's that out in front?" Mike Keen had borrowed his father's CRSOO instead of his usual Suzuki 250, and was riding like a kid haU his age, demolishing the rest of the senior competition. Scott Forward was making up for an average start on his 250cc bike, passing some of the bigger bikes out in the desert section. "I signed up in the 500 class so I could start on the front row," said Forward. "It helped." Forward came through in second, surprised of his position, "Wasn't there some other guy on a SaO?" asked a happy Forward. "I thought when I stopped for gas, that I got passed. The coUJ'5e is already rough; I'm glad I got to race early." Roeseler's first appearance was in the Vet race, and motocrosser Rex Staten was also on the grid despite a broken foot. Staten kept Roeseler honest by jumping out into the early lead, determined to win. As the riders emerged from the desert, Roeseler was right on Staten. Staten couldn't put any time on Roeseler through the motocross section, and they headed onto the pavement in the same order. The Vet 250cc race proved to feature an even tighter battle. Ron Lawson, a Six Days veteran and editor of Dirt Bike magazine, leaped into the lead off the pavement start with Scott Sterns, Dave Donatoni and Ed Pierce right behind. John Braasch was left on the line kicking his bike, but was determined to catch the leaders. Donatoni wasted little time in taking the lead from Lawson, and began to motor away from the pack. Stearns did the same, but was unable to match Donatoni's speed through the now-rough desert. Donatoni held a fair lead as he made the motocross section, bu t a:Imost threw the whole race away. "1 hit the whoops wrong and got catapulted right off my bike," explained Donatoni. "It flew off the course and got all bent up." Donatoni's mount suffered a bent subframe and a broken pipe and muffler, but he remounted in time to stay in front of Steams. Pierce was in third, foll~wed by Lawson and a charging Braasch. At the head of the pack, Roeseler was still being held at bay by Staten as they made their way through for the second time. Donatoni had worked his way through the Open Vet ranks and was sitting in third overall on his tweaked Honda. The only other change in the front-runners was Braasch, who was still working his way up and had passed Lawson for fourth place in the 250cc division. There was not much surprise when Roeseler passed Staten for the lead out in the desert, but the Team Green offroad specialist continued to pull the exmotocross champion through the tighter section of the course. Staten seemed to be falling off the pace, and Roeseler was picking it up, much to the delight of the race fans. Donatoni and Stearns held the top two positions in the Vet 250cc division, with Stearn's aerial antics over the triples keeping the crowd amused. The real race was shaping up for third between Pierce and Braasch. Roeseler pulled ahead a little on the last lap for a comfortable win over

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