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/127771
• Round 1: Adelanto Grand Prix By Anne Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren ADELANTO, CA, FEB. 3-4 f there was ever a weekend that Ty Davis 'w ou ld like to do ove r, it would be the weekend of the 16th Annual Adelanto Grand Prix. Wit h a field o f almost 1,800 ra cers plus thousands of spectators, the Desert Vipers M.e-sponsored gran d prix is one of the largest and most prestigious events on the Sou thern California desert calendar, and Davis had big plans as he prepared for the two da ys of racing. ·"1 wanted to win every class 1 entered - the 125s, the 250s, the Op en Class, the Four-Stro ke Class and th e Pro Cla ss," said Davis. . But thi ngs d id not go Davis' way. After leading every lap of Saturday morning's 125cc event, the Team Green hotshot ran out of gas late in th e rac e an d was nowhere to be seen at the finish, and he DNFed again when he blew a mo tor and coasted to a halt halfway through the fou r-stroke competition. But his luck turned around for th e Pro Race, and, when he w alked away at th e en d of the weekend with th e $2,500 Pro purse in his po cket and the satisfaction of o ver alling b oth the 250cc and the Open-class races on Sunday, Davis had to admit that the weekend wasn't all bad . "It gets a bit old by the end of the two days because you 're racing the same course all the time, bu t 1 like coming h e re, " said Davis. "It's a cha nge from racing out in the desert when you're in the middl e of nowhere and nobod y can see you." If yo u h ave any inter est in off-roa d racing, the high-desert town of Adela nto is the pla ce to be on race weekend, and the streets were a hive of activity by the time the banner dropped for the first race at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Music was blaring from overhead speakers, crowds were gathering around the bike display in the Kawasaki pit area, and jackets that proclaimed things like "1975 Baja 1000 Participant" made the spec tators almos t as in teresting as the races. The course was an eight-mile loop tha t fas t riders could complete in just under 11 minut es. It began with a short sprint do wn the pavement, then made a sw eepi ng high-speed turn int o the dirt and head ed out into the desert. "It was like a fast freew ay ou t there," I 16 (Above) Nearly 1800 riders turned out over the weekend for the Desert Vipers Adelanto GP, which runs through the streets of Adelanto. (Right) Ty Davis tried for s ix class wins but came up two short. s aid Rich Gold, who com pete d in th e Senior division. "They had gra ded it all so you just sat back, held on and pinn ed it. 1 was going so fast m y eyeballs were jiggling and my vision was blurring. It was faster than any Ad elanto grand pri x I've ever ridden before." At the end of the desert there was a mil e-and-a-h alf mot ocro ss sec tion th at combin ed tight turns with a triple jump (Left)Teammates Paul Krause (10) and Ted Hunnicutt battled closely. Krause won the Unclassif ied race Saturday morning. (Below)Team Honda's Johnny Campbell took advantag e of Davis ' misfortune to win the Four-Stroke class. and a water jum p, followed by a hayba le chic ane that led bac k to th e paveme nt. The competition began wit h the fourlap Unclass ified race, which many of the riders used to warm up and get to know the course. Kawasaki·Team Green 's Paul Krause led the racers all the way. "1 got really lu cky. 1 had a third-row . start, but 1 got the holeshot because the others braked too early going into the first comer," said the KX500-mounted Krause. "The course was groo med for the start, but it started getting ro ug her and rougher every lap . It wore out fast." Th e Sen ior/Magnum /Super Senior racers made f or int eresting viewing as they took their places for the second race of the day. Some of the CZs and Bultacos in the line up were almost as old as the riders, and they mad e a colorfu l contras t alo ngside th e dual sport entries w ith