Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

GRAND PRIX RACING ENTERPRISES' CARLSBAD CHRISTMAS GP (Left) Racing Enterprises' Carlsbad Christmas GPcombined per1ect traction with a winding four-mile course to provide riders with a great day of racing. The Vet class blasts off the line and fights to the first comer. Willy Musgrave (54) took the win over Team Green's Paul Krause (02), but Krause retaliated to take the win over Musgrave in the Open race. By Matt Freeman Photos by Kit Palmer CARLSBAD, CA, DEC. 15 hile everyone else was outracing from mall to mall, fighting the crowds, trying to get their Christmas shopping done, Paul Krause and Willy Musgrave were at Racing Enterprises' Carlsbad Christmas Grand Prix fighting lapped traffic. Krause and Musgrave turned in two back-to-back duels during the Vet and Open races at the famed Carlsbad Raceway. Lapped riders played a large role in the outcome of both races, giving Musgrave the Vet victory and Krause the Open win. Racing Enterprises Motorsports set up a five-race schedule for its annual Christmas Grand Prix. Besides racing all day, riders were treated to $1,000 in prizes and gifts awarded by raffle. Raf-, fle tickets were included in each entry, but those riders who brought canned or non-perishable food donations were awarded with additional raffle tickets. The Christmas spirit of giving was in' the air, but perhaps the most-enjoyed gift of the day for race fans carne during the 250cc race when Team Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes showed up on the starting line. Each race was a live-engine start with the racer's left hand placed on the helmet. When the green flag dropped, the 250s sprinted: 30 yards to the first turn which hairpinned around a tire. 'The absence of a starting gate did not affect Hughes in the least .as he wasted little time getting the jump on the rest of the field. Gassing it hard out of the first tum, Hughes shot past the Honda mounts of Tony Amaradio and Lars-Eric Larsson, taking the lead with more than 50 Pro, Intermediate, Junior, and Beginner 250s in tow. Hughes opened up a clean 15-second lead by the end of the first lap, managing to stay out of the foot-deep mud ruts that were littered all over the four-mileplus course. Armradio charged in at second with Larsson not far behind within striking distance. By the third lap, Hughes had gained a 40-second lead over Amaradio, despite having to pick .his way through lapped riders. . Larsson fell off the pace of the second-place battle, leaving Amaradio unchallenged in a sea of lappetS. When it was over, Hughes took the checkered flag, but many of the other riders felt . like winners watching Ryno's lines and technique as he lapped them. Traction seemed to be the familiar word of the day at Carlsbad, and as the 125s and 80s took to the starting line, there was plenty of it. Some thought it was a miracle, others thought it might have been a gift from Santa, but all agreed it was a nice change from the normal hard-packed Carlsbad circuit Lined up on the fourth row behind the 125s and 80s was a special class created for the Cycle News staff. Every year the outcome of the Carlsbad Christmas GP serves as a race for bragging rights among the staffers, and this year was no exception. When the first row, made up of the 125cc Pros and Intermediates, left the starting line, it became very evident to the Cycle News staff that no one would be bragging of an overall race win. Yamaha-mounted Dustin Nelson raged from the first turn and beyond, followed by the Suzuki of Chris Wheeler and Team Green mechanic John Braasch. With the top three practically decided by the second turn, reality set in as the fourth row - made up of 15 editors, photographers and ad salesmen - awaited the dropping of the green flag. Associate Editor Kit Palmer ran away with the Cycle News win aboard a KX25O. The battle behind him, however, went on for all four laps of the race. Personal Watercraft Illustrated (sister publication of Cycle News) Associate Editor Jeff Hain motored his way into second on a KXl25 in front of the 250cc Gas Gas of Assistant Editor Cameron Coatney, the CR125 of Advertising Manager Forrest Hayashi, the CR250 of Associate Editor Scott Rousseau and the YZl25 of Editor Paul Carruthers. The staff threw mud on one another all over the course, exchanging roosts at every comer. Carruthers went down on a grassy, rutted straightaway, giving contributor Matt Freeman fifth place aboard his YZ250. As Coatney and Hayashi diced, Freeman sneaked up on the duo to get in on the battle for third place. . On the third lap, Coatney got held up by lappers in a rut, and Hayashi grabbed third down a rutted back (Right) Even Santa Claus couldn't resist breaking out his old, trusty CRSOO for the excellent riding conditions. straight. Hayashi • didn't stop there as he took second place after Hain overshot a turn. Hayashi's third-lap sprint secured second in the Cycle News class, followed by Hain and Freeman, who eventually got around Coatney on' the pavement section of the fourth and final lap. Rousseau had a charge going after an earlier stall but settled for sixth at the checkers. New Media director Mark Mitchell got seventh, Carruthers took eighth, National Accounts Manager Terry Pratt finished ninth and Managing Editor Mark Hoyer rounded out the top 10. The racing got closer and more intense as the day went on. The Vet race set off a battle between motocrosser Musgrave and desert racer Krause that went on all the way into the Open race. On the ~ack it appeared as if the two racers had a personal vendetta against one another, but at the finish they were all smiles. "I got a 10th-place start," said the Team Green rider Krause. "At the end of the first lap, 1passed Brian Schm uckle for second." Krause was not satisfied with second by any means. Musgrave, aboard a CR25O, had built up a comfortable lead too comfortable maybe. Krause and' his big KX500 reeled in Musgrave and passed him toward the end of the second lap. From there on, the gap between first and second places was never larger than two bike lengths. Krause fought off several attempts by Musgrave to regain the lead all the way to the white flag. As the two sped off into the back section of the course, it was anyone's guess who would be the victor. "On the last lap, 1 got behind some lapped traffic and they wouldn't let me by," Krause said. "I tried to pass one of them ana kind of just fell over with the bike on top of me. I was 'trying to get up and Willy went by me and looked at me like, 'What happened?' 1 just shook my head and he went by me." Krause did not give up there. He quickly got back on the bike and pinned it until he caught up to Musgrave again. Musgrave came out of the final turn with Krause on his tail as the two staged a drag race to the finish-line jump. Musgrave got the edge, finishing first even though Krause practically dived across the finish line and barely escaped a crash frQm the hard landing. "Just a few more feet and 1 would have had him," Krause said. The outcome of the Open race would tell who'd been naughty and who'd been nice as Musgrave and Krause lined up once again to settle the score. Musgrave, who turned in his 250 for a CRSOO, pulled the holeshot, followed by Krause and the XR600 of Tim Staab. At the third turn, Krause cut in tight trying to dive inside of Musgrave. The pass didn't stick because the two nearly collided, allowing Staab a shot a t the lead. The racing was that close at the start and remained that close to the finish. Staab eventually dropped off the lead pace, leaving first and second to continue their race-long grudge. match. Musgrave held o,nto the lead all the way to the white flag. At nearly every corner for three laps, Musgrave went wide and 'Krause went in tight, but he

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