Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

By Mark Kariya TECATE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO, DEC. 12 e wins going slow. He wins going fast. He wins going slow , again. No matter what type of race it is, Montclair Yamaha's Ty. Davis has proved he can win it. In the previous four weeks, here's what Davis has done: He earned a gold medal at the ISDE in Australia; that's the relatively slow stuff. Then he returned to America and won the Terrible's Town 250 in the Nevada desert; that's definitely fast stuff. A week later, it was back to the slow stuff, this time in Tecate for the Los Ancianos Motorcycle Club's inaugural hare scrambles - another rW1away win for desert racing's top dog in '98, as he took just 2:50:19 to complete five loops, a little more than 80 miles. "It's kind of nice to end the year winning," said Davis, who traded in his· usual four-stroke mount for a YZ250. "I mean, it was great to end the year last weekend (winning the Terrible's Town 250, with its $10,000 winner's bonus), but this is even better - on a new bike and, hopefully, this is something I get to look forward to for '99." Tecate is familiar ground to Davis, who has won several of the enduros put on by the Los Ancianos, which means "Ancient Ones" in Spanish. The club normally puts on its famous enduro on the tight trails east of this border town every other year and hosts a trail ride in between. This year, however, they decided to do something different and laid ou t a loop a little more than 15 miles long, utilizing a variety of old enduro trails (widened, of course) and new sections, including some roads to mix things up and give racers a rest. They made it similar to one of the popular GNCC series events, with a twohour race in the morning for novices, women and Mexican citizens, and a three-hour afternoon thrash for As, Bs and Pros. Coming as it did at the end of every other organization's schedule, the club figured it would be easier to draw entries. Actual attendance was, however, not up to expectations, though the presence of a number of top pros certainly made for an exciting day. The dead-engine start found Team Green's Dave Ondas on his KX500 getting a good run down the long, fast sand wash, with KTM's Russell Pearson to h.is outside and Team Green GNCC specialist Jimmy Jarrett just behind. By the time Ondas dived for the left-hander at the end of the straight, though, Davis had bea ten him there. End of race - for first, that is. "I knew I'm not in the best shape," Davis admitted, "but I'm going to go out and ride the best I can, and that'd be it. I-got the lead - which I couldn't believe - at the start. Once 1 got that, I knew it was going to be a fast pace. It's kind of bushy here, but it's pretty fast, open trails for the first half of the course. r- figured everyone would just key off me. "I broke away, and 1 rode my own race. 1 rode fast the first lap, and 1 came in and had a 40-second lead; then, the second lap, I came in and had a minuteand-a-half lead. Once I realized that, it's like, 'Well, at this pace, it's no problem. 1 can back her down quite a bit and still maintain their pace.'" The real race was for second, with Suzuki's Steve Hatch, Team Green's Destry Abbott, and KTM guns Mike Lafferty, Nick Pearson and Russell Pearson all giving it their best, with positionswapping taking place constantly. After N (Above) This is the only view the competitors got of Ty Davis at the inaugural Tecate Hare Scrambles. (left) Enduro star Mike lafferty finished second overall in the 80-mile race. (Below) Destry Abbott was in the hunt for second but couldn't quite catch lafferty. He finished third. a few laps, Hatch made a decisive move into second and appeared to be on a mission. "The first coupl,e laps, my arms pumped, and I didn't get that good a start and was way back there, stuck behind some guys," said Hatch, the 1998 GNCC series runner-up. "I didn't care to go much faster, to be honest with you. 1 worked my way and learned the track, got by some guys and started to roll. Th.e third lap and fourth lap, I really started grabbing gears. 