Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Loh needed some time out after the high-speed crash, so Morris went to pick up the bike.. "The race steward drove me out there and showed me how to get back on the course. I knew we were way down, but I wanted to get the finish for points in the series," Morris said. But when the KX500 racer finished the loop, he found he had been disqualified by race organizer Casey Folks. "He DQ'd us for changing riders other than in the pits," Morris said. ''I'm pretty upset about it. I didn't know you • weren't allowed to do that and neither did the race steward - the second in command, because he took me out there and said I could go on." _ Other teams also were dropping by • the wayside. The Campbell/ Capt Honda cooked an ignition stater in a hilly section on the second lap; Tim Staab had given up hope of seeing his partner Fred Willert back in the pits wi th the team's four-stroke; the Fullmer / Roeseler duo lost five minutes replacing a header pipe that vibrated 190se, and Lori Conway had to stop four times to pick up messages from riders who were stranded out on the course. "I turned into the Pro Expert sweep rider. I was picking up stuck stubs all over the place," Conway said. , Davis was leading the pack when he reached the end of loop three, but a long pit put his partner out on the course .. with only a minute to spare before Zitterkopf thundered through. The Bozarth/Gray KTM continued its trouble-free run in third overall, a minute behind Zitterkopf; the Book/Hengeveld KX250 led the 250cc Pros in fourth overall, and Jeff and Mark Lundgreen (KX500), Nick Pearson/Jeff Fegert (KTM250), Jason Kawell / Oakley Lehman (KX250), Billy Fullmer/Larry Roeseler (KLX650), Ron Wilson/Tim Morton (KX250) and Russell Pearson and Aron Huntington, who were leading the Expert-class racers on a KTM250, rounded out the top 10. The race still was too close to call as the top teams reached the alternate pit with just 40 miles left to go. Ondas had the physical lead, but Zitterkopf was snapping at his heels, which put him . about 30 seconds ahead on elapsed time. r "I had gone ou t to the alternate to see what was happening. I thought that if it was close, I would get back on the bike," said Davis, who grabbed the KX500 and launched a do-or-die dash for the finish. "They played a head game on us in the morning with Zitterkopf going one and a half laps before the rider change, so we paid them back with a head trip of our own by changing riders halfway through the last loop." Zitterkopf countered with a lastminute change of his own. Instead of handing over to Richardson at the alternate, Zitterkopf stayed on the bike and launch.ed a sprint of his own. "The course was really choppy by then. It had really got rough, but we were going for it," Zitterkopf said, but his chances of holding onto Davis were dashed when his bike started to slow. ;?he air filter got plugged up and I had no power. I stopped to pull off the airfilter sock but it was already off, so there wasn't anything 1 could do. 1 just came in slowly." Davis stayed hard on the gas all the way to the checkered flag and took the win, and the $675 Open PJo purse, by three and a half minutes with a total elapsed time of six hours and 10 minutes. "It's the worst course I've ridden all • ear and I'm not scared to say it because 1 don't ever want to come back to a race (Left) Dan Richardson (shown) teamed up with Greg Zilterkopf and were In contention for the win until a laterace charge by Davis dropped them back to second. (Below) The Rick .Bo~rth {shown¥Jim Gray team grabbed third overall. (Left) Jason Kawell and Oakley Lehman took third in the 2500c Pro class. er said. "It's still tricky and technical, and it was fun on a four-stroke. The bike works really well in these conditions." The 125cc Pro honors went to Kawasaki-mounted Troy Kalina and Eric Ducray, whose steady performance put them into the read when the Folks/Lewis KTM blew a head gasket in loop three. "It started blubbering so I went to change the air filter and then 1 noticed there was a coolant smell coming out of the muffler," Lewis said. "We had about a 20-minute lead at th!tt stage, but half the race is finishing it. Actually, when you think about it, the whole race is finishing it." Russell Pearson and Aron Huntington topped the Expert division in ninth overall, Ed McCoy soloed his way to a win in the iron-man class in 33rd overall, and Kent Robertson and Paul Walker topped the Amateur racers with a three-loop finishing time of five hours and 49 minutes. l"N Tonopah 300 Tonopah,Nevada Unofficial results: September 22, 1996 (Round 4 of 6) like this," said Kawasaki Team Greenbacked Davis. "It's designed for the beginner who can only ride on the roads and there's nothing challenging out there at all. 1 could understand if it was a bike and car race but this is all bikes. 