Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

(Above) Teenager Kurt Caselli k.pt the lead.... in sight throughout the race, maintaining a comfortabl. fourth overall and first 250. (Above) Ty Davis (3) led most of the race, but ove...hootlng a comer on the second loop dropped him to third. BRIEFLY••• (Left) Andy Grider took f"lfth overall In his National debut. (Below) This hili at the start of the second loop got busy at times. Though Price Racing's Shane Esposito has been practicing in quite a bit of snow lately near his Reno. Nevada. home. he said it wasn't quite the same as the snow he rode through on the second loop. 'The snow with the rocks was a little interesting," he said. "We've got a foot at my house right now. and that's whatI've been riding in. but it seemed worse [herel with just an inch and a haif covering the rocks. Where we're riding [near Renal. you can't see the rocks." Eric Hallgath had a good ride going until striking a rock and suffering a Aat front tire at the start of the second loop. forcing him to retire. "The first loop was a really flood loop; it was technical with a lot of virgin terrain." he said. "With the rain. it made for a perfect ride; you could see where you're going. I just keyed off other riders to get around them." He moved from about 20th at the bomb to eighth at the pit but didn't make it much farther before retuming with the Aat. Larry Roeseler put in a rare appearance at Lucerne. and the Team Green veteran put a late pass on David Pearson to finish 11th overall. "I still love to ride: LR explained. "A few weeks ago I rode the Arst WORCS Series grand prix. then I went down and rode the Tecate Hare Scramble [last weekJ and finished eighth overall there. I'm going to ride [thel Adelanto [Grand Prixl; we've got [Best in the Desert's] Laughlin [Hare Scramblesl coming up; I'm going to go to the [Nationall Enduro £at Coalinga, CalifomiaJ. This time of year. iI's a good riding season for us. With the snow and the rain. I Agured this might be a pretty good event. I had a good time. " Asked if he'd ever seen conditions as good as this at Lucerne. Roeseler replied. "Very rarely, very rarely for Lucerne. Red Mountain. it tends to get a little more snow and rain. Lucerne. iI's pretty dry out here. This is deAnitely one of the better [days! we've ever had.' And yes. LR has seen it snow at Lucerne before; "Oh yeah. but you've got to remember, I've been coming out here for 30 years." he joked. "So occasionally but not very often." "I'd like to give a special thanks to Dany! Prieur of Acme Suspension: Brian Brown said. "He helped me out a lot this weekend. I had a broken shock on Friday so we got it out. went [to Acme] Friday night. and he sent me out with a [repaired] shock. ThaI's why I was able to race today." Brown declined to say how he'd broken the shock. though he did say. "We were out here testing. That's as far as I'll go into it." Destry 'Abbott confirmed he'd done quite a bit of pre·race testing. "Bones [Jim Bacon from Pro Circuitl and I have been testing the last three days in a row. and we got the suspension working really weil." Abbott also praised the Desert M.C. for the second loop. saying. "They did an awesome job. The markings were good; I didn't get lost any. We got up to the snow. which was awesome. I love riding in the snow. Brian was riding really well in the snow; he actually pulled away from me a little bit before I passed him. Being from Phoenix. I don't get to see snow," Brian passed Ty. Then there was a fast road, and I was able to outpower Ty on the road; I had a little more top speed than he did. "Then Brian and I pretty much hammered down 'til the finish. Maybe 10 miles from the finish, I got around Brian." That was the race, though Brown sta yed close to Abbott the rest of the way. "I'm so stoked with the way everything was. It's kind of nice to do all that testing and have it payoff," Abbott said. "It's a good way to start out the year. I was nervous coming in here because this year's going to be tougher than last year, of course. Ty's picked it up; Brian's picked it up . it's going to be a tough year. Hopefully, I can Live up to my championship." eN Winter C1usic Luceme Veil." Califomia Results: .IlInuary 2B, 2DDI O/A: 1. Destry Abbott (Kaw); 2. Brian Brown (Kaw); 3. Ty Davis (Yam); 4. Kurt Caselli (Yam); 5. Andy Grider (Kaw); 6. Russell Peerson (Vern); 7. Shane Esposito (Kaw); 6. Jeff Capt (GG); 9. Steve Hengeveld (Hon); 10. Erik Griffith (Kaw); 11. Larry Roeseler (Kew); 12. David Pearson (Yem); 13. David Ondas (Kaw); 14. Sonny Morgan (KTM); 15. Luca Trussardi (TM); 16. Joey Lanza (Kaw); 17. Kirk Stephensen (Kaw); 16. TIm Staab (Hon); 19. Taber Murphy (Hon); 20. Mike Concur (Yam). Brown was one of the few racers opting to forego wearing a jacket - not a big surprise. really. since he's from Boise. Idaho. "I guess when I come out here next year. I'll have to practice more snow riding." he joked. Russell Pearson saw his race go down the tubes. "I pulled everybody [on the startl." he said. After getting passed by Steve Hengeveld. though. Pearson chose a line that put him into a rock garden instead of passing the XR650R-mounted Baja co-winner. That dropped him to an estimated 20th at the bomb. "[After thatl. the Arstloop was all [fastJ valleys. and I don't really like the valleys in the Arst place. The [secondl loop was fun; the club did a good job on the last loop. It was up in the rocks, up in the snow. it was wild! It was actually fun." He recovered to finish sixth. Team Green's David Ondas returned to the National scene for the Arsttime since undergoing knee surgery and then suffering an infection last year. After finishing a commendable 13th overall. he said, "I felt a little timid. shutting off for stuff I probably shouldn't be shutting off for. My knee feels pretty good; I bumped it a little bit in the rocks. but other than that I feel good. just a little out of shape. " Though Eastern and Midwest racers don't usually show up for a race at Lucerne. that didn't stop Gas Gas racer Matt Stavish from taking his 200 to a 21 st overall. Also in the pits but not racing was Team Green GNCC specialist Chuck Woodford. who was helping pit fellow Team Green racers. Both will compete at the opening round of the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series next weekend at Hollister. California. c y c l .. n .. _ s FEBRUARY 14, 2001 33

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