Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

()'3 e R S 7D sert acing eries,Final Round Ondas on the gas By Matt Freem an RED MOUNTAIN, CA, DEC. 14 o r the second consecu tive yea r, Kawasaki's Dave Ondas wrapped up the District 37 desert-racing seaso n in winni ng form by taking the overall win at the Dirt Digge rs Me' s 11th a n nua l Wi nter Hare Scra mb les. The Team Green KX500 ride r completed two laps aro und the 35-mile loop to take the checkered flag in just under 90 minut es. When th e sta rt banner drop ped for the Expert line, Ondas was not the only one to get a good jum p off the line. Fellow KX500 racer Abe Baum an was also hard on the gas and remained neck an d neck with Ond as until the 2-mile uphill bomb run filte re d down to o ne trail. Both ride rs cres ted the end of the bomb o n o p p o site sides, bu t O nda s' li n e proved to be th e smoothest, a nd Bau man tucked in behi nd the dust in second pl ace. Behind Bauman lurked the ultrafa st KTM 1250 f Er ic H all gath, XR600 pil ot Jeff Capt and Team Green KX250 rider Oakley Lehman. "I had to work real hard and roost to the bomb," .Bauman said about his stellar start. "After that, Hallgath passed me in Onda s' d ust and ] got arm pump.> Despite his arm pump, Bauman was able to keep Hallgath in sigh t from third place. From the start, the course led nearly 300 racers north across Trona Road and then cut over to Charlie's Place, through Teagle Wash and then to Searles Station. As Ondas left Searles Station and headed toward pit row, he had a comfortable lead betw een himself and H allg ath. Ondas completed his first lap in 40 minutes, nea rly a minut e fasterthan Ha llgath in second place, wh o zip ped int o th e pit s in se co nd o ve r all - a very impressive position for a 125. Bauma n cruised in second s later behind Hallgath in his usu al Vet-class lead in g position. Cap t thundered by in the fourt h position wi th the Four-Stroke lead , and Lehm an filled in the 250cc lead righ t behind Capt. O n th eir seco nd t rip aro und th e course, man y of the lead Experts began to lap the Novice and Begi nn er racers . Lap pe rs d id not slow Ond as d own at all, bu t Hall gat h handed seco nd pla ce back to Bau man due to a collision with a lapped rid er. "On th e second loop , I ra n into a lap ped rider and we both we nt down," Ha llgath said. "I stopped and help ed him ge t up and get sta rted , and that ' s wh en Bauman gotback around me." Bauman was g la d to ta ke seco nd overall for the day away from Ha llga th. "I was fo llo w ing hi m and all of a sud den I saw him picking up his bike," Bauman sa id abo u t his move int o second overall. "I guess his misfortune was my fortune." Ha llgat h and Bauman were not the only fron t-runners to cha nge positions on the second lap , as Lehman was making a hard charge to get around Capt for fourth overall. He fina lly made it happen when Capt overshot a tum 5 miles from the finish. "I came throu gh a tunn el and I saw Capt had blown a comer, so 1 went right by hi m," Lehman sai d . "I coul d hear F For the seco nd consecutive yea r, Kawasaki's Dave Ondas wrapped up the District 37 desert-racing season in winning form by taking the overall win at the Dirt Diggers MC's 11th annual Winter Hare Scrambles