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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127808
Open Pro Mark Lundgreen, Steve
Hengeveld and Donnie Book close
behind. Bryan Folks had a one-minute
lead over Troy Kalina in the 12Scc Pro
class, Tim Staab had his Honda XR600R
comfortably ahead of Fred Willert's
KTM LC4 in the two-entry Four-Stroke
Pro class, and John Rudder was leading
Over 30 Pro rivals Daryl Folks and Brian
Schmuckle.
"It would've been better with more
people here. Maybe he (Folks) didn't
publicize it very well or it's just so new,
and it was really close to the Tonopah
(round four) race, but people will come
when they find out what it's like," said
Pearson, who started at the head of the
250cc pack but dropped his bike in the
first half mile and restarted dead last. "I
like it because it's so tight and more of
the rider comes out. In Vegas to Reno,
anybody can hold it wide open, but
here, it's the rider who does it."
Course two was every bit as tight as
course one and the dust made passing
harder than ever.
"The dust was more of a problem on
the second course because it was
already churned up before we started
racing on it and that made it really hard
to pass," said Davis, who led the 250cc
Pros all the way. "You can't get off the
course in the bushes because there are
rocks allover the place, so if the rider in
front of you doesn't move over or make
a mistake, you can't get by them."
The dust worked to Davis' advantage
when it put Krause into a rock and let
Davis dodge around him in the middle
of lap three.
"I did a big header. 1 missed a boulder with my front wheel and hit it
square with the rear, and went kaboom,"
Krause said. "1 liked the course. It's
about the same as course one - you have
to work your butt off because you're
hauling for an hour. There's no room for
resting; you've just got to go, go, go."
At the end of lap four, it was Zitterkopf by a minute over Davis, Krause
was another minute back in third, and
Book and Gray were battling for fourth.
Abbott, who had col1ided with 2S0cc
Pro rival Oakley Lehman right off the
start and ended up dead last, was neck
and neck with Hengeveld for sixth.
"We were going at it," Abbot said. "[
was doing everything 1 could to get
around, and [ went down right behind
him near the end. 1 was too tired to do
anything after that.
At the end of lap five, Zitterkopf was
also starting to feel a bit tired.
"Oh man," the spectators heard him
groan, as Casey Folks indicated there
was time to fit one more lap into the 50ish minutes allotted to each race.
"1 thought they were going to end it
after five," said Zitterkop£, who was
turning nine-minute laps on the fourmile course. "It was as tight as the first
course and [ was ready to quit a couple
of laps before that. Whenever I'm in the
lead it's like, 'Okay, we can stop now.'
In the last lap [ couldn't see anybody
behind me so [ sat on the seat and
podunked it in.. "
Zitterkopf took the Open Pro win in
first overall just under a minute ahead
of 2S0cc Pro winner Davis. Krause
grabbed third and Book, Hengeveld and
Abbott dashed across the finish in one
long cloud of dust. Folks held on to top
the 12Scc Pros, Rudder took win number two in the Vet Pro division, and Tim
Staab made it two for two in the FourStroke Pros.
"The second loop was all silty - really
tight and silty, which was tough on a
four-stroke, but it was still fun," Staab
said. "The first one was better - tight but
no silt, and we were the first guys on it."
By the time the third race got under
way at 1 p.m., some of the racers were
starting to feel the effects of a tough day
of competition.
"[ think it's harder than a long race
because you get a break in between and
that makes you stiffen up," said 12Scc
Pro Troy Kalina. "You need to get loosened up again."
Pearson's problem was nerves.
"[ normally get a little nervous about
five minutes before the start of a race,
but today 1 got nervous over and over
again. My stomach was killing me," said
the 18-:year-old KTM pilot.
Krau e's problem was riding hard
and forgetting to rest.
"It's a really long day," he said. "All
the races were a full hour, so that's three
hours you're holding on and, because
they're only one hour long, you pin it
the whole way. It's much harder than a
three-hour hare and hound because
there's no break and you run wide open
from start to finish each race. And then,
because there's a break, you work on
your bike between the races. By the end
of the day, you're so tired."
But there was no time to think about
being tired when it was time to start
race three. With two wins already under
their belts, 250cc Pro leader Davis, Over
30 Pro leader Rudder and Four-Str