Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

By Matt Freeman SAN BERNARDINO, CA, FEB. 28-MAR. I he number two seemed to be the' (". magic number for many of the top riders at the Prairie Dogs/Malcolm Smith Motor ports Grand Prix, held at Gl~n Helen Raceway. The twoday event served as round two of the District 37 Big Six Grand Prix Series, and by the end of the event Rex Staten, American Honda's Johnny Campbell and Team Green's Paul Krause and Dave Ondas had all chalked up two wins. With 10 events scheduled to take place on the specially laid-out 10-mile course, the Prairie Dogs pulled au t all the stops for the sixth annual event, which was also part_of the District 37 Best of the West Series. The famed Glen Helen motocross track, sand washes, creeks, rolling hills, the Blockbuster Concert Pavilion parking lot and paved roads in Glen Helen Regional Park were all part of the course, which made the event a grand prix in its truest form. Honda CRS00-mounted Donnie Morrison kicked off. the weekend by gra bbing the holeshot to the first turn during Saturday's Unclassified race. Morrison's lead was cut short as Ondas and his KX500 made the move into second place midway through the first lap. XR600 rider Campbell was not far off of Ondas' pace as he, too, had made it around Morrison on the first lap. "Ondas and I were going back and forth, and right before we dropped into the creek I kind of hesitated and thought maybe I shouldn't follow too close because of the splash," Campbell said, "and then I thought I'd stay close in case he makes a mistake and I can get around him. Right then he nailed it and a big rock came up and hit me in the knee so I just had to slow down. It hurt so bad I cou ldn' t ride." With Campbell off the gas, Morrison was able to reclaim second for good, a position for which he battled throughout the entire race. Ondas crossed the finish line with a comfortable lead over Morrison, however. Campbell tallied an irnpre sive third, swollen knee and all. KX500 rider Abe Baumann rode to a careful fourth; and YZ250-mounted John Rudder rounded out the top five in the first 250 spot. By the end of the first race, the word was already out that in order to post a good finish, you had to ride smart. "It's tough," said Ondas about his , wlll1ling ride. "The creek is pretty bad going out at the end. The sand wash is real bad because it's got a bunch of rocks, and up on top (in the hills) there's 'a little quagmire thing. It's an awesome . course, though." The combined Super Senior / Women/Mini race was second on the schedule, and as he has all year, KX80mounted Kurt Caselli came away the victor. Anna Cody finished second to. Caselli, taking the Women's win. YZ250mounted Ray Banfield used his years of racing experience to win the Super Senior class. KX80 riders Bobby Steffan and Jonathan Davies went on a racelong battle for second-place mini honors, a battle which ended when Davies got held up in the marshy swamp section on the upper part of the course. Davies stuck it out for third in class and, soon after, organizers rerouted the course around the mud pit. It was no surprise tha t Sta ten's first win on the' weekend came when he overalled the Senior/Magnum race aboard his KX500. Charlie Barney fIT (Right) Team Green's Paul Krause was one of four riders to grab wins in two different classes (luring round two of the District 37 Big Six Grand Prix Series at Glen Helen Raceway. Krause won the Vet Open Expert race and then teamed with Dave Ondas to win the nighttime Pro race. (Bottom right) American Honda's Johnny Campbell racked up two victories, claiming top honors in the FourStroke and Open Expert divisions. turned a bad start into a solid second to take the 250cc Senior win. Bob Maxwell carded a third as well as the Magnum win. No one could catch Krause during the Vet race. The KXSOO pilot sprinted to a quick lead, followed by out-of-stater Ed McCoy, who made the drive to compete aboard a CRSOO. Baumann finished a costly third. uThis race was expensive for me," Baumann said. "I cracked both my rims in the sand wash. I'm happy to finish, though, because I saw Morrison and Randy orman do cartwheels in the sand wash because they hit hidden rocks." The big talk of Saturday was the Pro Team ight Race, which awarded a purse to the top finishers. The race ran through the motocross and vintage portions of the park only, but the shortened course did not mean the intensity of racing would be lessened. The team of Campbell and Staab jumped to an early lead, but Staab's wrist injury was too painful for him to ride at 100 percent. The team put in a valiant effort and exchanged the lead with Ondas and Krause several times before the checkered flag fell. In the closing laps of the hour-long race, the Ondas/Krause team pulled away, opening up the gap between first and second. Campbell and Staab held on for second, followed by the third-place CR500mounted team of Craig Hunter and Brent Farrell. Team Green's Steve Hengeveld and Jeff Capt finished fourth aboard a Stroker-backed KLX. On Sunday morning, Staten was back on the starting line and back in the winner's circle. A stellar start in the Vintage/Classic/Sidecar race got Staten out front early aboard his '79 YZ400. Honda-mounted Rick O'Donnell kept. Staten on his toes but he never got close enough to initiate a dice. Mike Dougherty and Rudy Abele rounded out the top four. Campbell led from start to finish in the Four-Stroke/Dual Sport race. His closest competition came from XR400mounted David Glass, who finished approximately a minute off Campbell's pace. Hengeveld unbolted the headlight of his modified KLX long enough to follow Glass in for third. When the 125cc/250cc/Open race went off, so did Campbell. Krause and Ondas held the top two spots during most of tlle first lap, but Campbell was on a roll from the earlier Four-Stroke race. Campbell caught and passed Ondas and Krause just before the completion of the first lap. 'These guys didn't ra~e this morning, so I think 1 had the upper hand," said Campbell. "I just pushed and pushed. [ went 100 percent the whole way." Krause finished a strong second, followed by Ondas. The KX250s of Hengeveld and Doug Chiapuzio put forth a race-long battle, but on the last lap Chiapuzio was forced to drop out with mechanical problems, giving Hengeveld an easier run to first 250 and fourth overall. Hengeveld's KX250 teammate Oakley Lehman moved past CR250-mounted Matt Murphy on the last lap to take second in class and fifth overall, minus a rear-brake pedal. Dana Van Stee took the 125cc honors with a t"N seventh overall. Glen Helen Raceway San Bernardino, California Unofficial Results: February 28-March 1, 1998 (Round 2) U/CLFD: 1. Dave Ondas (Kaw); 2. Donnie Morrison (Hon); 3, Johnny Campbell (Hon); 4. Abe Baumann (!

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