Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

w ay steadily back from the third overa ll he had held at the bomb. "I was playi ng with th e clickers on my shock bef ore th e race," said Baumann . " I sh ou ldv e le ft them alone because m y rear end was hopping all over." Davis co m p le te d th e first 40- mi le loo p in just u n der an h our and swept into pit row with an almost comfortab le two -a n d-a- half mi n u te lead over Kra use. Zitlerkopf d ashed th rough in th ird h alf a m inute la ter, comfortably ahead of th e nearest Vet-class com pe tition, and just 12 seconds separated H oy, Camp be ll and C ap t. Eric H a ll g ath brought h is Honda CR250 in to th e pits in seven th overa ll , ahea d of Don n ie Book, Charlie Mor ris an d Dave Ondas, and Destry Abbo tt and Ted Hunni cu tt : rounded ou t the top 12. Thirteen t h overall at the h alf w a y point was held by Larry Roese ler, who now spends more time racing a Class 7 Chevy Truck than a Kawasaki. "Th is is the first ti me I've ra ced a bike since about las t Sep tem ber," said Roeseler, "and what a great race to ride. Honestly, this was on e of the best hare an d ho u nds that I've ridden in m any, many, many yea rs. Desert MC did a fanta stic job and they really w ent ou t o f their way to make it fun. They took us down canyons I ha ven' t been down in 10 years. If races were like this every weekend I woul d come out more." Steve Hengeveld raced through th e pits in 14th overall, right in front of Baumann, wh o stopped to re adjust his sh ock. Richardson was 16th, ahead of Id ah o's Brian Brown, Honda four -stroke racer Jam ie Campbell and Craig Smith . Jimmy Lew is le d the 125cc r a cer s .throug h in 20th overall. A front flat ju st th ree miles into the race dragged .Vet-class h ot sh o t Drey Dircks all the way ba ck to 24th overall . "I do n' t have a spare wheel so I had to ride the whole thing with the flat," sai d Dircks. "I rode ev erything but the first three miles with tha t thing." Th e te r rain g o t tigh ter and m o re techni ca l as th e secon d 40 m ile s go t u n d er w a y a n d D av is w as enjoyi ng every in ch of it . H is troub le-free run, coupled with clear air, had hi m aver aging 40 m ph and he stretched his lead a little furt her w ith each p assing mile. (Above) Paul Krause rode a strong race , fi nishing second overall. (Above right) . The re was no shortage of rocks or riders at the first National hare and hound of the year . (Right) After havi ng just competed In the Paris-Dakar Rally, Jimmy Lewi s scored the 125cc-class wi n In 13th overall. Krause was enjoying an equally trouble-free ride in second after holding off a hard charge from Zitterkopf. "Krau se an d I were h andl ebar-to-h an dlebar. We had a good race going, but I cra she d about 10 to 12 m iles fro m the fini sh," said Zitterkopf. "Coming across the dry lake I was tap ped out in fifth . I hit a bump an d the shock must've broken at the same time. I went ov er the bars and lost a lot of places." The crash let H oy, who had finally shaken th e ten aci ou s Capt, relax into third. "We were going back and forth the whole first loop, but I rode all by m yself on the second loop," said Ho y. "I could see Capt behind me , and I kn ew I had to ride conservatively because h e would catch me if I made any mistakes ." Capt's s econ d loop turn ed into a back-and-forth bat tle with Ho nda teammate Johnny Campbell. "I got in behind Capt an d we m ixe d it up the who le loop," sa id Campb el l. "It' s kind of a bummer for teammates to do that. We like to stay more spread apart, but we tried to make it work to our advantage." Abbo tt leapfrogged h is way through the pack all the way u p to sixth. "I h ad a lo t of tr ou ble with D a v e O n das . I cou ldn ' t get arou nd h im," sa id Abbott . "He finally just waved me past, whic h was re ally ni ce of h im. You don't see tha t very often." 