Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Capt headed up the Fo ur-Stroke contenders in 10th, on e place ahead of Bill Fullmer' s KLX650, and John Braasch scrapped into the top 20 at the head of the 125ccdivision. Hamel's flawless ride continued as loop two unfolded, but the race came to a sudden end for two of his Kawa sa ki teammates just 10 miles out of pit row. "We came 'round the corner and sa w a big dust cloud with Hunnicutt's feet and motorcycle flipping around in it," said Krause, who was racing handlebar to handlebar with Richardson. "Looking at it, he was kind of going between two trails trying to get to a smoother section when he clipped a rock." Krause stopped to help his downed teammate and waited more than half an hour before Hunnicutt recovered enough to ride back to the pit. Krause swapped bikes with Hunnicutt so the injured rider wouldn't have to battle the KX5oo's tweaked rear end ana smashed clutch lever. "It was a good 30 minutes before he started moving around," said Krause, who described abandoning the race for his teammate as "a favor that I hope never has to be repaid." Krause also stated "About 99 percent of the people that went by stopped and asked if they could help ." Hunnicutt received medical attention in the pit and was later checked out at a local hosp ital. H is injuries included a dislocated thumb, a badly scraped elbow and a badly bruised th igh. At the time, it was thought he had broken his femur. Hamel flew through the second 30-mile loop in 41 minutes. Davis was four minutes behind in second, with Richardson another two minutes back in third. Ondas had inherited fourth after Hunnicutt and Krause disappeared from the lineup, and he was followed through by 'Zi t te r ko p f, Capt, Hoy, Baumann and KX250 racer Jason Kawell. Fullmer and Gerber were battling for se cond in the four-stroke cla ss in 10th, ahead of Abbott and Hintz; Staten was number two Vet in 14th, an d Bra asch s till led the 125s in 15th. The third loop, which consis ted of 31 m il es of loose rocks an d off-eamber trails, was the most controversi al of the three an d it hit just when the field was starting to tire. "I liked the thir d loop the least b ec ause they just took the bigg est, Whooped trail to th e next clear trail," said Hamel. "There were humongous Whoop s everywhere and it wasn' t tha t much fun . I liked the first two loops a lot more because they used a lot of virgin trails and there weren't a lot of whoops." The ride was less than fun for Fullmer, who got a front flat five miles into the loop, and Jeff Kelley, who got a rear flat, and the rocks ruined Ron Bragdon's shot at passing Staten for second in the Vet division. "I was reeling Staten in when I bent my foot peg and got it stuck in the up position," said Bragdon. "I had to stop and fix it. It was going to be close." Close battles turned position after position over in the final dash for th e (Right) Ty Davis, who was Hamel's teammate In Mexico, finished second to • the defending champ. (Below) Brandon Gerber (foreground) was the runner-up In the FourStroke class. on the las t loop, bu t I hit a rock, fell over and lost a little time. It was frustrating," said the KX500 racer. Zitterkopf, who took the 250cc honors in fifth overall, six plac es ah ead of second placed Jas on Kawell, was surprised to even see the checkered flag. "I was really surprised I finished, the bike was' sp utte ring so bad ly," said the KTM 250 racer. "The course was marked really well, but almost the wh ole thing was whoops. I go t a ha lfwa y decent start, though, so I can't complain." Capt , who fi nishe d hard on Zitterkopf's heels and took the Four-Stroke w in, described the course as "not marked very well." "I didn't get lost, but 1 would lose the tra il. There weren't ar rows on the corners, " said Capt. Hoy's KTM crossed the line in seventh, Brandon Gerber's Husky took second Four-Stroke in eighth overall ahead of Abbott's KTM, and Baumann took a wire-to-wire win in the Over-30 Class in 10th. Braasch, w ho completed the course in 15th overall to take an easy wi n in the 125cc division, was amazed to find h imse lf a t the finish of a Nationa ls event. " I never finish Nationals," said the KXl25 racer. "Every time it says National, something hap pens, so this was perfect for me. I never really came close to crashing and the bike ran good. I might do the rest of them. Maybe my luck has changed in the Nationals". (N finis h, bu t Hamel's four -and-a-half minute lead made him invincible. The Kawasaki Tea m Green /Thor / Alp ines tar / Bieffe/ Dunlop / Ma xima/ Pro Circuit/Scott /Sprocket Specialists/ Braking / Endura /F&L/ RK Cha in / IMS /Magnum /N St yle /Sco tts / Back Canteen/MXA-backed racer crossed the line at 12:30 p .m. to take the checkered flag and one of the easiest victories the defending champion has enjoyed since he began dominating trye Na tional series in 1992. "The bike worked excellent. 1 just had a perfect ride," said Hamel. "There were some good uphills and downhills, and the length was good, too, but there were too many whoops." In a repeat o f round one's results, Davis held on for second an d Richard son claimed third. "A lot of it was high speed, but it was a fun race," said Davis. "It was just one of those off da ys when I did n't feel like giving it 100 percent. My hands are pretty sore from racing th e San Felipe 250 yesterda y." Richardson found the last section hard go ing with Dave Ondas right on his rear wheel. "The last 10 miles - I don't like them that technical when yo u're really tired . It was all loose rocks and you 're tryin g to go fast; you're tired and your hands are sore - but it was a lot of fun," said Richa rdson . "I haven't raced so close w ith these gu ys for a while." Ondas was pleased with fourth place - two places higher than his finish ~ the . first round of the series. "I was right behind Richardson the whole way. I got right up to his rear tire Soggy Dry Lake Lucerne Valley, California Results: February 27. 1994 (Round 2 of 7) Olk 1. Dann y Hamel (Kaw); 2. Ty Davis (Kaw); 3. Dan Richardson (Hon) ;. 4. Dave Ondas (Kaw); 5. Greg Zitterkopf (KTM) ; 6. jeff Cap t (Hon); 7. To dd H oy (KTM); 8. Brandon Ge rber (H us); 9. Destry Abb ott (KTM) ; 10. Abe Baumann (Kaw); 11. Jason Kawell (Kaw); 12. Bill Fullmer (Kaw); 13. Rex Staten (Kaw); 14. Ku rt Hi ntz (Ka w); 15. John Braasch (Kaw); 16. Ron Bragd on (Hon); 17. Dan a Van Stee (Ka w); 18. Gary Dud ler (Kaw); 19. Dave Dona toni (Ho n); 20. Brent Farrel (Ho n); 21. Jeff Kelley (Ka w); 22. Rob Flagle r (Han); 23. Ron Peters (Kaw) ; 24. Eric Anderson (Kaw); 25. Donnie Morrison (Kaw); 26. Paul Shaffer (Hon ); 21. Steve Og ren (Kaw); 28. jami e Ca mpbe ll (Ho n); 29. Quint Betts (Kaw ); 30. Chris Stewa rt (Yam). OPEN EX: 1. Danny Ham el (Kaw) ; 2. Ty Dav is (Kaw); 3. Dan Richardson (Hon). 250 EX, 1. Greg Zitterkopf (KlM); 2. Iascn Kawell (Kaw); 3. Dana Van Stee (Kaw). 125 EX: 1. Jo h n Braa sch (Kaw) ; 2. Ste ve Ogr en (Yam); 3. Quint Betts (Kaw). 4-STK: 1. jeff Capt (Hon) ; 2. Brandon Gerber (Hus) ; 3. Bill Fullmer (Kaw). 30+, I. Abe Baumann (Kaw); 2. Rex Staten (Kaw); 3. Ron Bragdon (Hon). 40+: 1. R icha rd Jackso n; 2. Rid e Shirey ; 3. Stev e Thom pson.

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