Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

My 2 OWN RACE: Mike Ch ildress 4th overall/Jrd Open A Childress dou bled up, as did several others, by racing the desert scram bles that the club put on the day before the National - whkh he won. As for how the National went, it was fairly uneven tful. "I got a pretty good start , actually. I think I was about fifth at the end of the bomb ," Childress said. "I passed one guy and kind of had a good , co nsiste nt ride. I didn't wan t to get hurt before I leave for Baja [and the 1000 next month], so I didn't want to take any chances. I rode along and didn't get passed, but I was n't able to make up much time on David [Pearson]. His seat felloff, and I could see him, but I never got within passing distance . I caught up to him and stalled the bike in this roc k pile right before the end. I think I'm one of the few to ever get a 650 into the top five at a National Hare & Hound." N 17 Q uinn C od y 5th overall/I st Four-Stroke A Even with a poor start , Quinn Cody was able to pull off an impressive ride. "I got abo ut a th ree -kick start . Luckily, I had a line that I had kind of burned in; I wasn't planning on using it unless that happe ned, so I made it to the bo mb in about fifth and got be hind Mikey Childr ess and rode behind him until about 10 miles out on the first loop. I went off the cou rse and was trying to get back on and felldown . Paul [Krause] and Nick Blais got by me." Cod y wo uld repass them before the finish, though, to win the Four-Stro ke A-class for the third time this season on his Santa Barbara MotorsportsiPrecision Concepts CRF450R and clinch . the class National championship, unofficially F7 Paul Krause 6th overall/2nd Four-Stroke A "I was probably eighth or ninth at the bomb, and I work ed my way into fifth at the end of the first lap. Going out [on the second loop] , , got passed by Luke [Dodson] and Qu inn [Cod y], and the n Nick Blais passed me," Krause said. "The n the four of us, we round rob ined . One guy led, different guys followed. We'd get into the fast valleys and I'd get by most of them there, but then we'd get into the tight stuff and whoever was leading would lose . About the 75-mile marker, maybe the BO-mile marker, Qu inn was lead ing and 1was last [in our pack]. Igot back by Nick and the n Luke, and everyone kind of se parated , but I was on Q uinn. I thought , :All right, I'm going to win the Four-Stroke class today,' and floored it behind him. Then' hit a rock or something and put a bush through the [oil level] sight glass on the side of my motor so all the oil came out , and my foot was slidingoff the peg. Literallyfrom the start of the race, Nick and I, at the bom b, were right together. We caught Q uinn, then Luke got caught into the middle [of us], so the four of us rode toge ther for B5 miles just back and forth, back and forth. I can't think of a race where I've passed the same group of guys so many times - and being passed back by them , it was fun." 1X Luke Dodson 7th overall/I st 250cc A Taking first in the 250cc A class, Luke Dodso n had a day to be prou d of. "Most of my time was made up on the second loop," Dodson said. '" got hooked up with David Rees. I start ed following him, and he was riding at a good clip. We started passing people and getti ng around. I worked my way up to Paul [Krause] and Nick Blais, and just rode with those guys the rest of the loop. It was a good day." dropped to thi rd . " Pro bably 20 miles be fore the finish , I lost my seat, " David sa id. "Afte r I lost my seat, I ha d to stand up through everything. I was st ill t rying to go fast and ca tch the guys, b ut you ca n't corn e r in t he sa nd was hes , you can 't sit down , you can't do anyth ing [w it hout a seat] - so finally I just started cru ising. I almost had to stop o ut there and stretch o ut my back; it was sta rt ing to cra mp up ." As for Abbott, he kne w w hat he had to do to win the cham pionship and had it figure d out beforehand. " I needed to finish top th ree if Dav id won, a nd to p six if Russ w o n," Abbott said. " I felt pretty confide nt coming in here ; I've been riding really well. I wasn't I(e Childress rode a strang race and finished fourth. " I w as hoping to go o ut t here and do my best ," David said. Howev e r, he lost contact w ith the lea d duo after a crash , and w he n his sea t fell o ff, he could do littl e but finish o ut t he race . The 2 I-yea r-old Team G re e n racer and his Pro Ci rcui t/G PR/Moose KX500 had be en second in poi nts go ing int o the finale but due to his ba d luck too worried about a w in." Storms ea rlier in t he wee k did a tremendous job in reducing the dust problem on both 40-mile loops, but the race was essent ially ove r afte r the first few miles . Team Gr ee n veteran Abbott got the best start and led the field to the banner at the end of the bomb ru n on his FMF/Acm e Suspe ns ion/O'Neal-backed , Jonat han Weisman-prepared KX500 , with Russell Pearso n slo tting hims elf in right behind him as the course funn e led down into a na rrow sand wash. Th ey traded spots a few times in t he first th ree miles , ne ithe r wi lling to bac k dow n. 