Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127984
loop, and I would've made up some more, bu t I crashed in a big choya," Hengeveld said. "But when we came in again at the end of Oakley's loop, we were ahead 6f them on time by about 40 seconds." The Over 30 Pro ba ttIe became a three-way affair between the Roeseler /Healey Kawasaki, the Underwood/ Zitterkopf KX500, and the TM-mounted duo of Luca Trussardi and first-time desert racer Gordon Ward. "It's kind of different being way out there in the desert," said Ward with a laugh. "On a motocross course, we can remember the course and we know each corner, know what turns to make and stuff, but this? It's such a long course. It's like you've really got to have a good memory." At the end of the second half of the figure 8, the race was still too close to call. The Pearsons still had the physical lead, but Davis was just 20 seconds back on adjusted time, and the Esposito/Ondas entry was only two minutes behind in third. Abbott and Brown dashed through the pits in fourth, Roeseler and Healey screamed their USee through in fifth, and the Lehman/Hengeveld and Pearson/Folks 250cc teams were less than a minute apart in a battle for sixth. Robert Marshall and Clint Braun had established themselves as the ones to beat in the USee Pro division, the Staab/Murphy Yamaha was leading a YZ400F piloted by Josh Wilson and Dave Hamel in the Four-Stroke Pro class, and Harden was turning heads with a runaway solo performance in the Over 40 Pro divisiOn. "I was entered with Danny LaPorte, and early in the week he called me up and said he was injured and couldn't ride," Harden said. '1 still had an entry and I had a bike and I really like Laughlin, so I came anyway." Entrants in the Ironman class were only required to complete two laps of the course, but unintentional soloists such as Davis and Harden, who wanted to earn points in their regular class, had to go the entire 135 miles. "I ended up dehydrating myself on the last loop, and I didn't have anything left," Davis said. "I ended up pulling over at a checkpoint out there. I couldn't see. It was all white, like I was blacking out. I got some water and they gave me grapes and some pieces of a banana. I tried to eat it slowly, but I ended up throwing up. I was out of it." Davis recovered enough to complete the course a· respectable 23rd overall and was none the worse for wear a day or two later. The other racers battled on, unaware that Davis was no longer in contention, and, as the racers got more and more tirea, the terrain got more and more difficult. "They had 200 bikes that pre-entered, and they go around it and around it and around it," said Nick Pearson. "It got rougher on the second loop, and by the third- loop there were big old holes. It was tough. I'd hate to solo it, and I knew Davis had to be tired." By the third loop, the machinery was also starting to tire. A determined run by the Pearson/Folks team slowed when their KTM lost its rear brake and then lost its pep after Pearson tipped over and pulverized the pipe. Garth Sweetland, who was sharing a YZ400F with Mark Miller, broke a chain in his final loop, and the KXl25 entry of Dana Van Stee and Matt Freeman had to double back to the pits for repairs to a bent chain guard. The Wilson/Hamel Yamaha was soldiering on without benefit of a front brake, and Kellon Walch and Sean Steele had no rear brake on their YZl25. But out in front, the Pearson charge continued without a hitch, and Russ Pearson .charged into the finish at high noon. Stopwatches clicked on and, when they showed that the Las Vegas racers were unbeatable on adjusted time, the celebrating began. "We w~re in a dead heat (with Davis) last time I got off the bike, so I rode really hard," Russ Pearson s~d. It wasn't until it was time to leave the finish that spectators found out just how close the Pearsons had come to not winning. Their KTM was so low on gas, it refused to fire. Second overall wen t to the Ondas and Esposito, who completed the course just over three minutes behind the Pearsons with a total elapsed time of four hours and 31 minutes. "I put in as hard a ride as I could, but that's where I wound up," said EspOSito, who spent his last loop hard on the gas, trying to close tl1e gap on the Pearsons and stay al1ead of Davis. The Abbott/Brown KX500 crossed the line