Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.HARE &HOUND··:: . AM ational Hare &Hound Championship Series AN By Ann e Van Beveren Photos by Kin ne y J ones and Tom Van Beveren xs: 12 LUCERNE VALLEY, CA, JAN. 28 Ty Davis put the competition on noti ce in the ope ning ound of the 1996 AMA Na tional Hare .& Hound Champion ship se ries. The KX500 racer gr abbed th e lead th e mom en t th e b anner d r opp ed a n d smoked the top-class field all th e way around the SO-mile course. At the end of the tw a-hour race, Davis took the checkered flag wi th a six-minu te lead and left no doubt that he is the one to bea t in this yea r's seven-round series. "It w as a difficult course. The second loop was really rocky and techni cal. I'd say it w as really ha rd : ' sa id Da vis. "I had a blast ou t there. I just rode smooth - nothing crazy." The first round of the Nationa l series drew almost 500 race rs to the Soggy Dry La ke r iding area in Lu cerne Valley. Heavy rain in the da ys lead ing u p to the race bypassed the starting area, leavin g the cou rse dry an d dus ty, and the only relief w as provi ded by a chilly wi nd that had the racer s bu ndl ed u p as they waited for the 10 a.rn, start. The co u rse la id ou t by Dese rt M C consisted of tw o 40-mile loo ps. It earne d an A-pl us for its tight, technical terrain and the imagina tion that the club used in se ar ch in g out se ldom u sed trails. However, the start go t a solid D-minus. . "The left side was all rou gh and the right side w as smooth, then th ey ha d the angle of th e starti ng line wrong so we were all bunched up at the right:' said Davis. "Peop le we re down there at lik e five o' clock th is m ornin g just to save a spot. It w as getting out of hand." Wh en Davis tried to move hi s bike onto the starting line, the re was no room anywhere nea r the trail th at he w as planning to use. " N obody would .mov e ove r. Th ey just would n't .let m e in:' said Da vis. · "Even tu ally my bu ddy Ted Hunnicutt let me slide in in front of him about 50 feet down from where I w ant ed to be." When th e banner d ropp ed , Da vi s took his frus tration out on the bomb -run Round 1: Desert Me (Above) Nearly 500 riders turned out for the opening round of the AMA National Hare & . Hound Series at Lucerne Valley. Here, the first wave of Pro riders charge across the desert valley on the "bomb" run. (Right) Ty Davis sco red the overall win with s ix minutes to spare. Team Green 's Kenny Parry·awarded him the Danny Hamel Tribute Award moments after taking the checkered flag. sprin t. He ro cke ted his KX500 off the line an d headed to th e right, straig h t across the front of the handlebar -to-h an dl ebar lineup. "I cut them all off and I go t on m y tr ail abo ut halfway u p th e bomb," sai d Davis wi th a gri n. By th e t im e h e p a ss e d the bom b, Davis was ou t in front by more than 100 yards . Kaw asaki teammate Paul Krau se was in secon d, jus t ahea d of KX500m oun ted Vet Open Expert Abe Baum ann . KTM ' s Tod d H o y, H on d a mounted Dan Richardson, KX500 rider Greg Zitte rkopf and Hon da XR600 pilot Jo h n ny Campbell were close beh in d . KTM's Jim Gray was nowhere to b e see n. "I had a terrible start. The guy next to me h ad a lin e that came in to m ine at abou t 45 degrees an d we collide d," sai d Gray . "I was pl ayin g catch -up all the wa y after that." Gray was getting some back -of-thepack com petition from Dan Ashcraft. "I can't ge t a good s tar t, " said Ashcraft. "I got a three-kick start, and then I went over the bars on the bom b ru n trying to get ou t of the dust. I hit a big washout I didn' t see." Davis led the way as the trail snaked aro und the first set of hills and headed ou t to the northwest. His fast start gave him the clear-air advantage, but Krause was wasting no tim e in second . "I made a mi stake at the first check," sai d Davis. "The re w er e so me arrows pointing to the right an d they screwed m e up because the course didn't go to the righ t - it we nt straight." "Tell them the truth," joked Krause. "Te ll th em h ow I smoked you righ t th er e. There wasn't anyth in g wrong with the cou rse markin gs." Kra use' s lead lasted abou t a mile, until the course headed into a cho p py sectio n where Davis was able to pu t his supercross skills to good use. " Deser t racers d on't know h ow to jum p. Th at ' s so methi n g yo u learn in su percross, " s a id D avi s . "W e w e re goin g th r ou gh s ome G-ou ts and we came to a dip. Krause hit the brakes and I hit th e gas and jumped it. I jumped right pa st hi m." -Zitterkop f was movin g u p fast in the early goi ng and w as closing in behind Davi s and Kra use unti l he made a rnistake at the 15-mile mark. "The cou rse m ade a right turn an d Davis went straight. I could see the ribbon off to the right so I ju mped off the trail to make an an gle over to get to the ribbon," said Zitterkopf. " I pinned it, then I hit a ro ck I didn' t see and went right over the bars. It knocked th e air out of me and I got up really slow ." Z itt e r k o p f' s fa ll left H oy a nd H onda's Jeff Cap t racing neck and neck for th ird, while Bau ma n n wor ked h is

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