Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128636
A M A National Championshipo Hare & Hound S e r ie s Round 7 : So C a l M .C . National Richa rd son got the ho le s hot, a d is tin ct a dvantage in the d us ty co ndi tions . "I d o n 't k now what it is ," the defend ing Vet-class champ said. "I've be e n g etting reall y good starts. That was like the second one in a row ou t there that I've been to the bomb first in [AMA) District 37 Nationa ls." Right behind Richardson, Brown , Abbott, Oa kley Lehman and the rest of the pa c k lurked , obscured by du st. "We wen t across that valley [after the bomb], and Brian pull ed me going across there ," Ric h ard s o n re la te d . "Then I ca ught him at the to p of wha t I gu ess is Victo r Pass. He overshot a turn , and I wen t bac k b y h im for ma y be a m ile or two , t h e n h e got me ." Richardson rounded out the podium p la c ers. The bomb run headed north, paralle lin g Bes s eme r Min e Ro ad , the n tu rn e d e a s t , with the tra il drop p ing do wn th roug h a s a ndy wa sh to e nd up on th e valley floor for the re m a in der o f th e 38-m ile first loo p , wh ich the lead e rs c o m p le te d in a bo u t 45 m inutes. After pitt ing , riders c ros sed over Be sse m e r and headed no rthw es t fo r a 40- mile loo p, which en de d up S T O RY AND PHO TOS BY M A RK K A RIYA LOCERNE VALLEY, CA, OCT. 8 e fe n d in g c h a m pio n B r ia n B row n won for t he fi rs t ti me wh ile we a ring his num ber-on e pla te at th e p enulti m at e ro u n d o f th e s er ie s , h e ld near S o g g y Dry Lak e . In so doing , t h e Mo o s e / FMF / IMS b a c k e d KX500 ra ce r le d a Te a m Gre en s weep of the top th re e spots , a s Des try A bb o tt ( wh o will t rad e numb e r s w ith B r o w n ) a n d D a n D 52 O CTOBER 25, 2000' c ue • Ie n e vv s The So -Cal National marked the fi rst ti m e th is season that defending champ Brian Brown has won. He grabbed the lead shortly after the start and kept It to the finish, though his bike nearly quit in the last moments of the race . on the so uth sid e of Soggy Dry Lak e . Afte r a qu ick s print ac ros s th e la ke (avoi di ng th e we ekend c ro ss tr affi c see mi ngly unawa re of th e race ta king place) , rac ers funn eled into the finis h ch ute clo se to the pits . "He 's 'prett y fast thro ug h va lleys ," Brown noted of Richardson , but after Bro wn got int o th e le a d , he ke pt it with little trouble . "I just cru ised from there on out. I got lost on c e and had to slo w down to find the ma rkings on the second loo p...l looked ba c k a few miles from th e finish , and Destry was right on m y keis te r, so I sped up . He had to duck in b e h ind me . T he n I e nd ed up s e iz ing a s so o n a s I got a c ross th e d ry lake bed [a co u pl e h u n dre d y a rd s fro m th e fi ni s h] . It either seized or the ignitio n went out. It bogg ed out, a nd I ha d to finish in th ird [g e a r]. I wa s ki n d of wo rri e d right th e re at the finis h." Abbott trailed Bro wn b y a bout a m in ute at t he pi t , with Ric ha rdson , Russ Pea rs o n, Jeff Capt a nd Sh ane Espos ito rounding out the top five . "I got aroun d Da n about ha lfway around th e firs t lo op ," Abbott said. "By the t im e I got around h im , Br ian was gone . It fel t like I wa s riding p retty goo d . On the second loop, I turned it u p ; th at 's th e loo p I was hop ing to ride fast bec ause it's m or e techn ic~1. Hal fwa y t h ro ugh t he seco nd loop I sta rte d reeli ng Brian in, and hit a rock and go t a flat - I felt it right away . Not too far aft e r that , I went down because of the flat [re a r] t ire . It a ctu ally held up really well; I was still able to reel Brian in a little bit." At th e finish , the two Te am Green desert stars had a com fortable gap on Rich ard son . Rus sell Pea rson came home fourth o vera ll , third Open Expert, on his YZ426F. "By the time I got up to fourth ," Pearson lamant ed , "It was about halfway through the first loop , and t he to p three guys , I coul dn 't even see them; th ey were at th e end of th e next va lle y." Lehma n en de d up fifth o n his Price Ra c ing KX500 , jus t edg ing a closely c o nteste d battle betwe en the 250cc winner , Sh ane Esposito , an d 12 5c c victor Ku rt Ca s e lli. "I k new h e wa s ba ck there after I got by Capt [ear ly on the seco nd lo o p ]," Espo s ito said of Caselli. "Th en, go ing throug h the va lleys, I knew you co uld n 't get around [someone else ] - there 's a lot of bush es ba ck there. I d idn 't let it han g out or