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Snd City lDO S...dvillw. '.bo IIauIts: SepIadIer15, 2002 O/A: 1. Russ Pearson (Yam): 2. David Pearson (Kow): 3. Kurt Coselli (KTM): 4. Tober Murphy (Hon): 5. Rob Zimmermon: 6. Brod McNew (Kow); 7. Oovid Roes (KTM); 8. K.C. Bogue (Kow); g. Joey unza (KTM); 10, Oomien Golford (Kow): 11. Chorlie Koubo (Hon); 12. Curtis Jones (KTM): 13. Kelly Hill (Yom); 14. Joson Alofi (Hon): 15. T. J. Honnifon (Left! Despite meticulous preparation by Kawasaki Team Green, Brian Brown's KX500 suffered a broken _er-pump housing, hurting the race"s chances at the title. (Right) Taber Murphy turned In his usual Four-stroke-class win aboard a Honda XR650R. (Hsb); 16. David Kamo (Ke ..... ); 17. DllO DlIIwson (Kow): 18. Steve Blokely (Yom); 19. Reed Nosh (Yom): 20. urry Oliver (KTM). OPEN EX: 1. DZlIVid Pearson 2. Kurt Ceselli 3. Curtis Jone:s (KTM.). 250 EX: 1. Russ Pearson: 2. Rob Zimmerman; 3. K.C. Bogue. 125 EX: 1. DlIIvid Rees; 2. Joey l...llnzlll; 3. T.J. Hannifan. VET EX: I. Bred M.cNew: 2. Cherlie Kouba: 3. Kelly Hill. SR EX: 1. Dan Dawson; 2. Bruce Stelzried: 3. Bill Perkens. S/SR EX: 1. Ron Nash; 2. Dale Parriott. 4-STRK EX: I. Taber Murphy; 2. Steve BIDkely; 3. Reed Nosh. WOM. EX: 1. Kelly YlIIncey; 2. Ellen Kerstein: 3. Susan Milton. OPEN B: 1. Eric Streich. 250 B: I. David Kama; 2. Scott Schlapia; 3. Jason Clark. 125 B: 1. Jevan Weeks. VET B: 1. Owen Kaufman: 2. Scott Main: 3. Eric Lovins. SR B: 1. Duane Quale: 2. Calvin Yamamoto: 3. Nick Marble. S/SR B: 1. John Streich; 2. Rodger VanMeer. MSTR: 1. Ollie Todd: 2. Williom Seors, 4·STRK B: 1. Kevin Winter; 2. Eric Bender; 3. and somewhere in the first half of loop two, Davis' gearbox self-destructed, leaving him by the side of the behind for third overall. It was no sur- the 250cc B class (could be time for prise to see the XR650R of Murphy come across the finish in fourth him to move up to the Expert class). With this win, Pearson is now tied course to ponder the various championship scenarios until his mechanic place. Murphy also took home the top Four-Stroke honors, and another with Davis at 135 points, while Brown found and towed him out hours later. true picture. The riders throw out Pearson never let off. "I looked back and didn't see any- National title. "It was a long race," Murphy said. "I knew it was going to be physical firsts and three seconds coming into rounds): 1. (TIE) Ty DllIvis (135/2 wins)/Russ body," he said. "When I got to the with the heat and the whoops," so he this round, Davis is in a much Peorson (135/1 w,n): 3. Brion Brown (102/2 wins): 4. [loop-two alternate gas] pit, they didn't know how big of a lead I had. so I pushed hard awhile and then just just got a good start, settled in and kept a good pace going. "The XR is kind of a handful on the tight sand- stronger position than Pearson or Tober Murphy (71): 7. Destry Abbott (66/1 win): 8. Kurt Coselli (60): g. Brod McNew (58): 10. Andy Grider (56). cruised." Pearson took the checkers with a full six-minute lead over sec- washes, but you can sit down and let it eat on this high-speed stuff." ond place. David Pearson had a solid hold on second for much of the race. The Team Green rider said, "I came into rounded out the top five overall. Shortly after crossing the finish line, the paramedics put him in the ambu- Rob Zimmerman, riding a YZ250, the race thinking I'd do good if I got lance and hooked him up to an IV. in the top three. I'm not really chas- Later, the rider was characteristically ing points - I'm just trying to be consistent. .. upbeat. "The first loop was pretty good," he said, "but I was starting to In the top six off the start, David get real dehydrated. About halfway had one rider crash into the fence in through the second loop, my bike front of him, and he got around Taber Murphy in the sand wash shortly afterward. "I pretty much just rode 90 percent the rest of the day - didn't pretty much rode me. I fell over once, and every muscle in my body cramped up - I didn't know if I was going to make it or not." take any chances and didn't ride over Brad McNew was sixth to finish and the first Vet Expert. David Rees fol- my head," he said. Aside from Brown and Davis going out, the order didn't change much at lowed him across the line, taking the 125cc Expert win. Dan Dawson and the front. Caselli, riding a borrowed Ron Nash took the top Senior and bike, had his best finish of the 2002 series. He rode consistently all day Dave 1. Dustin Coates; 2. Jeremy Allison: 3. Scott Peterson; 4. Randy Schllllpilli. MINI A: 1. Devon Raper; 2. Tyson BllIiley: 3. Patrick Fullerton: 4. Noel Patton. flUl"t1 B: 1. JllIke Lady Mark; 2. Rigel Martin flores Jr.; 3. Joe WllIsson: 4. KllIde YllImllimoto: 5. Josh is behind with 102, But that's not the Schoffeld. MINI WOI'!: 1. Ashley Yeorsley. AJfIA NATIONAl CHAMPIONSHIP HARE & HOOND SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 6 