'Fu rth e r b ack in the p ack, the race w a s n ot going n e ar ly a s w el l. St e v e H en geveld go t off abou t 10 m iles into his secon d loop, which mad e h im back off the thr o ttle, a n d D on n ie .Bo ok crashed hard in Campbell's dust an d had to w ithdraw with a broken collarbone. . Ou t in fron t, Davis race d on . He and hi s' KX500 n ev e r missed a bea t and, when he threaded his way up the last rocky hill to tak e the checke red flag, he w as almos t six minute s ahead of th e closest competition. "Apart from getting screw ed up at the first check and letting Kra use g e t b y me, e ve rything w ent great ,".said Davis. "It was a great course and the club did a good job marking it excep t for that one little flaw at check one, of course." In add it ion to important p oin ts towards the series championship, Davis' wi n also netted him an im pressive tro phy that Kawasaki Team Green h ad d on ated in memory of last year ' s National Hare & Hound ch amp Danny Hamel. "I'm bummed that I won't get to d o the whole series. I'd lik e to win it after Danny, but I'm still concentrat ing on the national enduro series for th is year and if the races conflict , I' ll have to miss some of the hare and hou nd s," said Davis. "It ' ll be in teresting to see h ow well I can do ." Kra use brou gh t h is KX500 h ome in second, d espite a la te-in -the-race m istake tha t put h im down jus t a mile from the finish. "I got a good start an d I had a really good ride all day. My only problem was that I go t tired and I fell off a rock rig ht b efore the end and e n ded up in a ca n y on, " sai d the Ka wasak i Team Green-backed racer. KTM 550 racer Ho y finished third in the overall standings and th ir d in the Open Expert division. "I'm excited I did this well. It's only my second ride back since I broke my neck," said Hoy. "I fell twice - noth ing too bad, I ju st spun out. " Ca pt edged Campbell by just a few seconds to steal fourth overa ll and first in the Fou r-Stroke Expert division . Capt s aid, "Campbell and I were toget h e r from halfway through the first loop . We pushed each other really hard ." "A top-five finish for both of us is awesome," added Campbell. Sixth overall and first 250cc Expert was Dest ry Ab bo tt, despite an off-thecourse excursion and an off-the-bike adventure, bo th in loop two. Greg Zitterkopf salvaged h is ill-fated ride to grab seventh overall ahead an d to p the Vet class,"ahead of KX500m ou nted La rry Roeseler and Dave O ndas. "Th at was a good race," said Roeseler . "I t was more tech nical th an most people are used to, bu t it will make th em better rid ers and it' s a lot safer because the speeds are a little lower. It was tough , too - I'm alrea dy sore." Abe Baumann followed On das home in 10th, ahea d of KX250 ra cers Hengeveld an d Smith, and Jimmy Lew is sco red a wire-to-wire win in the 125cc Expe rt class in 13th ov erall. "Finally, a club that used some technical terrain, " sa id Lewis, who rod e a Yamaha. "I liked the course because it was tight enough to let you pass p eople, but I'm not that happy with my finish . I used to finish in the top 10 on a min ibike. Now I can' t come close. Maybe I'm getting old." Rex Sta ten topped the Over 40 division in his first race back sin ce he broke his foot. "I broke it 19 weeks ago - had to h av e p ins an d all th at st u ff, " sai d Staten. "I'm dead tired." Bill Ma xim fini sh ed r ig h t b eh ind Staten to take second in the Senior divi sion. "That was the most technical race I'v e ridden in a cou ple of years - a lot of tight, up-and-down trails, and a good variety of things," said Ma xim . The first 250cc-mounted Senior to cross the line was Scott Anderson, wh o took the 1:\ class lead just a mile from the finish. Desert MC Lucerne Valley, Californ ia Result s: January 28, 1996 O/A: 1. Ty Davis (Kaw); 2. Paul Kra use (Ka w ); 3. Todd H oy (KTM ); 4. Je ff Ca pt (Ha n) ; 5 . John ny Cam pbell (Hon); 6. Dest ry Abb ott (KTM); 7. Gr eg Zitterkopf (Kaw); 8. Larry Roese ler (Kaw ): 9. Dave On das (Ka w ); 10. Ab e Baum ann (Kaw) ; 11. Stev e Henge veld (Kaw ): 12. Craig Smith (Ka w ); 13. Jimmy Le w is (Ya m) ; 14 . D a n Rich ar d son (H a n); 15. Brian Brown (Kaw); 16. Eric HaUgath (Hon); 17. Drey Dircks (Han); 18. Jam ie Cam pbell (Han ). OPEN EX: 1. Ty Da vi s (Ka w): 2. P au l Kr au se (Kaw); 3. Todd Hoy (KThI). 250 EX : 1. De st ry A bbott (KT M) ; 2. Ste v e Henge veld (Kaw); 3. Crai g Smith (Kaw) . 125 EX: 1. Jim my Lew is (Ya m); 2. John Braasch (Su z ); 3. Dan a Van Stee (Kaw) . 4-ST RK: 1. Jeff Cap t (Ha n ); 2. Johnny Cam pbe ll (Hon); 3. Jamie Campbell (Hon ). 30+ EX: 1. Gre g Zitterk opf (Kaw): 2. Abe Bauma nn (Kaw); 3. Orey Dircks (H on ). 40+ OPEN EX: 1. Rex Staten (Kaw); 2. Bill Maxim (Kaw). 40+ 250 EX: 1. Scott And erson (y am ). 13

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