Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ner and then, in the little gully right before the flags, I hit a G-out and went over the bars, so 1 was just passing people like crazy the whole first loop." Dave Ondas also had problems before he cleared the starting area. "I fell in the sand dunes on the start. Somebody took me out," Ondas said. '1 got a two-kick start, and I started going, and that's when I got taken out. 1 started like last." The day was overcast with an arctic chill as the racers headed out into the 40-mile first loop that took them through 12 miles of burn area littered with tricky stumps, and then into some new trails that wound back and forth 'through tightly packed cedar trees. ''It was fast in the beginning, so I didn't do very well, but I had ,!in okay start and, once we got into the trees, I was able to pass people," said Yamahamounted Shane Esposito, who was hoping for a repeat of his 125cc-class win in round two. As the loop progressed, the race settled into a three-way battle for the lead between Pearson, Davis and Abbott. "Paul Krause was right behind us, and we jusUreight-trained for a long time - almost for the first full .loop," Abbott said. 'We had a great ride. Then Krause kind of dropped out and it left us three." "I gated well:' Krause said. "I was like fourth at the smoke bomb, and I was where I wanted to be - in the lead pack - but about halfway through the first loop 1 dropped back, and I lost the group. From there on, I rode by myself. the whole way. I just kept telling myself, 'Go, go, go!'" Zitterkopf was also telling his bike to "go, go, go," but to no avail. '1 got a great start - 1 was seventh," Zitterkopf said. "I think 1 was first 250 and probably first Vet, and 1 passed a few guys and moved up into fourth, but .I guess the main bearing went out. It locked up a nd seized, so I turned around and went back to the pits." Zitterkopf won the series in 1996 and is planning to tackle the rest of this year's races on his Gas Gas. The racing was close as the loop progressed. The course included roads, established trails, winding two-track and short, narrow sand washes, and there was a good dusting of snow in the higher elevations. "The course was a lot of fun back in the trees:' said Hoy, who was as high as fifth overall before clutch problems put !,lim out of contention. "The bike just wouldn't run. I finished the race but 1 was way back there." Davis had edged around Pearson to take over the lead by the time the racers headed in for gas but only a few feet separated them, and Abbott was right on their tails. Krause was about IS seconds back in fourth overall; Sorenson led the 250cc pack in fifth overall; and Brown, Yamaha's Donnie Book, KX250-pilot Hengeveld, Hoy, Dave Hamel, Jeff Capt, Oakley Lehman, Richardson and Ondas rounded out the top 14. Brandon Gerber led the four-strokes through in 15th, two spots ahead of 125cc-class leader Esposito. Jf The casualty count started to mount in the early stages of the second loop. "I just hit a stick but it yanked my finger all the way backwards and split the skin," Jason Kawell said. "I think it's broken. I had a terrible start, and I ran eut of gas coming in on the first loop, too." r Jeff Capt parked his KX500 after a crash about half a mile into the loop. "I went into a fast comer in the tight trees. I was on the binders and hit a whoop right before it, and it just flipped me over the bars:' Capt said. '1t was my fault. I just crashed, and I was too sore to go on. 1 hurt my leg and my ankle pretty bad." But the worst was yet to come. After missing the round-one win by just a bike length and sitting out round two with a separated shoulder, Nick Pearson's luck ran out for a third time in loop two. The KTM racer was running third overall when he hit a hidden rock and crushed three of his toes. Pearson kept the bike upright but was in too much pain to continue. Pearson's cast will make him a perfect match for his brother Russ, whose right foot has been in a cast since he broke two toes in a crash in round two of the series. With Pearson out of the running, loop two became a two-way tussle between Davis and Abbott, and with the change in terrain, things started. to go Abbott's way. ' "He was ca.tching me on the second loop" the Yamaha YZ400F-mounted Davis said. "They had some roads there and he reeled me in. I tried to hold him off but there was nothing I could do on the roads. I was trying to hog the whole road, but he had more power and went by me." Davis got Abbott back when the ~ course tightened up again, and the 34mile second loop turned into a backand-forth battle between the two top racers. "I got by him again, but then we got on another road and he ate me up:' Davis said. "We were close the whole loop. Eventually, I knew we were getting to the end, and he knew it, too. We were just going 110 percent and he ended up winning. He rode really good." The key to success, according to Abbott, was horsepower and surviving a shared section of course right before the checkered flag. "My bike was a little faster than his, so I was pulling him down the' straightaways, but then, coming in here, it was really taugh because we caught lappers, and he really went back on me:' Abbott said. "Picking off the lappers was tough. I don't think they knew that we were on the same course as them right towards the end." Abbott completed the snow-shortened 74-mile course in two hours. He was just a few bike lengths ahead of his race-long rival, but that was enough. "I'm really happy to beat Davis and finally win a hare and hound:' said Abbott, who celebrated his win while standing in falling snow. ''It was a great race. I really felt good, and 1 was real happy with the way I was riding when I was behind Davis and Pearson. 