Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Roeseler had the physical lead when he handed over to Davis for the start of the final loop, but Hamel, who took over from Ostbo just 30 seconds behind, was still half a minute up on adjusted time and refusing to call it quits. Third overall on adjusted time belonged to Zitterkopf and Richardson, despite badly bent bars from Richardson's loop two crash, and the Utah dUQ of Brandon Gerber and Brent Fox was snapping at their heels in 'fourth. "We had a slow start," said Fox. "I had knee surgery a few months' ago and it bothered me a lot, but the longer the race went on, the better we started doing." The same could be said for Over30 Pros Scot Harden and Jack Johnson, who were fifth overall on adjusted time and comfortably ahead of their closest Vet class rivals, Kenny Parry and Craig Adams. "I turned 40 today and I had a blast. This was so much fun," said Johnson. Tom Barbero and Bill Maxim were way out in front of the Over-40 Pros and George McQuiston and Paul Pitts were charging hard at the head of the Sportsmen pack. The tension increased as the final loop unfolded. The course was drying out fast, so the dust was mounting, and .the terrain was becoming rougher and rougher. The combination took its toll and .forced a change in Hamel's strategy with just 40 miles to go. "I planned to go the whole loop, but I started to 'get beat up and I couldn't get by Davis because the dust was too intense," said Hamel. Both teams switched riders at the midway pit and the battle was on again. Roeseler was hard on the gas trying to stretch his physical lead into a time-adjusted lead, and Ostho was all over the bike trying to hang onto his team's slender advantage. Halfway through the loop, with less than 20 miles between him and the checkered flag, Roeseler's confidence began to grow. "I could look across the valley and see him and I knew I had a pretty good lead, but then I saw Hamel at the alternate pit." Hamel had stationed himself II miles from the finish just in case and swung into action the moment Ostbo started to slow. "Paul was going to do the complete last 40 (miles) but at the alternate gas, he made a good call. He said 'Here, take it," said Hamel. "I knew exactly how much time I had to make up and I gave it everything I had all the way in." Roeseler was still in front when he crossed the finish line at the end of the six-hour sprint, but Hamel's lastditch effort brought him home within one minute of his rival's finishing tjme. He shaved just 17 seconds off Roeseler's and Davis' total elapsed time, but that was enough for the KawasakilAnswerIYoko/Metzeler I Pirelli/Maxima/F&L/Scotts/Trickl Acerbis/MaierIBeam/Backcanteenl Don Joy/Fl\fF/Shoei-backed Hamel! Ostbo team to take the overall and the Open Pro Championship titles. "What a great race," said Hamel. "I couldn't have asked for a better day or a better partner, and everything went well. I never missed a comer and I never made a mistake." . Kawasaki-backed Roeseler and Davis were less enthusiastic. "The flat tire early in the race was definitely a factor," said Roeseler. "Davis rode 30 miles on it plus the time to chan~ it. There's enough time to win it right there." A fast-paced third loop brought the ... t$-I V ..0 o ~ u o Greg Zitterkopf, last year's winner, and Dan Richardson topped the 250cc Pro class. George McQuiston and Paul Pitts made up the top finishing Expert team. Brandon Gerber/Brent Fox Kawasaki KX500 home in third, 15 minutes behind the leaders on adjusted time, and just one minute ahead of. 250cc Pro winners Zitterkopf and Richardson. . "It was a fast course. My loop definitely could've used a 500," said Richardson. "There were places where I was going as fast as I could and those' guys on the open bik,es were just getting closer and closer."