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District 37 Big 6 Grand Prix Series Round 3: 29 Palms Motorsports Arena D (Left) Scott Myers helped KTM dominate the third DIstrict 37 Big 6 GP of the season, taking four of the company's eight Expert-elass wins. (Below) A pack of Vet-elass riders charges off the start and onto the highspeed, 6-mlle course. More than 1100 entries were on hand. Harden's dual-sport win had come on a trick, $20,000 factory rally bike quite similar to that which won this year's Dakar Rally at the hands of Fabrizio Meoni. The huge machine drew a throng of curious spectators, and Harden's wife, Christie, appreciated the fact that its booming exhaust note allowed her to audibly gauge her husband's progress around the 6-mile course. "It was awesome," said Harden, who clocked the bike (via its GPS) at 100 mph on the pavement section. "Those sandy turns were really fun, and this thing's suspension is unbelievable." STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHRIS JONNUM 29 PALMS, CA, MAR. 31-APR. I TM apparently got the name of District 37's popular grand prix series upside down, as its riders grabbed no less than eight of the 12 Expert-class wins at the Hilltoppers MC-promoted third round in the desert town of 29 Palms. Scott Myers shouldered the lion's share of the Austrian manufacturer's winning burden, topping the Unclassified, Vet, Open and Four-Stroke classes, as well as teaming with Mark Tilley to win the Team Pro division. Eric Hallgath also picked up a Katoom win in 125cc racing, and those riders' boss KTM USA honcho Scot Harden - did his share, with victories in the Senior and Dual Sport categories. The event was held on a fast, desert-style course that was popular among spectators and riders alike the former because of the MX section (complete with water jump) in front of the grandstand, and the latter because of the Dutch-style sandy corners and long, paved straightaway. The Hilltoppers even lived up to their name by throwing in a climb to a small peak that was visible from the pit area. Water was put down between classes, and the jumps on the moto track were groomed by tractors. More than 1100 entrants signed up, despite the fact that there was a National Hare & Hound the same weekend in Idaho. After holding off persistent Honda XR650R rider Steve Hengeveld in Sunday's Four-Stroke race, the KTM/ Temecula Motorsports/GP~/Race Tech-sponsored Myers still had two more classes to contest, and the warm weather was beginning to get to him. "It was smooth but, man, it got rough really fast," Myers said. "That's the first time I got tired in a while. It wore me out." With three rounds completed, Myers leads the series standings in four divisions (Vet, Open, FourStroke and Pro), and Harden currently leads the Senior division. CN Myers nonetheless sucked it up to win the final two races of the day, though Hengeveld once again proved tenacious in the first part of the Open contest. However, as Hengeveld approached the scoring barrels to take the white flag, his XR sputtered to a stop, and only refired after its rider leaned it over to splash gas onto the petcock side of the tank. "I've just been trying to win all weekend," laughed Hengeveld, after he refueled and finished the final lap to retain second. "It was a good course - real fast, real rough. It's a good course for the 650. If you like going fast on rough stuff, this is it. This morning I swapped pretty good and got my ankle, but other than that everything went okay." "I'm so tired," admitted Myers, who won the Vet class on a 380cc two-stroke and the Open class on a 520cc four-stroke. "I'm dizzy and a little dehydrated. It's not really scorcher-warm, but it just hasn't been really warm lately anywhere. I just figured I'd try as hard as I could, and see if Heng' came after me." 29 Palms MDtorsports Arena 29 Palms, CalifDmla Results: March 31-Aprill, 2001 TEA!'I PRO: 1. Scott Mye.../Mork Tilley (KTM); 2. M.ike Healey/Steve Hengeveld (Hon); 3. Dave Oodas/Oakley Lehman (Kaw); 4. Scot Harden/Jonathe,n Davies (KTM); 5. Stephen Moore/David McCord. 