Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Best in the Desert Silver State Series Round 7: Tonopah 300 With partner Abbott out hurt, Esposito ironmans to the win in Nevada cially after about 150 miles, when one's mind starts to wander. "It isn't easy to do it race after race," Esposito said, "and I want to give credit where credit is due - and that's to the guys that come out and ride solo race after race, and are able to maintain the kind of concentration it takes to finish a long, endurance race, like the Tonopah 300: Actually, Esposito wasn't alone in the challenge, as two other Open Pro teams - Danny Cooper/Andy Grider and Dave Ondas/John Braasch - had to ride solo due to partner injuries. All three teams finished, and all three Open Pro Ironman teams finished in the top six! Talk about earning your keep! In one way, the race literally came down to the luck of the draw, as the Open Pros finished in the same order that they had started (with the exception of the Stephensen/Naughton squad, which had ignition problems coming out of pit six and wasn't able to finish). Honda's Steve Hengeveld/ Johnny Campbell effort physically By DIANE DELAUER PHOTOS BY RICK LEWIS FIDEL GONZALEZ & TONOPAH,NV, AUG. 10 estr y Abbott has been out of action for half of the 2002 season as he recovers from knee and shoulder surgery, so why does his name appear in the results on the next page as the points leader in the Silver State Series? Simple. Abbott is the rider of record on Kawasaki Team Green's A squad, and partner Shane Esposito has been doing quite fine on his own, thank you. At the Tonopah 300, for example, Esposito soloed (for the second time this year) to the victory in just four hours, 48 minutes and 11 seconds. Esposito, who has also scored wins this year at the Adelanto Grand Prix, Terrible's Town 250 and KTM Vegas 150 (not to mention a runner-up finish at the Nevada 1000), is in peak form at the moment, though he did admit at the awards presentation that maintaining focus while riding solo race after race is difficult - espe- D 56 AUGUST 28, 2002' eye • _ n __ s came in to the finish line fifth, but after corrected time, they were credited with third. Most of the Open Pros said they rode in a pack the entire day and that dust was definjtely a factor - they just could not find an opening to pass. Best In The Desert gave the racers a choice to race either the Tonopah 300 or the Baja Mex 300, though they could also contest both and count their best finish (making one of the two a "throwaway" round). So after the Tonopah 300, the Silver State Series Championship is still up in the air. Montclair Yamaha's Ty Davis/Russell Pearson team finished in second place, in 5:04.36. Davis reported that he was having transmission problems, losing fifth gear after pit five. Needless to say, he was happy with second, and he also commented that he liked the course's balance of speed and tight sections. "Tight sections are always fun, it's always great to finish!" he joked. Third went to Hengeveld/Campbell, with a time of 5:07:19. Hengeveld Shane Esposito soloed to the win at the Tonopah 300, round seven of the Best In The Desert series. The rider of record on the team, Destry Abbott, Is still out injured. won here last year, and he was the rider to start, handing off at pit four. Campbell said that he was sucking dust most of the day and had to back off a little bit and ride with the pack. The Honda team knew after the prerun - and especially after the draw that they'd have their work cut out for them. "On a more technical course, the rider has a better chance of changing positions," Campbell said, "but in a faster race, like the Tonopah 300, it's harder to change positions. All of the Open Pros are so even in their riding ability that if something doesn't happen to the bike, the starting position is always a factor." Team Green's Brian Brown/David Pearson entry placed fourth in 5:07.41. Pearson was the finisher, and he reported that they had a good

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