Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Over The Hill Gang National Series, Round 5 By Chris Sanc hir ico Phot os by Sanc hir ico and Scott Gardiner SAN BERNARDINO, CA, OCT. 9-10 illy Musgrave pu t in some ve ry consistent rides to take the lion's share of the Pro purse at the fifth a n d final round o f th e Team Green /Wulf Sport /Chaparral / Scott USA /Pro Circuit-sponsored O ver The Hill Gang National Seri es. More than 250 Vet riders gathered at the w orldfamous Glen Helen tra ck to compete in the two-d ay eve n t, in w hich fo u r 25minu te motos coun ted toward the overall scores. The week end was unseason ably hot, with temperatures up to 100 degr ees. Th e O' N eil-ba cked Musgra ve may 'n o t have been th e fa stest gu y on th e track, but he was th e most cons isten t, goin g a near-per fect 1-2-1-1. " It feel s g ood to r id e, " s a id Mu s grav e. "I (bro ke) my elbow nine weeks ago, and I haven't been abl e to train." Musgrave w as in vol ved in a fre a k accident while racing in Carlsbad, Californ ia . An ov erz eal ou s specta tor ran across the tra ck, directly in Musgr ave' s p ath. Musgra ve hit th e specta tor a nd we nt down hard, breaking his elbo w. The fastest man on the track was ZRacing /Wind /No-Toil/White Bro thersbac ke d Craig Davis, aboard a stoc k KTM 125. "I had the opportunity to be one of the test riders for Cycle News in the 125cc shootou t, and I was very im pressed by the KTM," Davis noted. "I rea lly lik e this machine. It's the fastest 125." Dav is le d Musgra ve most of th e weekend, bu t a coup le of untimely getoffs und ermined hi s weekend. Musgrave and Davis trad ed results on Saturday , going 1-2 and 2-1 , in tw o ve ry co mpeti tive m ot e s . T he fa ns eagerly awaited Sunday 's showdown between the tw o Pros. At the drop o f the g ate for moto three, Pro-Val ve-backed Jim Henn rocketed ou t of the ga te w ith an impressive fou r-bike-leng th lead go ing into the first turn, wit h Mu sgr ave and Rob Enge l in tow . Davi s was in dead last as the group passed th e s ta rt-finis h lin e. When th e rid ers emerged fro m "th e fast back section of the track, Da vis had rem arkably go ne fro m last to first in less th an a lap. Davis had a five- bike- Ieng th lead over Musgra ve when disaster struck. "I felt g rea t a nd was rid in g well ," Da vis said . "Even tho ugh I go t a bad " start and I'm on a 125, I was able to slice th rough the pack in less than a lap. I'm not su re what happen ed next. I went into th e left -h and tu rn after th e ste pd own - I wasn't going very fast - and the next thing you know, I'm going over the bars." Musgrave sei zed the opportunity. "I saw Da vis go d o w n," Musgrave related . "He never let go of the bars, and he d ug his shoulder into the d irt." Mu sgr ave put the hammer down to try to pu t so me di stance between himself and Davi s. Davis remounted in last and in a lot of pain, but he put in a very heroic effort. t. "I wan ted to pull off the track - m y should er hu rt bad - but I kep t pushing, hoping I could work my way up to second place, pu tting myself into position . to challenge Mu sgrave for the overall in the final moto," said Davis. As th e la ps wound down, Mission Yamaha-b acked Eng el fou nd hi mself under attack from the wounded Davis. "Mus grave and Davis can fly," Engel s a id. "1 ca n run th e ir pa ce for abou t three laps, a n d th en I a m spen t. Th e track was grea t. The Ov er The Hill Gang W (Above) Willy M usgrave (621) won three of four motos and took second in the othe r to nab the overall Pro.win at the fifth and final round of the OTHG Nationa l Ser ies , held at the Glen Helen track in San Bernardino, California. (Left) Claylon Blood (264G) too k the overall victo ry in the Over 38 Pro class. d id an outstanding job on the weeken d ." Davis ignored th e p ain and worked his way aro und Engel to secure seco nd, but it w as too lat e to ca tch Musgrave, w ho