· The Kawasaki team's closest rivals were Johnny Campbell and Jamie Campbell, who turned in a troublefree run on their Honda to earn ninth in the overall standings. The Kawasaki KX250 team of Steve Ogren and Craig Hunter took third in class. Jack Johnson battled mechanical problems throughout his last 40 miles but held on to take the Over-30 Pro win by almost seven minutes over Kenny Parry and Craig Adams. "The muffler broke loose about a mile out on the last half of the last lap," said Johnson, who shared a KTM with Scot Harden. "The exhaust started blowing on the rear brakes. I lost them about 15 miles out and I had to ride 25 miles with no rear brakes." "We didn't have any problems. They just rode better than us, that's all," said second-placed Adams. "You had to be careful out there. There were a lot of rocks, and the tum arrows were right on the comers. I overshot all of them. " Brian Schmuckle and Dan Worley overcame an off-the;course·and-downa-canyon adventure early in the race and a flat tire later to claim third in the Vet division. . The 125cc Pro honors went to John Braasch and Jeff Kawell, who finished 10th overall and more than half an hour up on second placed Charles Kline and Joseph Meyer. "We had two front flats ...,.. one for the whole last loop," said Meyer, who was unimpressed with the course. "All it was, was a bunch of stutter bumps," he said. The Over-38 Pro win went to Tom Barbero and Bill Maxim in 21st overall. "We had a 32-minute lead going into the last lap. I could've stopped for lunch," said Maxim. Paul Pitts brought the Suzuki he Scot Harden and Jack Johnson combined efforts to win the 0-30 Pro division. shared with George McQuiston home at the head of the Sportsman pack in 14th overall. The Utah riders earned first·250cc Expert honors with a time of five hours and 27 minutes, despite losing the rear brake at the end of loop two. ''I'm so tired I can't e en move my arms," said Pitts. "Half way through my last lap I crapped out. I almost had to stop and cry, I was so tired, but I saw second place's dust way back and I didn't have time." The next Experts to cross the line were Scott Glimp and Floyd Bradley in the Over-25 class, with Over-30 Experts Kevin Bogue and Jeff Boyd just eight seconds behind them. A close race in the Open Expert division was won by the Andy Nelsonl Skipp Cohenour Kawasaki duo in 27th overall. CI'I Results 0/A: 1. Danny Hamel/Paul Ostbo (Kaw); 2. Larry RoeselerlTy Davis (Kaw); 3. Brandon Gerber/Brent Fox (Kaw); 4. Daryl Folks/Destry Abbott (KTM); 5. Greg Zillerkop£lDan Richardson (Kaw). OPEN PRO: 1. Danny Hamel/Paul Ostbo (Kaw); 2. Larry RoeselerlTy Davis (Kaw); 3. Brandon Gerber/Brent Fox (Kaw). 250 PRO: 1. Greg ZitterkopflDan Richardson (Kaw); 2. Johnny Campbell/Jamie Campbell (Hon); 3. Steve Ogren/Craig Hunter (Kaw). 125 PRO: 1. John Braasch/Jeff Kawell (Kaw); 2. Charles Kline/Joseph Meyer (Suz); 3. Mark Frehner/ Patrick Fullmer (Suz). O-~ PRO: 1. &Ot Harden/Jack Johnson (KTM); 2. Kenny Parry/Craig Adams (Kaw); 3. Brian SChmuckle/Dan Worley (Hon). 0-38 PRO: 1. Tom Barbero/Bill Maxim (Hon); 2. Mitch Hedrick/Mark Force (KTM); 3. Sam Bass/ Art Knapp (Kaw). OPEN EX: 1. Andy Nelson/Skipp C. CoheJ;lour (Kaw); 2. Bob Jones/Bill Couon (Kaw); 3. &OU Herweg/Greg Herweg (KTM). • 250 EX: I. George McQuiston/Paul PitlS (Suz); 2. Jason Robinson/Ray Jewell (Yam); 3. C. Orville Northrop/Patrick Shields (Sur). 125 EX: 1. Nick L. Collin/Lance Bemadet (Yam); 2. Paul Ziegler/David Ziegler (Suz); 3. John Steele/ Greg Smith (Sur). 4/STRK EX: 1. Nipper Alsup/Glenn Taylor (Hus); 2. Cliff Hagan/&oll R. Davis (Hon). 0-25 EX: 1. &011 Glimp/Floyd Bradley (KTM); 2. Pat Prosser/Jim StOll (Hus); 3. Dean Hopkins/ Jay Hopkins (Hon). O-~ EX: 1. Kevin Bogue/Jeff Boyd (Yam); 2. Nick Tanner/Mike Longtime (Kaw); 3. Jim Roewer/John Ewald (Hon). 0-38 EX: 1. Steve Barklow/Jim McCartney (Kaw); 2. Lewis WrightIT.C. Turner (Yam); 3. Rick Platts/ Steve PitlS (Hon). OPEN AM: I. Robert Velasquez/Bill O'Hara (Kaw); 2. Anthony lack LivrerilAlbert Rogers (KTM); 3. Mike Moyer/Jay Gilbertson (~on). 250 AM: 1. Shawn Harris/Joe Sidman (Yam); 2. Eliot Fisher/Nick Pearson (KTM); 3. Greg Austin/ Mitch Walton (Yam). . . 125 AM: 1. Jarrod WheelerlBryan Reese (Kaw); 2. Michael Kenney/Dan Jager (Suz); 3. Dana Nicholson/John Schwarzlose (Hon). 4/STRK AM: 1. Dale AastromlBrad Cameron (Hon); 2. Shad Baldwin/Jeromie Sorhouet (Hon); 3. Kirk Kalkowski/Chuck Lenge (Hon). 0-25 AM: 1. Paul KlinelVernon Lomprey (Sur); 2. James Fryslie/James C. Hicks (Hon); 3. Joseph P. Browning/Frank Schreiner (Hon). O-~ AM: 1. Rob Windham/Mark D. Buckholz (Hon); 2. Michael Sivak/Wayne Turner (Suz); 3. Joe Bartoli/Dawync Fuhrman (Hon). 0-38 AM: I. Greg Smith/Barry Harrelson (Suz); 2. Terry R. RoberlS/Howard Larson (Kaw); 3. Bob Wol(/Richard T. Lakes (KTM). ll-48 AM: 1. Bill Nichols/Howard Utsey (Hon); 2. Joe Prosser/Gary Jensen (KTM). VINTAGE: 1. Bill McDaniel (Yam). 33

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