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/127607
every time I ride and that's wha t I d id today," said Hamel. " I knew he was beating me on time , but I wa s already riding as hard as I could. There was no reason to take any chances." For Davis, the wi n was an up-bea t end to a season spent in Hamel's shadow. "It fee ls good to be in fro n t fo r a change," said Davis. "We all spend a lot of time behind Ha mel and it feels good to bea t him for a chan ge. I finally ended my year wi th a ban g." The last round of Casey Folks ' fiveeven t series wa s sponsored b y the Riverside Resort Hotel and Ca sino in Laughlin and drew 140 racers . The course was laid out in a figureeigh t configuration, with a 20-mile first loop a nd a 27-mile second loop. Sea soned Best in the Desert racers knew they were in for a challenging ride as they lined up, two abreast, for the timed start. "This is usually the toughest race in the series," said Suzuki RM125 racer Stephen Tichenor. When the racer s began leaving the starting line at nine a.rn., two- at-a-time every 30 seconds, they found that this year's figure eight lived up to its tough reputation. "It was rou gh - really rough. It was like an enduro-rough," said Jim Loh, who entered the 250cc Pro division on a Yamaha ¥Z25O. Hamel left the start from row tw o. He was 30 seconds behind fellow KX500 racers Dave Ondas a nd Donnie Book when the starting ligh t flashed green for the second time, but he already had his eye on the dust-free air at the front of the pack. " Ha mel said, ' La tch onto me and we'll catch them in the first few miles: " said Daryl Folks, who shared the rowtwo start. "I latched , and look where it got me." The KTM race r cr ash ed hard less than four miles from the start, wiped the viso r off hi s helmet and in jured h is shoulder. " I hit a rock in the vi rgi n stuff. It's the same exact cr ash I d id here la st year:' said Folks. "I didn't bounce back up off the ground. It cost me four or five minutes easily by the time I got going, and I was in no hurry after tha t" For Hamel, the hurry continued all the way and he caught Ondas and Book near the ll-mile mark. "It took me a little while to get into a rhythm after riding in Baja at such high speeds. Coming back here and having to turn it and thrust was tough at first, but it was an awesome course," said Hamel, who was hard on the gas every time the tight terrain allowed. Davis got his start off the second-tolast row of the 250cc Pros - four and a half minutes behind Hamel, with 19 dust-raising rivals between him and the front of the pack. But the 250cc hotshot's hopes were high. "It was pretty tight, twisty, technical, and the re was a lot of virgin stuff. I' d give it about an '8' for difficulty, and the 250 was an advantage: ' said Davis. Hamel had opened up a 45-seco nd physical lead when he hit the pits at the center of the figure eight for the firs t ti me . Last year's race wi n ner Dan Ashcraft had his Hond a CR500 second, on ad justed time, a minute behind Hamel. Gr eg Zitterkopf, who had led the Tl-rnan 250cc Pro field off the start, was a split second behind Ashcraft' s time in third. But when Dav is arri ved seventh in the physical standings, he had a timeadjusted lead of exactly a minute over Hamel, and the ad vantage of a 250cc mount became obvious. "A 250cc might 've wor ked better ANAHEIM STADIUM SATURDAY, JANUARY 29 . 7:30pm ONLY 1994 LA/ORANGE COUNTY APPEARANCE! MUSIC PLUS I R O BINSO N S . M A Y DON'T FORGET TO ASK ABOUT AMA TEUR SUPERCROSS! SUNDA Y, JANUARY 30!! ITO~R (213) 480-3232 · (714) 740-2000 (805) 583-8700 • (619) 278·TIXS FOR INFORMATION: 1-800-795-7708 PROUDLY SPONSORED BY: _ IfDU~f'r ~~ nos Ang~t~s 6tim~s S upereros» '94 SERIES CONTINGENCY SPONSORS THE 1993-94 HONDA. I Kawasaki YAMAHA CHA MP IO NS H IP Hare Scrambles Ser ies DATE/l'IME ZONE Husqvarna 14TH SEASON [ BERT'S MOTORCYCLES 818-334·1288 1818-334·2926 Tupelo, MS 2/6 Central $$ CASH ~ BIKES ] USED SIIIEET " CONTACT Bremen, GA (bikes only ) 1tl3 Central Want Ad informacion - (3 10) 42 7 -7433 LOCATION 1/9/94 Eastern Centervi lle, TN 2120 Central Hohenwald, TN 3/6 Cen tral Green ville, KY 4/17 Cen tral Owensboro , KY (Bikes only ) King Kelly (404) 941-8464 Tracy Momt (901) 753·2860 Mike Groves (615) 952-9606 Wade Peery (615) 746-2202 Scott Horto n (615) 746-2202 Mike Libbs (502) 233-5555 BEST EIGHT ANISHESCOUNT TOWARDSSERIES AWARDS llurlher inloonalion is needed, contact Ken Joyoe (615) 331-14 Rod Thurley (615) 662·2124' Ma!1t Hosbach (615)790-3639' David lmnber1l1 (615) 668-4236 75' PLEASE REMEMBER TORIDE RESPONSlBLYJII 57