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/127595
"I had to bid e my time and follow in the d ust in the first loop and by the time 1 p assed Ho y on th e seco nd loop, 1 couldn't even see (Hamel's) d ust, " said Roeseler. Gerber and Gray dashed into the pits a minute behind Roeseler, wi th Abb ott in fifth and Hoy nursing his front flat in sixth. Dice took advantage of loop two' s fast terrain and gra bbed the Over-30 lead from Lynn in sev en th overa ll and Zitterkopf leap-frogged si x places for ward in to eigh th. The 43-mile third loop head ed no rth and wes t of th e p it s a n d co m bined demanding techni cal terrain with bursts of speed and the heat of the midda y su n. At the hea d o f the Over- 40 pack, Maxim had so me off-the-bike incidents in the tree-lined sectio n of the loop. " Eve ry tim e 1 hit a t ree, the hand guard wo uld co me back and p u t the br ake on ," said Maxim . " I think 1 fell less than a d ozen ti me s, b u t I'm not ... 0\ N sure." Abbo tt also spen t so me time off the bike when his jinx came back after two loops of flaw less riding. " I just couldn' t ride in the last loop . 1 went d own th ree times. 1 dinged up my pipe - there 's a b ig ho le in it a nd it would hardly run, and 1 think I m ust have got los t but 1 have no idea where it happened," said Abbott. Vet Expert Jeff Boyd found his challenge on the rocky uphills - "loose stu ff with some big boulders thrown in to make it in teresting ," while Co r k y Maughan, who had been as high as 10th in loop two, had his work cut out just mak ing it to the fin ish line. "I go t sick - a little heat exhaustion or some th ing," sa id the Suzuki RM250 pil ot. "I thought I wa s going to die. 1 stopped at a couple of checkpoints and got some water, but 1 d idn't think 1 was goin g to make it. I've never felt like that · before." Z itterkopf hit the wall m idwa y through the final loop and decided to sacrifice a high overall finish for a slow and s teady 'pace th at g uaranteed he wo uld reach the end of the race and take hi s first National Ha re & Ho und class title. Gerbe r hit a similar wall 10 miles from the finish. "I wa s so ti red 1 gave out," sa id Gerbe r, who waved Gray by into third. "I cou ld n' t ho ld o n so there w as no sens e in holding him back." While the rest of the racers struggled, H amel 's onl y problem was one mis sed comer. " I got lost for a second when 1 ove rshot a turn," said Hamel. "It was my faul t. The comer was ma rked fine and 1 just didn't see it." The bobble d id not ma ke a d en t in th e cha mpion's runaway lead and he was eight min u tes ahead of Roesele r whe n the checkered flag fell on his sixth overall win of the series. " It was a lon g, tough rac e and tha t makes a good National," sa id H am el. "They put in some really good first gea r st uff th rough th e trees and the rocky canyons a nd then they w ould le t us relax on the roads. It was excellen t." Roeseler, wh ose righ t eye was badly bruised and swoll en afte r being hi t by a rock at the Mammoth MX two days earlier, enjoyed the course nearly as much as Ham el. "It was a good cou rse and my ride went pretty well, too. My only problems were the du st and th e s ta r t," sa id Roeseler. "No crashes, the 250 ran grea t and 1 had a good time." Jim Gray continued his steady rid e all the way to the checkers, finishing just over a minute behind Roeseler in third overall. He reported an almost troublefree ride. - - - - - - - - Continued on page 27 Ifyou're gonna go racing. • • race with the best - AMA/CCS ESCI .I116i1 EndurallU aLrJR C hallenge AMA Ch ampionship C u p Series P .O. Box 447 Skylan d, N C 28776 tel: (704) 684-4297, fax: .(704) 684-3819 23