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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127941
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__
R_o_un_d_1_1
(Above) Paul
Krause shed a
pack of riders
that included
Eric Hallgath,
Abe Baumann
and Steve
Hengeveld to
win the SoCal
MC Burrito Run
Hare & Hound.
(Above right)
This is·what
desert racing is
all about.
(Left) Hallgath
rode well to
finish second
overall on a
KTM200MlXC
In a series
dominated by
500 and 2SOcc
bikes.
By Matt Freeman
LUCERNE, CA, APR 11
ive miles into the first loop of the
SoCaI Me's fourth annual Burrito
Run Hare and Hound, it was
anybody's guess as to who would corne
out on top. Kawasaki Team Green's
Paul Krause was in the lead on his
KXSOO, but lurking close behind in his
dust was KXSOO-mounted Abe Baumann, Team Green's 2S0cc hotshoe
Steve Hengeveld, and KTM 200M/XC
pilot Erik Hallgath. But at mile 40, when
• the fab four pitted for gas and headed
out onto the second loop, the heated
battle up front was about to change
drastically. A giant, steep uphill on the
second loop decided the outcome of the
finish, and when the 81-mile course was
completed, Krause had somehow
opened up more than a two-minute lead
on the second-place finisher, Hallgath,
in the last 41 miles.
"I had a great ride and got the
holeshot," Krause said. "Unbelievable
riding today. I've never seen Lucerne
Valley with this much brush and grass.
There was no trail, ever. It was just like
these grassy fields and flowers everywhere - just flower after flower."
Not all the competition had time to
enjoy the scenery. Seventeen-year-old
Casey Longman and the KXSOOs of
Terry Turner and Matt Murphy were
busy trying to make up spots throughout the dusty first loop.
"1 kind of had a bad start at first. It
seems like 1 took off and everybody
went around me and then, as the race
wore on, 1 started picking people off,"
said Longman, who eventually worked
his way up from midpack to third at the
finish.
Hallgath and Hengeveld had their
fair share of action on the first loop, as
well.
'1 passed Hengeveld on the first loop
and then he passed me back going into
the pits," said KTM of Mojave/
FMF /BRP /0' eal-backed Hallgath.
Krause, Baumann, Hengeveld and
Hallgath all completed the first loop and
pitted within 30 seconds of one another.
Vet Open racer Ron Schuler, Murphy,
Longman and Turner cleared the pits in
a scuffle of their own about a minute off
the lead pack's pace. Senior 2S0cc racer
Charlie Barney gas ed up in ninth overall, one spot ahead of Senior Open-class
favorite Rex Staten. Behind Staten was
the first Vet 2S0cc rider, Jon Parks. As
the terrain began to cllange, so did the
running order.
"On the second loop, 1 had quite a
few problems," said Hengeveld, who
lost third place due to his mishaps. "Me
and Abe (Baumann) fell on a hill and
got stuck, and Hallgath passed us there.
[ got up and going again but just kept
crewing up and then, about a mile from
the finish, 1 ran out of gas."
Hengeveld dropped from third to
seventh in the overall standings but still
took the 250cc Expert honors. Baumann
himself ran into more problems after
getting stuck on the uphill.
"Going up the first steep uphill, I hit
a rock and the front end folded on me,"
Baumann said. "That's when Hallgath
got by me, Hengeveld got me, Schuler
got by me, and the thumper (Longman).
That's when 1 knew my stabilizer was
broken. [ ended up passing everybody
else back except for Hallgath and the
thumper."
As if bike problems weren't enough,
Hallgath made things a little bit tougher
on Baumann.
"1 had to stop at the bottom of the
uphill and wait until Baumann and
Hengeveld cleared out a little bit. When
1 started to go, my footpeg knocked
Baumann over again," said Hallgath
apologetically.
Despite his commanding lead on the
second loop, Krause even had some
problems of his own.
"There were a couple of uphills that 1
was dog-paddling on. 1 thought, 'Oh,
~
man:" said Krause at the finish. "I think
on the second loop, something broke in
my fork. It feels like I didn't have any
rebound damping. Then, about four or
five miles from the finish, back in some
little rocks, the front end popped out
from me and I fell over. Overall, I had a
clean ride."
Hallgath continued to'amaze the
competition, taking second overall and
first in the 200cc class, and Longman's
third was hi best finish this year. Baumann toughed it out and finished fourth
overall, taking the Open Vet honors,
and Arizona's Murphy made the trip to
Lucerne worthwhile by finishing in
fifth. KXSOO rider Schuler came across
the finish line in sixth, followed by
Hengeveld.
.
CR2S0-mounted Jon Parks turned in
a good ride in eighth to win the Vet
~SOs, and ninth-place finisher Turner
proved to be an up-and-coming threat
to Baumann and his Open Vet numberone plate. With a broken silencer and a
poorly running bike, Staten was able to
rocket his way around Barney to round
out the top 10 and finish top Senior. Barney's 11th-place finish was still good
enough for the Senior 250cc honors.
Despite running into problems and
dropping from second to fourth, Baumann was still in high spirits - and he
should be, due to his commanding
points lead in the Open Vet division
thus far.
'1t was actually my kind of course. 1
liked it a lot," said Baum<)nn. "All that
virgin stuff. It was just you and the
desert."
~
SoCal MC Burrito Run Hare & Hound
Lucerne, California
Results: April 11, 1998 (Round 11)
OPEN BEG: 1. Keith Lutge (Hon); 2. Andrew Willis
(Han); 3. Bill Wright (Han).
OPEN NOV, I. Jeff Bluff (Kaw); 2. Matthew G",eff
(Kaw).
OPEN lNT: 1. Todd Isles (Kaw); 2. Brian White
(Hon); 3. James Sandefer CHon).
OPEN EX: 1. Paul Krause (Kaw); 2. Matt Murphy
(Kaw); 3. Ron Schuler (Kaw).
250 BEG: 1. Mark Edwards (Kaw); 2. Trevor Drake
(Yam); 3. Jeff Matthew (K.w).
250 NOV: 1. Anthony Grierson (Kaw); 2. Michael
Cauc1ino (Kaw); 3. Bob Gideon (Yam).
250 INT: 1. Mike Tyner (Hon); 2. Ron Warren
(Knw); 3. Don Campbell (Yam).
250 EX: 1. Steve Hengeveld (]