Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

class and match their Sportsman Cycie/SuperMex/DH Racing KTM 250SX against the big bikes. "He made a mistake where they had watered; I th ink it froze up a little bit, and he slid out in a turn and I went by," Hengeveld said of Braun . Hengeveld d idn 't go far , though , before facing another challenge. " Ma n, it was cold th is mo rn ing ," Hengeveld sa id. " I couldn't see. My eyes were w atering so bad that I co uld n't go as fast as I w a nt e d because I couldn't see too m uch because [my eyes] were all blurry. It was a little sketchy, actu ally." This allowed Pearson, on the Pro Circuit/Moose/Arai KX500 that he was sharing w ith Shane Espos ito , to pull up ne xt to him in some fast whoops. The two rode nearly side by side for a few fun miles before something broke o n th e green machine, leaving Pearson on the side of the trail and Hengeveld riding off into the distance. He and Campbell would complete t he 254-mile race in six hours, 4 I minutes and 53 seconds. The real race was in the Four-Stroke Pro class , with the Mike Childress/Chuck De m psey duo holding an early edge on their XR's Only/Goat/O'Neal XR650R by running second overall as they headed out for the first time on the small loop. Ahead by eight points for the class championship going into the race, they simply had to finish to w in championship, so they could afford to just ride and survive. T hei r challenger, Andy Grider, had a . tougher job. With rider of re co rd C hristo phe r Blais unable to ride d ue to Dakar testing commitments, G rid e r needed to w in the class for the team to have any shot of retaining Blais' numberone plate, though Childress and De m pse y only needed to finish to capture the crown. Grider to ughed it out, gradually moving up a bo a rd h is Precision Concepts/Goat/I MS· backed KTM 525MXC and working his way past the Honda in the latt e r miles. But w ith Childress and Dempsey runn ing second in class and fourth overall at the finish, Blais will now run F2 next year. Grider was the on ly other racer under seven hours with his time of 6:57 :36. " I don't know if they started having problems or not, but all o f a sudden I caught them pretty quick , I thought," Gr ider said. " I reeled in Mikey [Childress], and as soon as I got right behind him , he fell down. That's how Igot by him . I figured I'd see him right away just beca use I was kind o f cruising that lap ; it was kind of a breather lap. [But] I never saw them [again]." Part of the reaso n gr ider never saw Childress again was due to a heart-stopping moment that locked up the rear wheel 10 miles from the finish. "I thought, 'Oh no! We're not go ing to finish!'" Childress said. " But then it kicked through so I knew the motor was okay, and I looked down and saw a ro ck in the chain . I want to win , but not t o take a race win over a champion ship . You've got to play it smart a nd just bac k it down a notch and get your championship. There are always other times to race," The underdog team of Braun and Gosnell ended up with thi rd overall, second Open Pro, on their giant-killer entry in a time of 7:05:38. Despite a nat tire and some brake problems, their overall finish still equaled their best ever in the series. And , of course, the 2005 series will get unde r way in five weeks at the Golden West Cycle Parker 250 on January 7-8, with Campbell and Hengeveld hoping to carry their end-of-the-season run into the new season. "So far, since Steve and I have been partners for the last two years, we've pretty much won or got second at every race we go to," Cam pbell said . And everyone knows that's the sort of consistency it takes to w in champ ionships. eN HENDERSON 'S TERRIBLE 300 HENDERSON, NEVADA RE SULTS: DECEMBER 4 , 2004 (ROUND 6 OF 6) OVERALL MOTORCYCL E: I. Johnny CampbelVStev He ngeveld (Hon) 6:4 I:53; 2. Andy Gride r e (KTN) 6:51;36; 3. Clint Bra un/ Matt Gos nell (KTM); -1. Mike Child res s/Chuck De mpsey (Hon ) 7:06:48 ; S. Bryan Fo lks/Joey Lanza (KTM) 7:28:24; 6. Jesse Canepa/Tim Schra ft/ Ben Williams (Kaw) 7:43:02; 7. Anthony Cost illo/Patrick K. Wells (Yam) 7:50:43 : 8 . Larry Brown/David Fry (Hon) 7:52:40; 9. Kurt Hintz/Brett Hoffman/D oug Imhof (Hen) 7:55:14; 10. David J. Dunrv'J errr Herl inglWil1 iml M . O' Hara (KTM) 7:51:03. OPEN PRO: I. Johnny CampbelVSteve He ngeveld (Hon); 2. a mt BraunlMatt Gosne ll (KTMJ. 4·STROKE P RO : I. Andy Grider t KTM); 2. Mlk@ Ch ildress/Chuck Dem psey (Hon). 