Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

OFF-ROAD ~--.,-----------I BEST IN THE DESERT SILVER STATE SERIES ~--------"------_--:..._-----,----l ~ ~ • 00 0\ 0\ ...... ~ >, ~ :E 38 after we had dropped b-';;:k'in' the" first section. We had a few problems with the brakes. We ended up doing a rear wheel and changing brake pads pretty much all day long and could never really catch up." The Scott Wilson/David Fry KX250 was the next bike through, just ahead of . . Jim Gray's KTM. "I caught a bunch of guys off the start," said Gray, who was 16th on the starting grid and had elbowed his way up to capture the Four-Stroke Over 450cc lead before pi t one. "I was going well at first, just riding smooth and smart. I didn't fall or stall or anything." Daryl Folks and John Rudder had established themselves as the ones to beat in the Over 30 Pro division by the time they reached the second pit. Steve Hengeveld and Jeff Capt were racing at the head of the Four-Stroke Under 450cc division, and Erik Griffith and Dana Van Stee were going great in the 125cc Pro division. When the racers headed au t of Tonopah for the second time, they began a huge 230-mile loop to the northwest that ran through the mountains and out into the fast roads of the open desert valleys. "That part of the course was great, especially the part between pit three and pit four," saitt Abbott. "It was up in the trees, and we ran into some snow on the sides of the course. It was really tacky up there, with perfect traction." Abbott had such a great time that he carved two minutes off the Book/Davis lead by the time his bike reached pit four, but Davis made up time again on the way to pit five. "The course is really fast, which is bad for us, but it's interesting because it's twisty fast. That makes it fun because you're not just hanging it out," said Davis. "Of course, there are some sections where you can go as fast as you can." Abbott admitted to finding some of the faster sections pretty scary. "I think our advantage is in the fast stuff because our bike is a little faster than theirs, but I enjoy the 'tighter stuff more because it's safer," said Abbott. "I think our bike will go just a little over 100 miles an hour, and I was doing that quite a few times. Corners come up quick when you're going that fast, and you really have to stay focused." A little further back, a number of teams were starting to focus on problems. "We got passed quite a few times by the big bikes on the fast, fast roads," said Jeff Capt, whose KLX365 had been leading the small-bore four-stroke division all morning. "I'll bet it was 50/50 fast and technical, but the fast stuff was so fast. We were probably 15 to 20 mph slower than a KX500.'~ A promising run by KX125 pilots Griffith and Van Stee ran out of steam when the bike developed problems 20 miles into section three, and Larry RoeseIer, who was racing solo aboard a Kawasaki KLX365, was riding carefully, trying to avoid third gear. "About 10 miles into the race, the third gear started making a noise, so I tried to stay out of it," said Roeseler. "It made things a little difficult, but I ended up staying about even with everyon'e else on time." The racing was as close as ever as the front-runners cleared the 200-mile mark and swept into pit five. The Davis/Book Yamaha was still in front, but only four minutes separated it from the Abbott/Ondas Kawasaki in second. Brian Brown powered the leading 250cc Pro entry through in third overall, less (Left) Doug Chiapuzio and Matt Murphy topped the Open Expert class. (Above) James Summers and Shane Esposito combined their efforts to win the 250cc Pro class. than eight minutes behind the overall leaders and only two minutes ahead of 250cc rivals Esposito and Summers, who passed Campbell in the pits to take over fourth overall. Campbell had taken time out to install a fresh rear tire before he headed into the next section "My favorite part is between pits five and six. There are some roads up there that are really twisty and fun. You can just flat-track them," said CampbelL "The unfortunate thing was, I got a front flat before I got on that road, which was kind of disappointing." The 300-mile course was starting to test the solo riders as they completed the top of the huge northwesterly loop and made the turn for home. Roeseler was coping so well that he had not yet had anything to drink, but Gray was starting to droop. "I started getting tired, botl) mentally and physically," said Gray, who had been as high as sixth overall bu t slipped back a few places as fatigue began to set in. "It's hard to keep your concentration, and 1 missed a few corners, bu t it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be." The close racing at the front of