Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA National Hare & Hound Series Round 7: SoCal M.C. ,., III • YZMIOI' tint nlill IMI Ilk third ...... "II J E •• tor a- win." or 50th [on the start]. I was leading it for once and went, 'Whoa, this is a different situation!'" That didn't last long, however. As he approached a road crossing, Pearson chopped the throttle momentarily and saw both Davis and Abbott zip past. "I didn't realize how fast those guys go right off the bat," Pearson admitted. "There was a little road crossing, and I chopped it for a second. As soon as I did, Destry and Ty both go right by me. I guess that's life; live and learn." "We headed across the valley, and I pulled out around Russ," Davis said. "Destry tried to pull out around me, but I got to the line first. Then I never looked back; I just kept it on and held it in fourth gear." "The first loop was real fast,i Davis added. "It could've been marked a little better. I got lost twice on the first loop, a good half-mile off the course. The problem was, when you got into the white dirt, you couldn't see the ribbon at all; it just blended right in. It was really, really hard, and there are trails everywhere. I was constantly off the course." Davis needed just over 40 minutes to complete the first 40-mile loop, giving him about three minutes on Abbott, Russell Pearson, Team Green's Brian Brown, Honda's Andy STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARK KARIYA LUCERNE VALLEY, CA, OCT. 13 t was the sort of new-model debut ] that all manufacturers - and their advertising agencies - dream about. With only minimal time to prep or dial in their brand-new 2003 Yamaha YZ450Fs, Ty Davis and Russell Pearson still raced to a convincing 1-2 finish at the next-to-Iast round of the AMA National Hare & Hound Series at Lucerne Valley. In addition, while the pair began the day tied for the series points lead, Davis' Victory effectively gave the Montclair Yamaha/Race Tech/Moose-backed Southern Californian his third H&H championship with one race remaining. Defending series champ Destry Abbott returned to action follOWing knee and shoulder surgery and took his Team Green/FMF/O'Neal-sponsored Kawasaki KX500 to third overall. "Basically, I started riding it Thursday this week out here," Davis said of his new YZ. Pearson got a good jump on the field on his Pro Circuit/Moose/Araisponsored 450 and led off the fairly short bomb run, with Davis and Abbott right behind. "I pulled the holeshot for once," Pearson said. "Usually, I'm on the 250 out here, and I usually get 20th 8 OCTOBER 23, 2002' cue I e n e _ s Grider and Steve Hengeveld, and Team Green's David Pearson. "I got out there and just rode my own race, didn't do anything stupid," Davis said. "When they told me I had that big a lead, I said, 'You've got to be kidding me!' I didn't think I had that big a lead. I kept hearing somebody like Brian or somebody on a Kawasaki right there the whole time, and I'd look back and go, 'Where the heck is he?' I'd hear this noise again as soon as I'd get back on the gas. When I came in to the pits, they said, 'There's nobody in sight!" The real race was for second place between Abbott and Russell Pearson, as they battled back and forth. Finally, Pearson got a little breathing room and managed to hold it to the finish. "All I did was concentrate on what was in front of me," Pearson said. "I just rode hard into the finish." "I was a little nervous coming into today," Abbott said, "because you don't know; it's been almost four and a half, five months since my last race. I'm healthy and got to the finish, so that was a key. My big thing I've got to work on is mentally, and After wrapping up the 250cccia. . tlile at the previous round, Ru. .ell Pearson _Itched to a VZ450F and finished second overall. getting the speeds back up. I felt good like I'm in good shape, but I've just got to get back into that race mode. "Probably 10 miles out [on the 40mile second loop 1 I got off pretty good in the rocks," Abbott said. "Russ and Brian got by me. I crashed again then a little bit farther, Brian was lying on the ground; he'd crashed really hard. It was in a section that just wasn't marked. I stopped for Brian to make sure he was aU right; he was beat up pretty good. I took off after that and just tried to chase Russ down, but I knew there was really no way I was going to get around him. I mean, I'm not going to take any chances. But it feels good to be back at the races. I'm looking forward to trying to win my championship back next year. I've got to congratulate Ty; he rode great this year." Following a three-kick start, Brown was about eighth at the bomb and worked his way up to fourth at the end of the first loop, but he wasn't that happy about it. "I just wasn't riding that well," he said. Bothered by a sore back, the former series champ ditched his fanny pack at the pit and that helped alleviate the pain. "I started picking up the pace," Brown said. "I caught up to Russ, and we both caught up to Destry when he stalled it, or crashed, in a sand wash. I got around him and was trying to

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