Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Bill~W~ww~~O~_H_~_&_&_OO_d_h_'~_:R_~_d_6 ~ More than 140 riderS turned out for the second-to-last National of the year in Utah which was won by Danny Hamel. Hamel (I), who clinched his second straight title, leads teammate Lany Roeseler (3). Wendover win gives Hamel second consecutive title By Anne Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren WENDOVER, NV, SEPT. 27 ith one round still to run in the seven-race National series, Kawasaki's Danny Hamel locked up the hare and hound overall championship title with a blazing run through northeastern Nevada. In a repeat performance of last year's round six title grab, the 20-year-old from Boulder City, Nevada, outdistanced the competition by more than five minutes to add win number five to this year's points tally. The .victory put Hamel so far ahead in series points that it will be impossible for anyone to snatch the overall and Open class titles in the final round of the series at Lucerne Valley, California on October 25. "It's (the championship) very important to me. It's still a,n important series," said Hamel, who appeared to take back-to-back National titles in. stride. The deciding round of the series, which was hosted'by the Utah Desert Foxes, drew 141 riders to Wendover on the western edge of the Bonneville Salt Flats. The banner dropped just before 10 a.m. and all eyes were on the green W 8 bikes, as the Amateur/Expert wave charged up the valley towards the bomb: With four overall wins already under his belt, Hamel needed only a third-place finish in either of the last two rounds to take the crown. The only rider within striking distance wa~ Hamel's Kawasaki teammate, Larry Roeseler, who has yet to add the coveted .National title to his long list of other merits. Hamel and Roeseler got the drop on the rest of the field and were: side-byside in the dash to the bomb, just ahead' of the thick cloud of dust that covered the rest of the field. Hamel led into the first corner, but Roeseler's Kawasaki KX500 pulled out ahead of him on the first road. "As soon as I dropped into his dust I had to back off. I couldn't see a thing and I had to wait for it to clear," said Hamel. Salt Lake City hotshot Jeff Lundgreen had his Kawasaki KX500 in third as he swept past,the bomb, and Paul Ostbo's KX500 was in fourth, but the dust was too thick to distinguish any of the other riders. "If you didn't get a good start, I don't care how fast you are, you couldn't make it up," said Kawasaki KX250 pilot Jimmy Lewis, who lost the 4rag race to the Open class racers. "In the first turn I had to stop to see where the bomb was and I didn't see a thing after that. I probably lost two or three minutes to whoever was in front in the first two or three miles." The blinding dust and the fast pace combined to make life miserable for much of the first loop. There were few opportunities to pass and when they finally arrived, the riders grabbed them. Hamel, who was hanging back to wait for a break in the dust, got his chance on a downhill jU'st five miles' into the loop. "I caught Roeselei on a big downhill. He was sitting down so I knew something was wrong," said Hamel. The problem was Roeseler's water pump. "A rock put a hole in it and all the water ran out," Roeseler said. "I tried to keep going, but it just wasn't going to work. I could've puttered in and fixed it, but it was so early in the race. This sucks." Roeseler made it back to the pits and parked his bike, and along with it, his hopes of the overall National Hare & Hound title. Dana Van Stee was another early arrival in the pits. The Kawasaki KXl25 pilot, who was within shooting distance of the 125cc points lead going into the race, could not get his bike to run clean. Despite numerous attempts the day before and further adjustments during the race, Van Stee was forced to withdraw early in the first loop. Loop one was nearly the end of the race for Over-30 expert Curtis Dice. "I got taken out on a really rocky downhill. I heard somebody yelling behind me, then' next thing I knew, a KX500 took me down," said Dice. "Brent Fox and I rolled down the hill together." The pair lost time separating their bikes at the bottom of the hill but both were able to continue the race. . Hamel was still in front, as he entered the pits at the end of the 30mile first loop. Lundgreen dashed through three minutes back in second, just four seconds ahead of third-placed Ed Sorenson, who was leading the 250cc pack, as he headed into the second loop of the three-loop course. "An Open bike would've helP,ed at the start," said'Sorenson. "I was sixtl! at the bomb and it was re~lly dusty, _ so I just tried to ride smart and not go down." Fourth overall was in the hands of . Kawasaki KX500 racer Brandon Gerber, who dashed into loop two with . Four-Stroke points leader Husqvarnamounted Don Griewe and defending Over-30 National champ Paul Ostbo hard on his heels. Ostbo' left the pit four-and-a-half minutes behind Hamel but dropped further off the pace when he returned to pit row to change a fouled plug just a few Il.linutes later. "Catching up out there is like playing Russian roulette," said Ostbo, whose four class wins had the Vet title all but sewn up when the race began. "I just hung there waiting out the dust and waiting for the guy in front to make a mistake." Suzuki RM250 pilot Sam Taylor hit pit row in seventh overall, ahead of Lewis, Dice and 250cc Expert Jim Gray. Je££ Capt led tbe 125cc racers through in 13th overall, Preston Gerber topped the Over-50 field in 18th and Bill Maxim was in front of the Over-40 contenders in 22nd overall. Loop two was a 46-mile circuit that included fast washes and a number of fast-paced roads. It also included a run through two large drainage pipes that almost cost Hamel the lead. "There were some big boulders in there where the rain had washed them. I hit one of them in the dark and it took my front end out," said Hamel. "I fell and I slid forever down the side of it." Hamel was able to continue, but second-placed Lundgreen was not as lucky. "I really don't know what happened. I remember the paved road, then I don't remember anything until the Amateurs started coming through," said Lundgreen. "I made it to the alternate, gas and I had someone follow me back to the pit." Lundgreen's misfortune put Sorenson up into third and Gerber, who had stopped to help Lundgreen, through into fourth. "Everything was going pretty well, but I couldn't keep it on two wheels to save my butt," said Gerber. "I adjusted the brakes so tight they kept sticking on me. I couldn't go fast in the trees and I went over the bars so many times I stopped counting." Dust kept the order the same all the way to the end of the loop. Hamel was four minutes ahead of Sorenson, who had another minute on Gerber as the final loop got underway. Griewe thundered out of loop two in fourth overall, more than half an hour ahead of his nearest four-stroke rival despite breaking some toes when he caught his foot on a rock, and Lewis' KX250 was charging hard iIi fifth ahead of 250cc rival Taylor. Ostbo's fouled plug had handed the Over-30 lead to Dice in seventh overall but the never-say-die KX500 pilot was making his presence felt just 10 seconds back in eighth. Jim.Gray and Open Expert Mark Lundgreen rounded out the top 10. "I los~ third gear in the s~cond loop, but it didn't matter too much because the fast stuff was fast and the slow stuff was slow," said Lundgreen. A better sure than sorry game plan left Corky Maughan in 12th overall the same place the Suzuki RM250 pilot had held at the end of the first loop. "I had to stop at the alternate gas, and I lost a couple of places there," Maughan said. "This is a different bike and I didn't know if it would make it the whole loop." The third loop was tight and tech-

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