Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

really, really ridiculous," Kawasaki's Paul Krause said. "From the second loop on, you're passing hundreds of people. It was really crowded and, with all sorts of riders out there, it's dangerous for fast people because we are trying to pass in the dust." . The race turned into a close battle between Krause and KTM-mounted Greg Zilterkopf - so close that the two riders were able to throw a few punches on one of the straightaways. "We were playing a little too much wheel tag at speed and it wasn't appreciated," Krause said. "We talked after the race and he apologized, and we are done with it." When the checkered flag dropped for the first time, it was Zitterkopf who was in the winner's circle, with Krause in the number-two spot and Davis third. "I got a horrible start. I screwed up and didn't kick it hard ,all the way through the stroke, and it was about five kicks before I got going," Zitterkopf said. "I caught up and everything was going good, and then I passed Krause and we kind of hit and I fell, but after that it was good." But with 400 racers and a 45-minute moto, the course was starting to look anything but good. "By the second loop it was already really rough," Zitterkopf said. "I was looking for the checkered flag at the end of the second loop, it was that rough already. And we knew it was only going to get worse for the rest of the weekend." The Senior/Magnum/Super Senior class watched "Rocket" Rex Staten run away with the win when it turned out for the second race of the day and, with two huge Vet classes right behind - the Vet Expert/ Amateur division followed by the Vet Novice/Beginner division the course was severely beaten before the first morning of competition was over. "It's really dusty and it's- getting really, really choppy, with lots of square edges," said Krause, who overcame an early challenge from Zitterkopf to top the Vet Experts. "Out on the roads in the S-turns, you're sweeping back and forth going from inside to outside, and the chuckholes are already getting deeper and deeper." Larry Roeseler, who climbed aboard a race bike for about the fifth time in a year, recovered from a slow start and cruised home behind Krause to score second in the Vet division. "The course is typical Adelanto, just a little bit sooner than usual, and it's only going to get worse," Roeseler said. "It's fun to be back, especially at .an event like this when we have the big Team Green display and all the riders are here. Maybe it wasn't as much fun as racing a truck, but I had fun today." By the end of the Vet race, Zitterkopf wasn't having any fun at all. "I got a good start and got into the lead but my bike seized going into the motocross section at the end of the second loop," the KTM 360-mounted racer said. His weekend went from bad to worse when his Vosburg Racing Team took a close look at the motor. "It was pretty bad and we didn't have enough parts to put it back right," Zitterkopf said. "With the course being that fast, it's pointless using a stock bike. I'd have no chance, and I came here to win, so I won't be racing any more this weekend." Davis made his second appearance of the weekend in the 125cc race, which went off with the Women's and the Minibike divisions at 1 p.m. The KXl25 racer was way ahead at the end of the first loop and never looked back. "I didn't get the holeshot but it was an easy win," said Davis, whose highflying antics over the jumps in the motocross course had the. spectators gasping. "The triple jump' was pretty small and narrow, so you' couldn't do any maneuvers over it, and at the water hole, you're going right into the sun, plus, when you jump that, you're right in the next corner. There's no room to show off and I ,thought it would be boring for everybody." Second in the 125cc division went to KXl25-mounted Steve Hengeveld, who aced out Jimmy Lewis at the last minute. "I was running second all the way and then the guy behind me rides faster than me and passes me," Lewis joked. "How many time have you heard that?" Davis' mechanic had his KX500 waiting on the Pro-class starting line almost before the last lap of the 125cc race was over, and there was no time to lose as the top racers dashed from one mount to the next. With $4000 plus 75 percent of the entry fees on the line, there were no holds barred as the cream of the desert racing crop powered down the asphalt straightaway, through the first sweeping comer and into the dirt. Despite the hour and a half of racing that lay ahead, the pace was fast arid furious and Davis lost no time establishing himself as the man to beat. He was 30 seconds ahead of the pack at the end of lap one, and increased his lead by another 30 seconds with each lap of the W-mile circuit. Staten WilS chasing hard in second for the first three laps, ahead of Honda's XR628-mounted Johnny Campbell and Krause, who got an unexpected bounce up into third as lap number four began. "Campbell crashed right by the jump over the levy. He did a big old cartwheel," said Krause, who stopped to check that the fallen rider was all right. "He said he was okay, SO I took off and zeroed in on Staten." Campbell broke the rotator ball in his ankle, needed surgery and a couple of screws to .repair the damage, and will likely be grounded for about three months. Nick Pearson called it quits for the race when his KTM 360 seized, Russ Pearson ran into trouble when his throttle cable broke, and a crash forced Oakley Lehman to drop out of the running. Out in front, Davis was turning consistent, trouble-free laps, with each 10mile circuit taking just a shade over 11 and a half minutes. "I put it on cruise mode. I just kind of rode my own race, set my own pace and it was great," Davis said. "The pace was s~ary fast and there were a couple of guys crashed out there that were hurt." And speed wasn't the only problem. "The course was getting really chewed up by the end of the Senior race this morning," ATK-mounted Steve Pitts said. "And it was even worse for the Pro class - full of square edge stuff and kickers. 'There wasn't any sitting down, that's for sure." Barring a mechanical failure, there was never any doubt that Davis would pick up the Pro-class win and the $1500 purse for first in the Open division, but it was anybody's race for second as the Staten/Krause battle continued lap after lap, with as little as a bike length between the two determined KX500 pilots. Roeseler hung determinedly on to fourth, three minutes behind Staten and Krause, with Donnie Book close behind, and it was Hengeveld, Destry Abbott and James Summers all the way in the dash for the 25licc Pro honors, with a brief challenge by Honda's Jeff Capt, who missed a pit to stretch out a lead and was sidelined when his gamble failed and he ran out of gas. "The course is really fast. We were doing 100 miles an hour 75 percent of the time," Staten said, but, despite his hard charge, he lost the edge to Krause and was bumped back into third with just two of the race's eight laps to go. "That was hard work," Krause admitted, but his $500 in prize money for second in the Open Pro class made it all worthwhile. "It's really a fun race because it's Adelanto but it's a beater. Wide open, bouncing off chuckholes it's fun but no fun, if you know what I mean." Staten, Roeseler and Book rounded out the top five in'the Open class and Hengeveld .scooped up the $1400 purse for the 250cc Pro win in sixth overall, just ahead of Abi:>ott and Summers. "I didn't have any rear brakes for most of the race," Hengeveld said. "They would work but then they would fade out. It's really fast and choppy, and it's kind of hairy going as fast as you're going in the chop, but the bike worked well." . For Abbott, the problem was top speed. "The bike's working really well Mark Zoller and Z racing have been doing a lot of work on it - but I didn't have a gear tall enough," Abbott said. "On every straightaway they would pull me." And if mechanical problems and a high-speed course weren't challenging enough, some of the racers also faced oncoming spectator vehicles and stray pedestrians. "There were two cars out there and I almost hit one head-on," Summers said. "Then, on the last lap, a guy walked 9

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