of 8 their two lowest scores, and with two David Pellirson (96); 5. Rob Zimmermllin (72): 6. Brown. An overall win at either of the two remaining rounds wiU give Davis the title. Brown or Pearson will have Upcoming Rounds: Round 7 - Lucerne Valley, Calffomia, OCtober 13 Round 8 - Lucerne Valley, Calffomia, OCtober 27 to win both of the remaining rounds to clinch the top spot, ~nriquez. c: CN BRIEFLY••• The toughest challenge faced by many of the 154 riders wasn'tthe other nders but the course itself and Mother Nature. In spite of a recent cooling trend in the region. temperatures reached into the mid to high 90s on race day. Many racers weren't adequately prepared for the heat and didn't carry (or drink) enough water. The race was long, and much of It was run over sand, which takes its toll on the body and machine. There was an altemate gas on each loop. and riders were strongly cautioned at the riders' meeting to not try and go the entire loops without gassing up. Paramedics treated a number of riders for heat exhaustion and dehydration at the finish. Several were put on IVs. Organizers even pulled some riders out of the race due to dehydration. In addition. the dry conditions meant dust - and lots of it - making passing difficult. With this win. Russ Pearson wrapped up the 25Occ-class National title. and he's considerIng riding a VZ450F in the remaining two rounds. That may be just the added edge that the Montclair Yamaha rider needs to win another race or two. and maybe even the title. Another rider having his best ride of the series was David Pearson. Though he may have been riding a bit conservatively. it's understandable since he was scheduled to fly to the Czech Republic the following day for the start of the ISDE and wasn't taking any unnecessary risks. This will be the young racer's third Six Days. Super Senior Expert honors, respec- and was closing the gap between tively, and Kelly Yancey again won the Women's Expert class. Of note himself and David Pearson when he was 16-year-old David Kamo, who crossed the finish line just 30 seconds finished 16th overall while riding in The event was marked by tragedy when Eric David Larson passed away during the race. The 31-year-old Expert rider from Tacoma, Washington, was reported missing after he didn't show up at the finish. He had last been seen at the altemate pit on loop two, where he reportedly didn't take gas or water. He was running 25th overall at that point. A search was mounted, and Larson's body was later found. According to a report in the Idaho Statesman, which quoted Owyhee Sheriff Gary Aman, Deputies believe that Larson got off the course near the end of the second loop and found his way back onto the first loop, which by then had no riders on it. It appeared that Larson then got off of that course and rode for a ways before running out of gas, at which point he started walking. His body was found over three miles from his motorcycle. The apparent cause of death was dehydration and heat exhaustion. Speaking of the Pearsons: Anyone who's ever been to a desert race knows how much that family supports its racers. In addition to Nick and Russ and David's fathers. there are always assorted friends and family members on hand to help out. Although still recovering from a practice crash that left him with a broken jaw (among other injuries). Nick was on hand to assist with the pit chores. He hopes to get his jaw unwired and resume racing within three weeks and has plans to ride the remaining WORCS and Best In The Desert races. A confrontation surfaced just before the start of the race over allegations that some of the top riders had illegally prepared the start area by clearing or kicking down the brush to create a belter line. Racers were not allowed to pre-run the bomb run, but were permitted to walk it. A person claiming to be a member of the organizing club had an aitercation with one top team and threatened to disqualify or have them arrested for what he claimed was a violation of the AMA rules and/or environmental laws. In the end, the club determined that all the affected riders reportedly were okay with the lines and that none had an unfair advantage, and they were allowed to use their original starting positions and lines. This draws attention to what appears to be a growing issue over interpretation of AMA rules. Two-time National Hare & Hound Champion Destry Abbott. who underwent surgery earlier this year to repair his left ACL (which he injured while training near his home in Arizona) and left shoulder (which he had dislocated several times over the last two seasons) has been riding and training to get in shape for his retum to racing. He sat this round oul, but hopes to be back for the last two rounds that will be in Southem Califomia in October. To help in his •rehabilitation. he recently rode the Colorado 500 Invitational Trail Ride. DUDI. n • _ S • OCTOBER 2, 2002 45