Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Six Hours of Glen Helen Glen Helen Raceway Park (Left) Teny Fowler (33) and his teammate Tv Davis won the eighth annual Six Hours of Glen Helen in San Bemardino, Califomla. (Below left) Leaming at the last minute that his teammate could not join him, Russell Pearson (362) contested and won the lronman class • and placed an impressive second overall. By swallowed and spit out many a competitor. Thousands of rocks strewn throughout the wash also made things interesting, even for the frontrunners. "My wrists are still really sore, so I can't really ride as fast as I'd like to because I feel like I'm going to crash," said Lewis, who injured both wrists at the Paris-toDakar Rally in January. "'Big Air' Tod, my teammate, had a lot of run-ins with lappers, where he'd cartwheel over the bike. All and all, we just kind of had a rough go." As Davis and fowler were beginning to run away with the Expert/ Amateur-class lead, the battle for the combined Senior/Veteran Expert/ Amateur class came down to three teams. Rick O'Donnell and fred Hatch and the YZ250-mounted team of Gordon Keller and MATT fREEMAN PHOTOS BY CAMILLA CONSONNI SAN BERNARDINO, CA, MAR. 25 ompared to the Glen Helen 24" " Hour that teammates Ty Davis, Terry fowler, and Russell and Nick Pearson won last September, the Six Hours of Glen Helen, presented by Chaparral, is just a warmup for the annual rock-a round-the-clock held at the end of summer. The Six Hours, now in its eighth year, is more a fun event than anything. No lights are needed, all teams are allowed a backup bike that is kept in an impound area, and there are even unscheduled water breaks to keep the dust down. However, competition is still king, and the name of the game is to outlast the other guys, which is exactly what the two-man team of Davis and fowler did. The Montclair Yamaha/ Big Gun/Race Tech-backed duo were the only team to complete 41 laps around the 6-mile circuit. A performance just as impressive maybe more - came from one-fourth of last year's 24-Hour-winning team. At the last minute, Russell Pearson found out that his scheduled partner, his cousin David Pearson, could not attend. Instead of not showing himself, Russell made the trip from Las Vegas anyway and competed in the Ironman class. More accurately, Pearson competed for the overall win in the lronman class. Montclair Yamaha/YZ250-mounted Pearson completed 40 laps to finish second overall just moments ahead of the Gas Gas 300 team of Jimmy Lewis and Tod Sciacqua, who have won the Six Hours several times in the past. No other teams completed 40 laps. Pearson, coincidentally, started on the last line, reserved for the Ironman c1as~, nearly two minutes after the front row was let go. ~ 46 APRIL 18, 2001 • cue •• (Below) Scott Myers stops for a splash of gas en route to fourth overall (with thle teammate Martt Ehrhardt) In the Expert/Amateur class. KTM's Scott Myers actually held the early overall lead, ahead of Davis, Lewis, the KTM of Mark Tilley and Eric McKenna, and the TM of Luca Trussardi and teammate Matt Anderson. However, it didn't take long for the YZ426f-mounted Davis/fowler team to capture the front spot once Myers handed over to co-worker and teammate Mark Ehrhrdt. It also didn't take long for the course to deteriorate. Normally, the Six Hours consists of an approximately 4-mile course, but this year a nearby sand wash was thrown into the mix, making the route a total of six miles. It wasn't the extra mileage that separated the men from the boys as much as it was the terrain. Before the race was an hour old, traffic had turned the sand wash into a trail of deep, massive whoops that n _ .... s Dennis Gallagher battled for the lead. Not far behind was the team of Scot Harden and Craig Adams, whose effort was eventually halted by a stuck float on Harden's M/XC300. As a result, Adams chose to ride his KTM 520 RfS every time it was his tum to ride. The time it took the team to retrieve the bike from impound and then switch rider and machine cost them dearly, but they were still able to preserve a respectable third-place finish in class. The O'Donnell/Hatch team came out on top in the end, completing 38 laps, as did Keller and Gallagher. Scot Harden's youngest son, Brock, and his teammate Tyler Roberts had no problems to speak of as they manhandled the High School team class, completing 34 laps - three more than their nearest competition. And the family team class was wrapped up by Bob and Mitch Maxwell, who piloted a CR250 to 38 laps. After six hours of posting consistent eight-minute laps, fowler took the checkered flag for himself and teammate Davis. Pearson followed moments later to claim an impressive second overall. "I didn't really get that tired," said Pearson, who excels at rough and long events. "I just fell into a pace and kept riding." Lewis and Sciacqua may not have defended their crown, but they put in a valiant effort and had fun doing it. "I know Terry fowler is probably older than me and Tod put together," Lewis said, "but he hauls ass." eN &Ien Helen Racew.., Parl< SlIn Be_nline, c.lifem'Reults: Man:h 25, 2001 EX/AM: 1. Ty Davis!Terry Fowler (Yam); 2. Jimmy Lewis/Tod Sciacqua (G·G): 3. Eric McKenna/Mark Tilley (KTM); 4. Scott Myers/Mark Ehrhllrdt (KTM); 5. Brenden Lutes/Cliff Jennings/Kevin Jennings (Yam). NOV/BECi: 1. Phil Schlifer/Justin Rosetti/Kirk Vasquez; 2. Chad Tucker/James Coy/Je.remy Tucker; 3. Robert PabhllnofVincent Pablano; 4. Brent Avis/Brian Catterson (Yam); 5. Je.remy Hoe.ming/Jonalhan Hyland. IRONMAN: 1. Russell Pearson (Yam); 2. Craig McCall; 3. Chris Blais (Han); 4. Juan Carlos Salvatierra; 5. Brian Platte. SR/VET EX/AM: I. Rick O'Donnell/Fred Hatch (Yam); 2. Gordon Kellar/Dennis Gallagher (Yam); 3. Scot Harden/Craig Adams (KTM); 4. Mike Bendfield/Jon Pllrks/Cbarlie Barney (G-G); 5. Casey McKinney/Michllel Teichert/Paul Hemsley. SR/VET NOV/BEG: I. David Mullen/Michael Seymour; 2. Marc Woodward/Matt Woodward; 3. Johnny Alexander/Carl Fischer/Kyle Krause; 4. Greg Maiesfski/Alan MacDonald: 5. Dana Childs/John Gardner. FAMILY: 1. Bob Maxwell/Mitch Maxwell; 2. Keith Latendresse/Jim Letendresse; 3. Bred Goolsby/Kris Goolsby (Yam); 4. DllVid Cote/Jeremy Cote; 5. Michele Alberts/John Alberts. BaSINESS: 1. David Boyd/Pat Boyd/Donny Fish; 2. Steve Nakamoto/Paul Bernes/Joe Villegas; 3. Justin McCoy/Franklin Ziegler; 4. Chris Jonnum/Matt Freeman; 5. Steve MatlockfTroy Burchby. HIGH SCHL: I. Brock Harden{Tyler Roberts (KTM); 2. Curtis Lacey/Michael Erl/Scott Hiatt; 3. Matt Vege/Andrew Yernell/Michael Vega; 4. Jon Crawford/Andy Day.