in Red M ountain, California. him beh ind me all the way to the finish. I go t a reall y bad s ta rt and d id n' t see any one too much the whole time until] sa w Jeff (Capt) blow that comer." Capt, wh o will make the jump from ridi ng a XR600 to rid in g a KX500 fo r Team Green next year, was not too disappoin ted about moving from fou rth to fifth in the standings. "I al ready ea rned th e Four-S troke n umber-one pla te earlier in th e year," Ca pt sai d, "so 1 just came ou t to have fun ." At the finish, Ondas was all smiles. A bro ken hard gua rd and a cut on his nose from we av ing in and ou t of the bus hy trails were th e only sig ns that he had just trav eled 70 m ile s in less tha n an hour and a half. "I rod e real hard the first lap," Onda s said about his perform ance. "On the second lap, 1 rod e real consistent and jus t cru ised." rx DirtDiggers MC Winte r Hare Scrambles Red M ountain, California Results: December 14, 1997 . O PEN NOV: 1. Ad ria n Co lli ns (KT M ); 2. Ra n Hooper (Hu sk 3. Greg Severso n (Ho n); 4. Bran don Day (Kaw); S. Abe Hilio (Bon). OPEN AM : 1. Mike Baski n (Kaw), 2. Jason Tru bey (Kaw): 3. Dan iel Elkins (Kaw): 4. Tod d Isles (Kaw): 5. s John Mei sner IKaw). O PE N EX: 1. Da ve O ndas (Kaw) : 2. C ha r le s McB urne y (Kaw ): 3. Eron Bo ye r (Ka w): 4. Casey Patterson (Kaw): 5. James Fowler (He n). 250 NO V: 1. M ike Slo ni m (KTM) ; 2. Bri an Waldbaum (He n): 3. Robert o Manfien (Kaw): 4. Michael Wichma nn (Ka w): 5. Darren Degele (Yam). 250 AM: 1. Kevin Sm it h (Ka w): 2. Ad am Hun t s (Yam ); 3. Bria n Butler (Han ); 4. Larry j on e (Yam); 5. Ron Warren ( Kaw). 250 EX: 1. Oa kle y Lehma n (Kaw) : 2. Pau l Shafer (Yam ); 3. Matt Burro ugh s (Kaw): 4. Brian Cunningha m (Y am). 125 N O V: 1. Sa m Wal d b aum (Yam) ; 2. Jaso n Ughthan (Kaw ). . 125 AM : 1. Ro n N aza ki (Kaw) : 2. Jason Ru an e (Ya m). 125 EX: 1. Erik H a ll gath (KT M) ; 2 . Mo r gan Craw ford (}(.aw ); 3. Ed Crawford (Kaw). 4-STRK N OV: I. Greg Coffman (Ho n): 2. Douglas Williams (Hen): 3. Zaek Dodson (}(.aw ); .... Jeff Hagins (Bon). 4· STRK AM: 1. Jeff Coffma n (He n): 2. Mich ae l Tyn er (Ho n); 3. Mike Parrot (He n). 4 STRK EX: 1. Jeff Ca pt (He n): 2. Brad Ca mero n (H on) : 3. Rand y Mar tinson IHon ); 4. Ca r y Rickab y 4 (KTM); S. RonCobb (Suz). WMN AM : 1. Ca th e y Du n can (Ka w ): 2. Rit a Momeautt (Yam ). WM N EX: 1. Anna Cody (Ka w ): 2. Kassle Gray (Ka w) ; 3. Jen nifer Sunker (Kew). MAG AM: I. Lorry Curl (Hen}; 2. Bob Pryor (Ka w ): 3. B Richardson (ATK) 4. John Letzkus (Hen). ill ; MAG EX: 1. Terry McDonald (Hon); 2. AI Guzman (Hon): 3. Greg Turk (Kaw ): 4. Pete Markese (KTM); S. Ernie Mnoi an (Ka w) . SR OP EN NOV : 1. Forrest Stowells (Hon); 2. Steve Ban be rgen (H u s ): 3 . Rick O verby (H o n ); 4. T er r y Cald well (KlM); 5. Mar k Davis (He n). SR O PEN AM : 1. Bob Arellano (Kaw): 2 Micha el jones (He n): 3. Joseph Enins (Kaw): 4. Roge r Ra mbo (Han); 5. Mike Moore (KTM). SR OPEN EX: 1. Ste ve Ca rner (H e n): 2. Mik e McGee (Kaw) : 3. Rud y Ab ele (Ka w ): 4. Rick Burris (Ha n); 5. O int Harri s (He n }. S R 250 N O V: 1. Ro be r t Ko c h (Ya m); 2. C h r is C u m bo (Ya m ); 3 . Charlie H arg a n (Ya m); 4 . Ma tt Schlotterbeck (J

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