1 figured that if 1 could just stay right there, I. would hav., a good chance to win, and it worked out. "The bike's just working awesome," continued the Kawasaki Team Green! Pro Circuit! Acerbis-backed racer. "Pro Circuit and Kawasaki are really doing a great job with these things." Abbott's celebration did not last long. His euphoria was cut short right after the race, when he loaded his bike and then turned around to find that the steering stabilizer he had removed just seconds before had been stolen. '1 can't believe it:' Abbott lamented. "I turned my back for less than a minute and somebody took it." To add insult to injury, Abbott had borrowed the stabilizer from Kawasaki mechanic John Braasch. Nick Pearson (3) leads Ty Davis and the rest of the pack shortly after the start. "These things don't come cheap, and now 1 have to buy one to replace it," said Abbott. "I was on a real high and then I was really bummed. I'm hoping somebody saw who did it, and that I can get it back." Davis, who now has a win and tWo seconds toward his quest for the series win, was happy with his ride and with the course. "The course was awesome. This club always does a really good job," said the Yamaha-backed racer. "The markings are really good and the course was easy to follow. As many esses as we go around in these bushes, weaving in and out, normally a course like this would be hard to follow. They do a super job and I love coming here." . . Third overall, and six minutes behind the leaders, was KX500-mounted Krause. "My only problem was breathing. I'm all stuffed up because I've been fighting a cold all week. I'm probably lucky the race was shorter today," Krause said. "Dave Chase has been building my bikes and he did a super job, and 1 had a really good ride all day. I didn't miss one turn all day, and I never crashed into anything that should've been danger-marked. I think the club did an excellent job." Fourth overall went to KX500 racer Brian Brown, who reported that there was a little too much road for his liking but some great tight terrain to make up for it. ,Fifth overall and first 250cc went to Ed Sorenson. "I liked it:' said Sorenson. "It was real fun. I just got passed by these bigbores out in the flats." Donnie Book recovered from a 20something start to finish sixth and edge his Yamaha into second place in the 250cc division, just ahead of KX250mounted Steve Hengeveld, who ran out of rear brakes at the end of loop one and lost time changing them in the pits. "Hengeveld and I hooked up and battled for a while. I was able to pull away from him for a little bit and, after the pit; I was hoping to just be able to cruise, because my wrists were hurting, but he was right behind me again about 10 miles out from the finish:' said Book. "I just said, 'It's time to go; I have to tough this one out and put up with the pain.'" . Dan Richardson recovered from a slow start to cross the finish in 11th overall and take his third Vet-class win of the series. "I passed more people today than I have in the last two years of racing, but everything other than my start was perfect:' Richardson reported. Dave Hamel and Dave Ondas rounded out the top 10, and E posito took the 125cc-class honors in 11th overall. "It was real fast but it was a good course and everything was marked:' said Esposito. "I had a real good race and I'm proud of the way things went." The Four-Stroke win went to Brandon Gerber in 12th. '1 don't know if I was even in the top 20 off the start; then people just started breaking down or crashing, and I'd pick one or two off here and there - just work my way up:' Gerber said. "I lost my silencer about halfway through the second loop, and 1 stalled the motor a few times and had to work my way back past people when I got it started, but all in all 1 had a good time." Senior honors went to Steve Pitts of Layton, Utah. "It's a pity they had to shorten the course, because it was really good. It could've been an exceptional course with that little bit of extra distance:' said Pitts, who rode an ATK 250. "It was marked well, and they weren't taking any chances on people getting lost. They even had people pointing out the major turns on the course, so nobody got lost." CN Shawn Gerber Memorial Hare and Hound Delta, Utah Results: April 4, 1998 (Round 3 of 7) Ollc 1. Destry Abbott (Kaw); 2. Ty Davis (Yam); 3, Paul Krause (Kaw); 4. Brian Brown (Kaw); 5. Ed Sorenson (Kaw); 6. Donnie Book (Yam); 7. Steve Hengeveld (Kaw); 8. Dan Richardson (!

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