0-200 U/CLFD: 1. Eric: Hallgath; 2. Brendan Lutes; 3. Mike Bandfield. 250 O/ClFD: 1. Willy Simons; 2. Bam Simons; 3. John Sutherland. OPEN U/CLFD: 1. Mike Heeley; 2. Steve Hengeveld; 3. Scott. Myers. S/5R: 1. Rey Bandfield: 2. AI Guzman; 3. Jim Leineweber. BEG SR 250: 1. Steve Tokarski; 2. Curtis Maddox: 3. Don Mathes. NOV SR 250: 1. Roger loeffers: 2. Robert Rossetto; 3. Jerry Robinson. SR BEG OPEN: I. David Renfro: 2. Tom Votava; 3. Marty Smith. SR NOV OPEN: I. Robert Collins; 2. Jim Connolly; 3. Bruce Thompson. WMN NOV: 1. Lisa Pogue; 2. Sheryl Condon; 3. Cindy D.ugherty. WMN INT: 1. Susan Megdaleno; 2. Kelly Renshaw; 3. Stacy Doerksen. WMN EX: 1. Anne Cody Segale; 2. Heether Rogo; 3. Kristen Southworth. SR INT 250: J. Jon Whitcomb; 2. Steve Bebeck. SR EX 250: 1. Willy Simons; 2. Doug Heil; 3. Rhett Higgins. SR INT OPEN: 1. K.rl Heilbronner, 2. Ed Epling. SR EX OPEN: 1. Scot Harden; 2. Jeff Haase; 3. William O'Hare. M.AG NOV: 1. Roger Ven Matre; 2. Doug Stephens; 3. Jack Garland. MAG INT: '1. Mike Boal: 2. Rick Wimer. M.AG EX: J. Bill Maxium: 2. Don Doerksen; 3. John Barnett. 0·200 BEG: I. Cameron Keast: 2. Jerett Tryon; 3. Jarred Guy. 0-200 NOV: t. Dana Jones; 2. Andy Vandenberg; 3. Cody Cates. 0·200 INT: 1. Ty Renshaw. 0-200 EX: 1. Eric Hallgath; 2. Jonathan Davtes; 3. Joey Lanza. MINI BEG; I. Sean Hellig; 2. Colton Ud.lI; 3. Michael Steele. MINI NOV: 1. Jamie Lanza. MINI EX: 1. Ryan Mcintyre. U/ClFD TEAM. RACE: 1. Jeson Higgins/Dave Oodas; 2. Eron Boyer/Chuck McBurney; 3. Gordon Keller/Dennis Gallagher. VlNT NOV: 1. Michael Johnston. VINT INT: 1. James Keegan. VINT EX: 1. Dwayne Scrivnor. TRl VINT: 1. Dave Janke. CLSC NOV: 1. Tony McElhenny. ClSC INT: 1. Jeff Dillion. elSC EX: 1. Rick O'Donnell. D/SPT NOV; I. Mike DeJohn. D/SPT EX: J. Scot Harden; 2. Chris Austin. 4-STRK BEG 250: J. Tony McElhenny; 2. Brad Leavens: 3. Patrick Hodgins. 4-STRK NOV 250: 1. Jim Keating; 2. Robert Bottcher. 4·STRK INT 250: I. George Rosenbaum. 4-STRK EX 250: 1. Luke Dodson; 2. Joey Lanza; 3. Paul Barnes. 4-STRK BEG OPEN; 1. Shawn Pagett; 2. Walt Brannan; 3. Josh Dalton. 4-STRK NOV OPEN: 1. Brandon Nicol; 2. Jamie Graham. 4-STRK J.NT OPEN: 1. Christopher Bleis; 2. Be Harris. 4-STRK EX OPEN: 1. Scott Myers; 2. Steve Hengeveld; 3. Jerry Black. VET tNT 250: 1, Dave Olives. VET EX 250: 1. Willy Simons; 2. Bam Simons. VET tNT OPEN: J. Travis Smith; 2. Mike Leighliter. VET EX OPEN: 1. Scott. Myers. OPEN BEG: 1. 'N42; 2. Andrew Beaumont; 3. Joel Rode. OPEN NOV: 1. Darrell Amung; 2. Ryan Wilson: 3. Shiloh S.nde.... OPEN INT; 1. Bob Boshear; 2. Don K.dlec. OPEN EX: 1. Scott Myers; 2. Steve Hengeveld; 3. Olive Ondas. (Above) This youngster valiantly hung on to a big XR for several laps, only to tip over when he had to put his foot down at the finish. In keeping with the unique event and the once-a-year venue, the Hilltoppers celebrated their fifth year at 29 Palms by awarding distinctive clock trophies that included a photo of the winner. One Beginner-class entrant who beat many of the Experts and Amateurs on the rows ahead of him got a slightly modified version with his photo askew, his clock upside down, and a small (and fitting) bag of sand attached to one corner. a U a • _ n __ S • APRIL 18, 2001 47