'I\t t he ve ry top [of the bomb run] , we cr o ssed [lines] a littl e bit , and I jum ped into the wash where he backed o ff," Russ said . "I was able to pass him there. T he n I go t into so me rough wh o o ps, an d someho w he took a litt le line o n the inside of me and passed me back. In some rocky little w ash , I went up over a little [rise] and ended up ge tti ng [back] by him. T he n, afte r th at , I just stuck my head do w n an d charged. " As always , e ven t hough they were in a fie rce ba tt le for the lead , Abbott an d Russ st ill have a great d eal o f res pect fo r each othe r. " It 's always fun riding with him [Abbott] or David [Pearson] or someone like that because yo u can tru st them, " Russ said . "Wh e n t hey're right be side you, you know they 're not rid ing out of control ; they're no t just going to clean yo ur clock. You respect him, he respects yo u, but in the mea ntime you're tryi ng t o give [him] a face full of roost." After trading positions for a few m iles, the Yamaha race r made one final pu sh that put him in front. At that poi nt , the race for t he lead was basically over and Abbott w as left exploring two o pt io ns fo r th e rest of th e day. "O nce we took o ff, I go t a good start , and I was like, ' Man, this is kind o f co ol," Abbott sa id. "Russ [Pearso n] and I went back and forth right o ff the start, the n he finally got me on a good line . I followed him, which d id n't bother me because it wasn't su per dusty and it was so easy to follow [people]. I followed him th e w hole first loo p. It was pre tty uneventful; it was just a good loop fo r me. Dav id was beh ind me, and all o f us we re within 20 secon ds or something, maybe 30 seconds ." But when Ab bott found himself getting closer to the leader, his competitive side ca me out, and he pushed to go for the wi n. Two cras hes brought him back to rea lity, though, and he settled for accepting the run ne r-up spo t for the day, knowing it would be more tha n good enough to win his third ch am pio nship. ''I' m just so happy to w in th is aga in wit h all the people [who've been] sup porting me ," Abbott said. "This one feels better than the other two I've won, too. I wanted th is o ne re ally bad this year. I just feel like I'm rid ing really well aga in; I'm www.c ycieneW5 .com , Briefly•.. Team Green 's Brian Bro wn had a slim mathe matical shot at the series title, but he was a no-show at Lucerne , with som e re ports citing unspecified personal issues. He ended up fourth in final ser ies po ints. The 100's M.C. held two races over the weeken d, with Saturday reserved for a 100-kiiometer (62-mile), two-loo p, District 37-po ints-paying desert scramb les that drew approximately 350 entrants, all of them chasing eve ntual winner Mike Ch ildress and his XR's O nly/T ecula Motorem sports/ O 'Neal-sponsored XR650R. The National on Sunday drew abou t 320. Sunday's course received much praise from racers , many of w hom pointed out the good number of tighter, virgin trail as evidence that the club had put in many hours of work laying it out. It included fast valley sections and w hoo ped trail (of course), but both loops included miles of more technical terrai n that helped to keep speed s down . Rain during the week didn't hurt , though the race certa inlywasn't dustfree. Though 2004 marked the fina l year of production for Kawasaki's KX500, this won't be the last time you'll see it in the hands of Team Green's desert team . "This is the last 500 Iget," Abbott said. "So no matter what , this bike's staying. It just tops it off to win the championship on it. No matter what , I'm keeping this one for as long as I can think. No matte r what , it'll stay in my garage. I'm going to ride it again [next year] until the [KX450F] comes out , whenever that may be. They 're great bikes still; they 'r e bulletproo f, and they just work really well." KTM's Kelly Yancey came from beh ind to record her sixth Women's-dass win of the season , successfully defending her National championship on her 3 Brothers Raci ng/FMF/T Lee Designs KTM 450 roy MXC. look ing forward to ne xt yea r." Russ is also look ing forward to ne xt yea r. "I wanted to win to day," Russ sa id. " I earned the numbe r-one [plate last yea r], and I w ante d to show ev erybody it wasn't a fluke . I was t he re." eN 100's MOTORCYCLE CtUB HARE LUCERN E VALLEY, CALIFORNIA RESULTS: OctOBER 24, 2004 (ROUND 8 OF & HOUND 8) OVERAlL: I. Russe ll Pearson (Yam ): 2. Destry Abbott (Kaw ): 3. David Pearson (Kaw ); 4. Mike Child ress (Hon ); 5. Quinn Cody (Hon ): 6 . Paul Krause (KTM); 7. luke Dodson (Suz); 8. N icholu Blais (Han); 9. DavKt Kamo (Kaw); 10 EI""" Sy". ." (KTM): II . Ryan Orr (So2): 12. Sean B,.d ~ (GG): I) . Chad MMti n (KTM): 1<. Joey Blanton (Hon): IS. D. vkl Rees (KTM): 16. 8r.>ndon Ritzman (Kaw) : 17. Tom W illis (NA); 18 . C raig Adams (Hon ); 19. Dal Tru bey (Kaw) ; 20 . Ryan Kudla (Yam). AM Al FM F NATIONA L HARE & HOUND CH A M PI· ON SHIP SERIES POI NTS STANDINGS (Mer 8 of 8 rounds) : I. Destry Abbott ( 163/4 wins); 2. Russe ll PeMWO ( 15211 wins) : 3. David Pearson (14812 wins): 1. Brian Brown (I ))): 5. Robert Phillips (87) ; 6. Paul Kelty AshfOl'"d (70); L. Q utnn Cody (63); 8. David Kama (52); 9. Elme r Symon. (52): 10. Sean B,.dley « 8 ): I I. joey Lanza «6): 12. TJ Hann ir" «5): I J. Thomas My (J I): 1<. Kendall Norman (30) : 15. Chad Mart in (28 ): 16. Tabe r Murphy (26); 17. Wes MacMillan (26): 18 . TyDavis (25); 19. Cody Young (25): 20. Luke Do

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