Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Lucerne: Final Round AMA NA TlONAL HARE & HOUND CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES I'm happy to see hi m w in it, and I'm happy to see Kawasaki win it, for su re." Th e P ro Ci rc uit / Acerb is / Du nlopassisted KX500 rid er finis hed runner-up in se ries points, 183-136, af ter garne ring thre e overa ll w ins, as Brown had also done. For defending series champ Davis, the r a ce was s im p ly another ugly reminder of the miserable year he's had in th e desert. The Montclair Yam aha / Moose/FMF-backed thumper racer go t a seco nd - p la ce s tar t and s hadowed Brown for much of the firs t half of the even t, but disaster struck yet again, and Davis found himsel f sit ti ng beside the trail wi th a seized piston after unknowin gly cr acking an oil li ne . Desp ite his DNF, he retained his th ird place in the fin al se rie s points, w it h 112 an d o n e win. Approximately 350 racers signed up for the last Na tional of the year, and at th e d rop of the b an ner, Brow n go t a grea t start and led the line of Experts as th ey headed north before turning south into can yons, foothills and valleys com prisin g the more technical 42-mile firs t loop . "I've been ha ving p robl ems the last couple ra ces ge tt ing tw o-kick sta rts," Bro w n explained . "Finally, I just figu red it o u t: It a lways s ta rts o n th e second kick, so I did a little pre-kick as soo n as they rai sed the flag . It fire d right up, and I was go ne." Also at the head of the pack were Vet r ider A be Ba umann , o n h is Ra cers Under the Sun/Rocket Rex Racing /Pro By Mark Kariya LUCERNE VALLEY, CA, OCT. 24 or the firs t tim e in the history of th e series , b y all accou n ts, th e AM A Na tional Hare & H ound Series cham pionship needed every race to determine the winner. Th is year, two Team Green rac ers w en t in to th e seventh and final round with a sho t at the ti tle, and when th e d ust se ttl ed , Brian Brown emerged the vic tor, thanks to a co nvinci n g cl u tch win o n h is Be l Ra y / Moos e / Dunlop / IMs -sp o nso red KX500. Th e seri es poi n ts lea der go ing into th e 100' s Motorcycle Clu b e ven t off Bessemer Min e Road, Brown need ed a win to ea rn th e necessary points to win th e firs t Na tio na l championship of his career, putting plen ty of pr essure on the yo ungster from Idah o. Arizo n a ' s Des try Abbo tt , o n the othe r hand, could afford to relax a bit, or even DN F - w hich, ironically, is w hat : happen ed to him hal fway th rou gh th e 82-mile race while he was running third . "I could 've DNFed like I d id if Ty (Davis) w ould ' ve wo n or someone else (besides Brown) would've wo n," said a disap pointed Abbott afte rward . " I would've won the championship by a point. But Brian won it; I've got to cong ra tu la te him . He deserves it; h e ' s wo rke d hard , and he's a grea t gu y, so F 36 (Top) Brian Brown won his third National of the year at the 100's Me's AMA National Hare & Hound Ser ies finale to earn his first championship on his 22nd birthday. (Above) After sitt ing out mos t of the year with Injury, Dave Ondas finis hed his first National of the season at the finale In Lucerne and finishe d well with his se cond place . (Left) Abe Baumann claime d third overall, first Vet, In his best ride of the year. Though he didn't ride the ent ire series , he accumulated enough points to retain his number-two plate . Ci rcuit KXSOO, and Davis.v who started on the far ou tside. "I too k a gam bl e o n th e o u ts id e, " Davis sai d , "and I came rig h t in to th e bo m b with Brown. W e were si de b y side, and we were kind of fighting for the trail. I guess I sho uld' ve walked out ther e and kind of chec ked ou t w he re it wen t, because I co ul d've p a ss ed him b ack if I'd kind of k nown w h ere we were go ing . 50 I ki nd of followed him ther e, and the n jus t a te h is du st the whol e fir st loop. In th e fast s tuff, the d ust would han g a little bit and I'd get a

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