1 knew everybody else was probably about hitting the wall on the last two laps; I was going to sprint and try to catch Ty." Unfortunately for the new resident of Arizona, his RM250 drank more fuel than expected, and he ran out of gas, ending his race prematurely. That problem also hit Russell Pearson, as well as 200cc A threat Larry Roeseler on his KX125. With Hatch and Pearson out of it, that left Abbott, Lafferty and Nick Pearson battling for second as they headed into the final lap. "Coming into the last lap, 1 got a quick splash of gas and was behind Nick," Lafferty said. "I passed Destry in the pit, and I saw Nick, and they said I was in third then. 1 went, 'Cool!' I just had enough energy. 1 wasn't pushing any. 1 don't think 1 went any faster the last lap than I did the first one. 1 just kind of caught up, saw 11in1 take some good lines, stayed right there with him, then came around a turn, he fell, and I kind of rode around his bike and went, 'Okay, I've gotta go now.' 1 just kept going, running till the end. 1 was surprised myself, because two guys ran out of gas and stuff." Two-time and defeJ;lding AMA National Enduro Champion Lafferty completed his five laps in 2:55:34, with Abbott making a late-race pass on Pearson to claim third in 2:56:20. "At the very end, going into the last loop, I was just so tired," Abbott said. "Nick was in front of me, and I figured, Well, 1 might as well let it hang out now if 1 want to get top three.' Tha t was my goal, so I did. Nick was maybe a little mor~ tired than I was. I bagged him there in the middle of the loop and brought it home then. 1 think we were both tired. It was just a great race, but I think I need to work on my training a little more than this." Pearson finished right behind for fourth in 2:56:28, with Team Green desert specialist Brian Brown rounding out the top five in 2:59:35. CN Tecate Hare Scrambles Tecate, Baja California, Mexico Results: December 12, 1998 OIA: 1. Ty Davis (Yam); 2. Mike L'l.fferty (J(TM); 3. Destry Abbott (Kaw); 4. Nick Pearson (KTM); S. Brian Brown (Kaw); 6. Russell Pearson (KTM); 7. Jimmy Lewis (KTM); 8. DllVid Pearson (KTM); 9. Larry Roeseler (Kaw); 10. JOllah Street (Han). PRO: 1. Ty Davis (Yam); 2. Mike Lafferty (KTM); 3. Destry Abbon (Kaw); 4. Nick Pearson (KTM); 5. Brian Brown (Kaw). 200 A: 1. Jimmy Lewis (KTM); 2. Larry Roeseler (Kaw); 3. Kurt Caselli (Kawl. 250 A: 1. David Pearson (KTM).; 2. Erik Griffith (Kaw); 3. Brinn Cornelius. OPEN A: 1. Ron Lawson (KTM). 4-STRK A: 1. Brian Bruning (Yam); 2. Bob Sage (Hus). VET A: 1. Bob Surman (Yam); 2. Tim Morton (Hon), SR A: 1. Scot Harden (KTM); 2. Jim Beachump (Honl; 3. Rick Crosland (TM). 200"6, 1. Brent Harden (KTM). 250 B: 1. Jo.lquin Candia (Yam); 2. Jeff Wells (Hon). OPEN B: 1. Dean Adam (KTM); 2. Aaron Herman (Hon); 3: Robert Nantista CKTM). 4-STRK 8: 1. Thomas Englehardt (Yam); 2. Rick Jones (KTM). VET B: 1. Ken Faught (KTM); 2. David Vogt (Kaw); 3. James Curry (Hon). SR B: 1. Brad McKay (Yam); 2. Jim Hudson (Yam); 3. Don Dnnner (Hon). 200 C: 1. Brock Harden (Yam); 2. Ryan Benchump (Yam); 3. Pat Keamey. . 250 C: 1. Lance Polloreno (Hon); 2. Tim Tolleson (KTM); 3. Greg Thomas (Suz). OPEN C: 1. Blake Hughes (Hon); 2. Brian McGinn tHon); 3. Dennis Welch (Yam). 4-STRK C: 1. Robert Gladden (Hon); 2. Jerry Jones (Yam). VET C: 1. Karel Kramer (KTM); 2. Donnie Bales (KTM); 3. Brian Salley O-lon). SR C: 1. Jeffrey Crump (KTM); 2. Jim Chenoski (KTM); 3. Gregg Thompson (5uz). MEXICAN NATL: 1. Alfredo Contreras (Hon); 2. Bebo Gutierrez (Yam); 3. Oscar Munoz (Kaw). WMN: 1. KeUy Yancey (Kaw); 2. Heather McNabb (Hon); 3. Jennifer Morton (Han). en en en ~ '" c: ::J .., '" 31

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