Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

ing, Davis had stretched out a oneminute lead over Brown. Richardson's KX500 was third, half a minute behind Brown as he hit pit row, and Abbott dashed through the pits half a minute back in fourth. Dave Ondas had turned an almost-top-10 start into fifth overall by the end of the first 43 miles of racing, and Esposito was more than two minutes ahead of his nearest 250cc Expert rival in sixth overall. Seventh was in the nands of 125cc pilot Kurt Caselli, who was just ahead of Krause's four-stroke, and Andy Grider brought the first fourstroke actually entered in the Four Stroke Expert class into the pits in ninth, ahead of 250cc-mounted David Pearson, Four-Stroke Expert Taber Murphy and the Vet class entries of Ron Schuler and Jeff Capt. Loop two was another fast-paced 44-mile circle. It paralleled the bomb, then turned north into the mountains, and included a three-mile-Iong sand wash on the run in to the finish. But what it didn't include was the tight, twisty terrain that the National contenders were hoping for. "It was a little bit tighter than loop one but not much. It wasn't a tough course at all; just a lot of rocks and a lot of whoops," said Davis. "And you really had to be on your toes to watch where the ribbons were. It was a little difficult to ride the ribbons because they tied them too short and they wrapped around the trees. I got lost twice." Brown also had problems with the markings. "Danger markings would've helped a bit," said Bro)IJn, who spent loop two the same way he had spent loop one - hanging just off Davis' rear wheel. Vet class racer Dan Richardson does not race as much as his other competitors, but when he does his presence is felt. In the process of finishing third overall Richardson handily won the Vet class. Despite their complaints, the top two racers kept a sizzling pace going as the second loop unfolded, and Richardson rode a consistent third. "It was pretty high speed, rocky, technical sort of stuff and I had a good time because I was doing good," said Richardson. "I probably would've been hating life if I had been back a bit, but I liked it. There was some stuff I hadn't seen before." Meanwhile, Abbott continued to enjoy a trouble-free ride in fourth, just ahead of a frustrated Ondas. "It was a really fast course and I couldn't make up any time," he explained. "There were a few good spots but it was basically just as fast as you could go. It was kind of boring." Esposito continued his wire-towire domination of the 250cc division, and just behind him in seventh, Caselli was doing the same in the 125cc class. "I thought the course was awesome and everything was perfectly marked," said Caselli. "I had a great time." Paul Krause was running a steady pace in eighth but got passed by the hard-charging Yamaha of David Pearson coming into a check near the half way point in the loop. But the pass did not take. "The guy at the check didn't check me. I had to turn around and go back, and right after that, my back end slid into a big burr cactus and I high sided. I lost the front brake, too," said Pearson. But that didn't stop him muscling in on Four-Stroke leader Andy Grider. "Pearson got behind me and started pushing me and, as soon as he passed me, I stalled it," said Grider. "Getting it started again took so much energy out of me that my goal from then on out was just to finish the race. I was glad to see the roads on the last section." Just behind the Pearson/Grider battle, another battle was raging between Vet class racers Ron Schuler and Jeff Capt. "Me and Capt diced the whole way. He was dogging me the whole way," said Schuler, who dodged past Taber Murphy to move up into 11 th overall as the loop started to wind down. "I think he missed the course and that's why I got him." "I lost the course on the second loop and couldn't get back on it because there was a cliff below me," Honda XR650-mounted Murphy explained. "I got out of a wash and got stuck. I had to ride it out and that's when he got by me." Capt made his move right before the end of the race but the bid to overtake Schuler took him off into the rocks and tipped him over. "I got up and caught back up but then my blisters popped and I co~ldn 't hold