was well ou t in fro nt -at the checkers. . In the final moto, Davis was unab le to go to the line. . "I am bummed ," said the very competitive Davis. "I ca n' t even ra ise m y arm:' "I am disa ppointed he's unable to d o th e final moto - it wou ld have been a good race," said Mu sgra ve. In the final mo to, the real battle was for the second spo t, wit h second overa ll u p for grabs bet ween Henn and Engel. Henn need ed to finish ahead of Engel to ta ke seco nd ov eral l. Th e Ck- mounted Henn rod e an im p ressive race and was r e elin g in Enge l at o ne po int, but Engel's lead was goo d eno ug h for ,him to h old on to second pl a ce, takin g second ov era ll fo r the weekend. . In th e Exp e rt cl a ss, Spike Racin g-backed Bruce Criswell took th e overall honors. Criswell wa s turning in some ve ry impress iv e lap times with hi s uniqu e riding style. " I take the li nes th a t n o o ne e lse d oes," sai d Criswell. The KX rid er ha d to do it th e hard way, comi ng fro m mid pack on severa l occasions to cha llenge the leader, tallying a 2-2-1-2 score. The hear tbreak story of th e weeke n d w a s tha t of Stro kerbacked Brad To ms , who had a nearly perfect weekend goi ng when his bike got a fla t tire w hile he wa s lead ing late in mot o three, ruining his chances at the overall. Toms still man aged to salvage second overa ll with a sco re of 1-1-7-1. Taking the final pod iu m sp ot w as Bak ersfield Ka wasaki -backed Chuck Bennett . "I need to ge t so me starts," said the notoriou sly slow sta rter. At the en d of the motes, Benne tt was the"fas tes t guy on th e track; u nfortu nately for him, the leaders were al ready gone. On e of the most competitive classes was the O ver 38 Pro cla ss. A d ogfi ght be tw een Cl a yt o n Blood , Tim Ty n a n, Steve Piatton i and John Greenway took place on Sunday. In moto nu mber three, th e ba tt le fo r se cond p lace was a 20m in u te fr eigh t tra in aroun d th e eno rmou s Glen Helen trac k. The rid ers were never more tha n a wheel apa rt, and they exc hanged positions on severa l occas io ns . Sh ock Thera py- bac ke d Tyna n took control on his YZ and let the others ba t tle for the run n er-u p spot. Bill's Pipes / Torco Oil-backed Blood, Piatton i, Gr eenw ay a n d Nor the rn Ca lifornia 's Parry Klassen gave the spectators their money's worth, as the four shad owed one an oth er to the checkers . In the end , Blood thwarted all attempts and held on to se co n d p la ce , w h ich was goo d eno u gh for the ov erall vic to ry on th e weekend . Tynan and Piattoni took seceN ond - and third -overall hon ors . Glen Helen Raceway Park San Bernard ino, California Results: October 9-10, 1999 (Round 5 of 5) BEG A: 1. Jason Woe m pn er; 2. Jack Tanner; 3. John Ha mmo nds; 4. Danny McVay; 5. Jeff Mcfin tee . 38+ BEG: 1. Gregory Goe rl; 2. Steve Todd; 3. Paul Crouc h; 4, Bill Bowman; 5. Richard Kearney. N OV : 1. Er ic G u nther; 2. Tommy Flenniken ; 3. Robert Bynoru 4. Kenny Hol mes : 5. David Vinbee. 38+ NOV A: 1. Arnie Da vis; 2: Dav e Ward; 3. Jimbo Holman; 4. Jo hn Cu rran; 5. Reid Franke. <;()n; 3. 38+ NOV B: 1. Dwa yne Prickett; 2. Clay WiL Mark Mitz el; 4. Mike Ridgon ; 5. Michael Villa. INT: 1. Carlo Forti no; 2. Nick Heutter : 3. Cli ff Walls ; 4. Jacqu es Ger main; 5. Kip Co ntre ras. 38+ (NT: 1. Colin Birtles; 2. Mark Jon es; 3. Vinet' Macia s; 4. Dan Caneva: 5. CarY Iuola . EX: 1. Br u ce C riswe ll; 2. Br ad To ms; 3. C h uck Bennett: 4. Tim McEn tee; 5. Creg Albin. 38 + EX: 1. Ga ry Scheidler ; 2. Ja mes Cop pe dge; 3. Mike McM urry; 4. Davi d Fajardo: 5. Jeff Maso n. PR O : 1. Will y Mu sgr av e; 2. Rob En ge l; 3. C ra ig Dav i..i ; 4. Jim H enn ; 5. Darin Green. 38+ PRO: 1. Oayton Blood ; 2 Tim Tynan; 3. Steve Piattoni : 4. David Sarian; 5. Rick Johnson. SU P: 1. Daw son Green : 2. Dane Ja ckson; 3. Matt McMurry; 4. Da vid Bcyse. 5. Chri s Cumbo. M ~ E ~ o Z 35

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