just one minute behind its Team Green stablemate to claim third overall. "The bike worked awesome, but we just didn't seem to do it here," Abbott said. Roeseler and Healey wowed the spectators when they brought their KX125 home in fourth overall and nabbed the win in the Over 30 Pro division. The first 250cc Pro team to cross the finish was the Lehman/Hengeveld duo, taking fifth overall four minu tes ahead of their nearest quarter-liter rival. The TM piloted by Trussardi and Ward crossed the finish in sixth overall just six-tenths of a second b.ehind Lehman and Hengeveld, and Staab and Murphy grabbed Four-Stroke Pro honors in seventh overall. Eighth overall was claimed by KTM 250 racers Bryan Folks and David Pearson, who were leading their division until their rear brake went out. "On the third loop, we were winning, but I got about probably four or five miles out and my brake went out, so I just kind of limped it in," Pearson said. "We got the brake fixed, but then I smashed my pipe and there was hardly any power, so I just kind of rode in and - tried not to let too many people pass me." KTM-mounted Robert Marshall and Clint Braun took 125cc Pro honors in ninth. (Above) The topfinishing 250cc team was the Oakley Lehman and Steve Hengeveld entry. (Above right) Mike Healey teamed up with Larry Roeseler to win the 125cc class in fourth overall. (Right) Tim Staab combined efforts with Matt Murphy to win the FourStroke class. Four-Stoke racers Josh Wilson and Dave Hamel rounded out the top 10 on their YZ400F and were followed in by the Jonah Street/Torsten Bostrom Honda, the KTM piloted by Over 30 contenders Daryl Folks and Rick Bozarth, and the Over 3d entry of Scott Underwood and Greg Zitterkopf. Four-stroke racers Thomas Norto!1 and Kris Keefer finished 14th overall to top the Expert class, just ahead of 250cc Experts Wade Phillips and Jacob Phillips. Harden completed his solo. effort to top the Over 40 Pro division by 23 minutes in 16th overall. I The first Ironman to cross the finish was Honda-mounted Ed McCoy, and Michael Caudillo and Eric Ca udillo teamed up to take the Amateur-class honors in 57th. CII Laughlin U.S. Hare SCrambles Laughlin,Nevada Results: February 20, 1998 (Round 1) O/A: 1. Russ Pearson/Nick Pearson (KTM); 2. David Ondas/Shane Esposito (Kaw); 3. Destry Abbott/Brian Brown (Kaw); 4. Mike Healey/Larry Roeseler (Kaw); 5. Oakley Lehman/Steve Hengeveld (Kaw); 6. Luca Trussardi/Cordon Ward (TM); 7. Tim Staab/Matt Murphy (Yam); 8. Bryan Folks/David Pearson (KTM); 9. Robert Marshall/Clint Braun (KTM); 10. Josh Wilson/Dave Hamel (Yam); t 1. Jonah Street/Torsten Bostrom (Hon); 12. Daryl Folks/Rick Bozarth (KTM); 13. Scott Underwood/Greg Zitterkopf (Kaw); 14. Thomas Norton/Kris Keefer (Yam); 15. Wade Phillips/Jacob Phillips (Kaw); 16. Scot Harden (KTM); 17. Joey Lanza/Todd Sdacqua rATK); 18. Craig Hunter/Goff Trachy (Yam); 19. Darral Brown/Kevin Brown (Hon); 20. Ed Dean/Andy Nelson (Kaw); 21. Matt Freeman/Dana Van Stee (Kaw); 22. Justin Lundin/Rick Lundin (Yam); 23. Ty Davis (Yam); 24. Kenny Loomis/Nate Pearson/Carl Maassberg (KTM); 25. Garth Sweetland/Mark Morris (Yam). OPEN PRO: 1. Russ Pearson/Nick Pearson (KTM); 2. David Ondas/Shane Esposito (Kaw); 3. Destry Abbott/Brian Bro.wn (}(aw). 250 PRO: 1. Oakley Lehman/Steve Hengeveld .O(aw); 2. Bryan Folks/David Pearson (KTM); 3. Danny Cooper (Yam). 125 PRO: 1. Robert Marshall/Clint Braun (KTM); 2. Joey Lanza/Todd Sciacqua (ATK); 3. M.att Freeman/Dana Van Stee (Kaw). 30+ PRO: 1. Mike Healey /Lany Roeseler (Kaw); 2. Luca Trussardi/Gordon Ward (TM); 3. Daryl Folks/Rick Bozarth (KTM). 40+ PRO: 1. Scot Harden (KTM); 2. Scott Anderson/Steve Fry (Yam). 4-STRK PRO,!. Tim Staab/Matt Murphy (Yam); 2. Josh Wilson/Dave Hamel (Yam); 3. Craig Hunter/Goff Trachy (Yam). IRONMAN, 1. Ed MeCoy (Hon); 2. Cory Ayers (Hon); 3. Nick Fain (J<.1W). 4--STRK EX: 1. Thom."'lS Norton/Kris Keefer (Yam). 250 EX,!. Wade Phillips/Jacob Phillips (Kaw). OPEN EX, 1. Oa1 Trubey (Kawl. 30+ EX: 1. Glenn Taylor/Ron Purvines/Craig Baker (KTM). 40+ EX: 1. Ron Lawson/Gary Jones (KTM). 35+ EX: 1. Donald TUSSing/Paul Skeary /Mark Morris (KTM). 25+ EX:.1. Delwin Turner/Bradley Fuhrmann/ Brian Donahue (Kaw). 2SO AM: 1. Michael Caudillo/Eric Caudillo (}(aw). Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 - Tonopah, Nevada, April 17 Round 3 - Mesquite, Nevada, June 27 29