on any more," said Davis (3) blasts off the starting line next to fourth place finisher Destry Abbott (2) and the rest of the Experts. stuff in the second loop, but the first was just wide open, as fast as you could go." Wide open seemed to suit Caselli, who took his second 125cc victory in a row. "I rode as fast as I could and tried not to look back," said the KX 125 pilot. "I was getting kind of nervous in the second loop, but everything went well and the bike ran great." Paul Krause brought his YZ426 home in eighth. "It wasn't bad but it seemed like we rode a lot more bumps than I expected to do, for sure," said Krause. "But it was good and it was marked all right. It's just good to have races to ride." David Pearson grabbed second 250 Expert in ninth overall, despite riding most of the second loop with no front brake, and Montclair Yamaha-backed Andy Grider took Four Stroke honors in tenth. Ron Schuler took second in the Vet Class in 11th overall, just ahead of Four Stroke contender Taber Murphy (Hon) and Vet Class rival Jeff Capt. Nate Pearson took second in the 125cc division one place back in 14th, ahead of Husky 250-racer Dennis Belingheri, and Matt Murphy brought his KTM125 home in 16th overall. eN Capt. "Plus my mind really wasn't on racing. We had a baby girl on Thursday and I wasn't into it today." Out in front, Davis' mind was totallyon racing and on how long it would take to get to the checkered flag. He completed the second loop in exactly one hour and was almost a minute ahead of Brown when he crossed the finish. "I can't complain. I got the lead about two miles out and just rode hard," said Moose/Yamaha/Race Tech/FMF/Oakley-backed Davis. "If you got the start, you were doing really good on this course." Brown was a little less excited about his second-consecutive runnerup finish of the series. "I would catch him on the uphill valleys on the back section, but I hit a square rock and went over the bars in the dust," said Brown, who took last year's championship title. "It knocked the wind out of my sails. I caught back up to his dust, but then I crashed again. I just took it easy after that. " Richardson continued to lead the Vets all the way to third overall. "At the first race I was in fourth overall on the first loop, but I twisted my knee and I had to drop out," said the KX500 racer. "I had to get a good finish this time. I'm happy." Fourth-placed Destry Abbott was also happy with his finish, but far from impressed with the course. "I did everything I could to get around Richardson," he told Cycle News. "As soon as I caught him we would get in a valley and I would get dusted out. It was just valley to valley all the way." Fifth went to KX500-mounted Dave Ondas, and 'Shane Esposito took 250cc honors in sixth. "At the end of loop one I came in where I finished. Everyone just stayed the same in the second loop so it wasn't really interesting," said Esposito. "They got into some technical cue' e Dirt Diggers M.e. Nat'l Hare & Hound Lucerne Valley, California Results: March 26, 2000 [Round 2 of 8) O/A: 1. Ty Davis (Yam); 2 Brian Brown (Kaw)' 3. Dan Richardon (Kaw); 4. De~try Abbott (Kaw); 5: Dave Oodas (Kaw); 6. Shane Esposito (Kaw); 7.Kurt Caselli (Kaw); 8. Paul Krause (Yam); 9. David Pearson (Yam); 10. Andy Grider (Yam); 11. Ron Shuler (Kaw); 12. Taber Murphy (Han); 13. Jeff Capt (Kaw); 14. Nate Pearson (Hus); 15. Dennis Belingheri (Hus); 16. Matt Murphy (KTM); 17. Adam Evans (Yam): .18. Ed McCoy (Yam): 19. Lon Brand (Hon): 20. DaVid Rees (KTM); 21. Lester Lehigh (Kaw); 22. Dana Van Stee (Kaw); 23. Luca Trussardi (TM); 24. Steve Hengeveld (Han); 25. Chris Stewart (Kaw)' 26 To~d. Hoy (Han); 27. Paul Shafer (Kaw); 28. 'Erik Griffith (Kaw); 29. Terry Biel (Yam); 30. Kevin Hasten (Hus). OPEN EX: I. Ty Davis (Yam): 2. Brian Brown (Kaw); 3. Destry Abbott (Kaw). 250 EX: I. Shane Esposito (Kaw); 2. David Pearson (Yam); 3. Dennis Bellngheri (Hus). 125 EX: I. Kurt Caselli (Kaw); 2. Nate Pearson (Hus): 3 .. Matt Murphy (KTM). VET EX: 1. Dan Richardon (Kaw); 2. Ron Shuler (Kaw): 3. Jeff Capt (Kaw). 4 ·STK EX: I. Andy Grider (Yam): 2. Taber Murphy (Hon): 3. Lon Brand (Hon). SR EX: 1. Kevin Hasten (Hus) n e _ S • APRIL 12, 2000 35

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