the pack kept adrenaline flowing like rivers and there was no chance of fatigue as the finish line drew closer. Da vis lost a minute to the Abbott/Ondas Kawasaki between pits five and six, but the team was still ahead when Book took over for the final dash to the checkers. He brought the four-stroke Yamaha home just after 11:30 a.m., with a t()tal elapsed time of five hours and 36 minutes to take the win by a shade under three minutes. "The course was awesome, the markings were great, and it was just good racing all day long," said Book. "This race isn't so long. There's some stuff that's physically demanding on you, but for the most part it's fast roads. They have to get the trucks through, so for us on bikes there's nothing tough like you'd find at a National Hare and Hound. We just got the Yamaha out in front and stayed there all day. We didn't have any problems." "We did;n't have time for problems the race was too close," Davis said with a laugh. "The bike ran great; it's bone stock except for a silencer, a pipe and some different suspension. Abbott and Ondas rode a great race and kept it close all day. You couldn't ask for any more." You could ask for a little more if you were Abbott, back in second. "I'II\ disappointed we didn't win. I thought we had a really good chance and we had the hor epower, but it didn't happen," said Abbott. "We had a great ride, it was a good race, and I rode the hardest I could. I don't have any excuses; they just flat out beat us, I guess. Maybe we'll get them n'ext time." The race-long battle for the 250cc Pro win was decided less than 20 miles from the finish, when Lehman missed a corner and took an off-the-eourse excursion. '1 was in a really high-speed section and I came to a right-hander. I didn't make the turn, overshot it and crashed pretty hard," Lehman explained. 'Tm lucky I didn't get hurt, but that's when they got by us." The crash put the Summers/Esposito Yamaha into third overall and took it across the finish line three minutes ahead of the Lehman/Brown Kawasaki to capture the 250cc Pro win. "We were within 40 seconds of each other the whole race," said Esposito. "I don't know if it's more fun racing that way, but it makes you work a lot harder, that's for sure." Jolmny Campbell's solo ride finished in fifth overall. "I thought it would be even faster than it was, but I had fun," said CampbelL "I like riding in Nevada, and 300 miles is half a day to me. I'm used to being on the bike for eigh t hours. If it was a couple of hundred miles longer, I could've taken them." Doug Chiapuzio and Matt Murphy finished sixth overall on elapsed time and overalled the Expert class for the second time in as many races. "We led pretty much the whole way," said 16-year-old Chiapuzio, who brought the team's KXSOO home with a flat rear tire. 'We started behind everyone in our class, and after the first 50 or 60 miles we were in front of all of the Experts. We had no problems and it was a fun course, just real fast." Second in the Expert division was captured by the CR500 trio of Scott Underwood, Craig Sasso and Scott Robertson, and third went to KX500 racers Mark and Jeff Lundgreen, who rode the last two sections without a clutch. "We went down in a rough section and had to ride with bent bars, but we adapted to it and had no problems at all," said Underwood. "We just needed a little m'ore top end." Daryl Folks and John Rud'c!er took eighth overall and edged race- ong rivals Darrol and Kevin Brown out 01 the Over 30 Pro win by just 16 seconds. "1 was worried on the open roads. I was riding flat out, thinking, 'He's going to get me, he's going to get me,''' said Rudder, who piloted a KTM 300. "Co ing into the finish, it was really fast I had a dirty filter. They caught me an passed me, but they started 20 secon ahead of us, so I knew that if I ju~ stayed right on their butt, we'd be fin . The Brown brothers are definitely t~ team to beat at these races." Jim Gray took the big-bore FoutStroke win in 10th overall, and Hengeveld and Capt topped the small' bore four-stroke division in 13th. 'We had the lead in our class aboUt four miles out and didn't really see an body in our class all day after that," sai Capt. "The bike worked great ana everything went well for us." ~ Tonopah 300 Tonopah,Nevada Results: April 18, :1998 (After 2 of 6 rounds) O/A: 1. Ty Davis/Donnie Book (Yam); 2. Oavb Ondas/Destry Abbott (Kn~); 3. James Summers/Sh" f! Esposito (Yam); 4. Oakley LeJlm01n/Brian Brown (Ka . 5. Johnny Campbell (Hon); 6. Doug Chiapuzio/\If ... Murphy (Kaw); 7. Paul Krause/Dave Hamel (Kaw); S. Da'/Sean Steele (Yam) OPEN PRO: 1. Ty Davis/Donnie Book (Yam); Davis Ondas/Destry Abbott (Kaw): 3. Johnny Campb

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