Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

OFF-ROAD BESTIN THE DESERTSILVER STATE SERIES • Team Green's Donnie Book (below left) and Dave Ondas (below dght, riding) were running second near the end of the Tonopah 300 but mechanical trouble for the lead duo of Ty Davis and Paul Krause near the finish left Book and Ondas with the lead and win. By Anne Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren TONOPAH, NY, MAR. 29 he introduction of car and truck racers at what has traditionally been a motorcycles-only event meant this year's Tonopah 300 was far from the tight, technical race' that riders were hoping for, but the racing was so close it more than made up for what the 300-miIe event lacked in tight terrain. Kawasaki KX500 racers Ty Davis and Paul Krause were hot favorites going into the first round of the Best in the Desert's three-event car / truck/bike series organized by Casey Folks, and looked like winners as they led the way in the early stages of the race, but Team Green teammates Dave Ondas and Donnie Book refused to let them get comfortable. The persiStent duo kept their KX500 within half a minute of the lead bike for more than 280 miles and, when disaster struck Davis with the checkered flag almost in sight, the trailing pair got the break they were looking for. "About 20 miles from the finish 1 saw Davis getting off the bike on a lakebed," said Book, who looked back over his shoulder all the way to make sure Davis wasn't closing in. "I went by and just pinned it all the way to the finish. What a way to end the race. r had been so close the whole way. We could see them a lot of the time. It was just a drag race all day." After SO-degree mornings in the week leading up to the race, the former silvermining town of Tonopah turned the temperature down for race day. The 94 motorcycle teams that lined up for the just-after-dawn start were greeted by a chilly breeze and temperatures so frigid tha t racers were forced to warm their hands on their bikes' exhausts while their pit crews struggled to get the ink to flow in their pens so they could take notes. A short parade led by local police took the racers from the impound area through city streets to the starting line on the eastern edge of town, and it was full speed ahead when the green light flashed for the first time at 6 a.m. '1 don't feel that great about drawing the number-one spot," said Greg Searle, who was the first rider off the one-bikeevery-20-seconds starting grid. "I ride better in the back. 1 find 1 can pace myself better back there, but this is how it turned out, so I'll try to make the most of it." Searle was followed by the rest of the Open Pro division, which included the Honda factory entry of Jeff Capt and Tim Staab in the number-two position, Davis and Krause as number three, and the KTM-mounted Vosburg Racing team 'of Destry Abbott and Scot Harden in fourth. Harden had stepped in at the last minute after Abbott's official partner, last year's AMA National Hare and Hound Champion Greg Zitterkopf, opted out a week and a half before the race. "He has some problems and just decided to make a change," team manager Gary Vosburg said. "I really don't know what they are. All I can say is that he still has a year's contract with us that isn't settled." Jimmy Lewis, who planned to solo the event, turned heads. when he . left the line in 10th on a bright-orange KTM Rallye, complete with headlights, a fairing, a Global Posi tioning Sys.tem and numerous auxiliary gas tanks, including one built into the skid plate. '1t's a 640cc four-stroke that's identical to what 1 raced in Dakar," Lewis said. '1t holds 12 gallons of gas, so I'm only planning on stopping once to pit. There's no way you can race something like this on a desert course - you really . just ride it, and you can't drop it or crash it - that's not an option because it weighs somewhere around 400 pounds. when you're ready to go. I'm not planning to win; I'm just doing it for the fun of it. 1 always do weird stuff." The opening section of the course had few challenges in the terrain but dust and the low angle of the rising sun combined to make life miserable as the Open Pros, followed by competitors in a total of 25 motorcycle classes, made their way to pit one at the 52-mile mark. "It was dusty, very dusty off the start," said Honda XR628-mounted Capt. "The course went out five miles, then it started coming straight back into the sun and you had to almost dead stop and putt along until you finally. turned again. Most of the first section was fast and that, plus the dust, made it tough to pass anyone." Davis had elbowed.his way past the two earlier starters and had the physical lead as he stormed through pit one and set out on the 37-mile leg to gas two, which was laid out on a dry lakebed 14 miles east of town. Second on adjusted time was the KX500 team of Ondas and Book, which hit the first pit in fourth position 35 seconds behind Davis on time. Dave Hamel and Dennis Belingheri had their privateer KX500 in third, 40 seconds behind the leader, and the Abbott/Harden KTM team was almost neck and neck for fifth. Traffic at the highway crossing just after pit row made life miserable for some of the racers. "The guy at the road crossing stopped me for a long, long time, waiting to let the traffic go by, and Abbott came up right behind me, then got me just past the highway in a really tight corner," Capt said. "The same thing happened at another road crossing and Onda got me. It was kind of hit-andmiss - if there was no traffic, you could go straight across, but if there was anything coming, the road crossings really held you up." But at least the day was starting to warm up. "The opening section was pretty miserable," Ondas said. "It was superduper cold. My hands were really cold and it was hard to hang on." Long ribbons of golden dust that

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