1 thought last year was bad but it keeps getting worse." Zitterkopf's partner was much more upbeat about a second-place finish than the team leader. "I haven't ridden since March. Zitterkopf called me and said get off the couch and ride, so this is a pretty good finish as far as I'm concerned," Richardson said. "It was really high speed - a pretty spooky ride. 1 could've done with something a little slower for my first race back and there's a lot of pressure too, when you're handed the bike in the lead." KTM360 pilots Rick Bozarth and Jim Gray continued their flawless ride all the way to third overall, five and a half minutes behind second place. . "It was flawless once we got going, but 1 had a scare right off the start," Gray said. "About three miles into it, 1 was going down a road and the bike seized - locked up tight, but then it unlocked and kept on going· and it's been fine ever since." Book and Hengeveld clocked up a total time of six hours and 27 minutes, which put their KX250 in fourth overall and 13 minutes ahead of the nearest 250cc competition, which came from the Nick Pearson/Jeff Fegert KTM that finished fifth overall d\!spite racing 40 miles on a flat tire. "The course got a bit chopped up, but we just kept hammering and we led the class all day," Book said. "We had a really smooth day. We changed an air filter but that was it - no crashes or anything." A smart finish by Pearson kept him safely ahead of Yamaha racers Jason Kawell and Oakley Lehman, who finished third in the 250cc Pro Class despite losing five minutes when they bent a disk early in the race and had to struggle to change brake pads. "I was.behind them physically all the way in but I knew I had a 30-second cushion because we started behind them, so I just hung in there," Pearson said. "It was too dusty to risk passing so I just made sure I came in on his tail and got him on time." Jeff and Mark Lundgreen completed their race in seventh overall and the Fullmer / Roeseler Kawasaki took FourStroke honors in eighth. "The course was fun. It was on the fast side like a Mexico race or Vegas-toReno and I was hoping it would be a bit more technical, but I enjoyed it," Roesel- OVERALL: 1. Ty Davis/Dave Ondas (Kaw); 2. Greg Zitterkopf/Dan Richardson (Kaw); 3. Rick Bozarth/Jim Gray (KTM); 4. Donnie Book/Steve Hengeveld (Kaw); 5. Nick Pearson/Jeff Fegert (KTM); 6. Jason Kawell/Oakley Lehman (Yam); 7. Jeff Lundgreen/Mark Lundgreen (Kaw); 8. Bill Fullmer/ Larry RoeseJer. (Kaw); 9. Russell Pearson/ Aron Huntington (KTM); 10. Ron Wilson/Tim Morton (Kaw); 11. Orville Northrop/Sean Steele (Han); 12, Destry Abbott/Gary Dircks (KTM); 13, Todd Davis/Scott Davis (Kaw); 14, Scott 'Wilson/Mark Morris (Sux); 15. Paul Shafer/Jason Tr.ubey (Kaw); 16, Dave Hamel/ Marty Kennedy (Kaw); 17. Brad Cameron/Brent Farrell (Han); 18. Todd Abratowski/RandalJ Klessig (Kaw); 19. John Kawell/Oavid Crabtree (Kaw); 20. Bennie Brown/Cory Ayres (Han). . OPEN PRO: 1. Ty Davis/Dave Ondas (Kaw); 2. Greg Zitterkopf/Dan Richardson (Kaw); 3. Rick BozarthlJim Gray (KTM). 250 PRO: 1. Donnie Book/Steve Hengeveld (Kaw); 2. Nick PearsonlJeff Fegert (KTM); 3. Jason Kawell/Oakley Lehman (Yarn). 125 PRO: 1. Troy Kalina/Eric Ducray (Kaw). 4-STRK PRO: 1. Bill Fullmer/Larry Roeseler (Kaw). OPEN EX: 1. Orville Northrop/Sean Steele (Hon); 2. Todd Davis/Scott Davis (Kaw); 3. Paul Shafer/Jason Trubey (Kaw). 250 EX: 1. Russell Pearson/ Aron Huntington (KTM); 2. Scott Wilson/Mark Morris (Suz); 3. Todd Abratowski/Randall Kl~ssig (Kaw). • 25+ EX: 1. Dave Hamel/ Marty Kennedy (Kaw); 2. David Wilson/Lee Coble (Hon). 30+ EX: 1. Bennie Brown/Cory Ayres (Han); 2, Steve Lundgreen/John Tedrow (KTM); 3. Ed McCoy (Hon). 35+ EX: 1. Nick Collin/Robert Howard (J

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