1S0PRO, I. Boyan F olksl)oey Lanza(KTM). OVER 30 PRO, I. Steve LaRozaljesse Ochoa (KTM). OVER '0 PRO, I. Rag..- Ru>seIVRos. W'loams(KTM); 2. Doug HeillJan Ortrer (Hon ). (l e ft) Eve n though they were ri di n g a 2 5 0 cc in the Open class, Clint Braun and Matt Gosnell st ill managed to fini sh second in their class and third overall. (Be low) Hengeveld and Compbell had few problems in the kits throughout the o ng race. O P EN EX: I. Jess@ CanepafTim Xhrdfti Ben Williams [Kaw ]: 2. larry Brow n/ David f ry (Ha n); 3. Scott HerwezlChris Ray (Kaw). ' ·STROKE EX, I. Jeny """""IShan Powe ll (NA); 2. Jamie G<>Iwn/Cun. B. MoonI)""'" Warren (Hon) ; J. 10ny AguilenlRonnie Coutu_,C"", F')' (Y om). 250 EX: I. Anthony CostlllolPatrick K.. Wells (Y ; 2. am) Kyle HeMo ldIJason Tyer/Andy Vance (Yam). OVE R 30 EX: I. Kurt Hintz/ Brett Hoffmaf\t'Ooug Imhof (Hon) ; 2. David J. Dunn/Jerry HerlingJWilliam M. O'H ara (KTM); 3. Earl Deside rio/James EmbroJDuane Schwab (KTM,. OVER 35 EX: I. Sco tt Perkins/Morgan PierceITom We lls (NA); 2. Todd Colley/ Man. Goelz (Hen) . OVER 40 EX : I. Gre g f ountain/Jeff Phillips/Kun Sofka. J'. (Han) . OVER SO EX , I. Je"Y A11en/Howaro M. Larsen (Y am). IROHMAN EX : I. Gle nn Warren (Hon): 2. Steve Luly (Hen ); 3. Lou Manzano (Hon). OP EN AM : I. Steve Bailor/ Bra d Sniithsoni Bre tt e Stu bbe (Hon); 2. 4·ST ROK E AM: I. Greg Gipe/G ordy McCa rty (Hen) ; 2. Roger B. Os te ndorf/Ro ger S. O stendo rf/Kevin Parson s (Yom) . 250 AM: I. Cody Monroe/Rick Monroe (Yam). IRON MAN AM : I. Tod d Harrison (Yam); 2. Ge o rge Kreider (Hen ). .Briefly... The shorter bike and quad-only portion of the course elicited lots of positive comments, though everyone also seemed to agree that it was far tougher than expected. '" thought it was really tight," Chuck Dempsey said. "It was like a District [37] race. That's where [partner] Mikey [Childress] does really good - he rides that stuff every weekend . I tend to like the smoother, faster courses over the tight stuff, but it was good. " Steve Hengeveld and Andy Grider felt much the same, ''As far as the tightness [of the course), it's pretty close to laughlin," Hengeveld said. "I was pretty amazed , actually," As for Grider, "I figured after riding [in] Baja[to get ready forthe 1000] the last couple weeks, I could go 300 miles no problem, but I didn't think the course was going to be this ro ugh." While Mike Childress and Chuck Demsey won the Four-Stroke Pro Cham pionship, class winner Andy Grider pointed out an interesting fact that, even though he didn't get the number-one plate today, he st ill had a small part in it for the Childress and Dem sey duo. ''A little note - I was on their team at the beginning of the year," Grider said, "So I felt either way, however it goes , Iget a little piece of the championship," The Ho nd a XR650 that Mike Childress and Chuck Dempsey rode was the same bike they'd used a few weeks ago in the Baja 1000, and it still looked relatively fresh at the finish. The bike's sole maintenance between events was a vafve adjustment and tire replacement. Todd Harrison didn't let inexperience get in the way of winning the Ironman Amateur class. A regular on the Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit with its tight, rocky trails, the Colorado resident was right at home in the 3OO's similarconditions, even though it was his first desert race and quite a bit wanner than the below-3D-degree temperatures back home . The man most responsible for Harrison's foray into the desert is former top enduro a nd ISDE racer KelbyPepper, who drove his buggyto third in Class 1500 and fifth overall.Though he doesn't race motorcycles much any more , Pepper indicated he'd love to race one of the BITD events on two wheels in the future. "I wish these were two -day races so I could race my car one day and a bike the other," Doug Heil enjoyed a fairlycom fortab le lead in Ove r 40 Pro points, over Ross Williams, going into Henderson's Terrible 300, but to make sure he asked former pro motocrosser Jon Ortner to help him out . Even though he was sick with the flu after a full weekend of racing at Day in the Dirt the week before, Ortner agreed and put in more than his fair share of saddle time . Howeve r, the Williamsand Roger Russell team ended up beating them by almost five minutes . Still, that wasn't enough to overcome the points deficit, so Heil will take Williams' C I plate for next year. CYCLE NEWS • JANUARY 5 ,2005 105

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