Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.~ LOCAL EVENTS ~ Michael Rigdon (107) topped Danny Lowers (9) and Dennis Burns '(210) in the Novice class at the Over the Hill Gang's National MX at Sunrise Cycle Park. The Desert Mountain event was ArizQna's first-ever National Dual Sport Ride. and then headed into the second section - a 108-mile desert loop that ran northeast all the way to the second gas stop at Newberry Springs. "I liked the desert section best," said XR250L rider Dave Tonkiss. "I've been riding up in the trees for the last five yeaTS, so I'm used to'that, but the desert was different. I had a good time out there." Speeds hit ~5 miles per hour on the long run down Camp Rock Road, then slowed again as the riders followed trails towards the welcome smell of barbecued hamburgers, which Chaparral club members were cooking at the middle-of-nowhere lunch stop near the petroglyphs. ' After lunch, there was a seven-mile sandwash from the traditional LA-toB-to-V course to contend with, followed by stretches of rolling pipeline road and the sandy trails of power-line. access roads. The ride finished, almost six hours after it began, with a final burst down the highway back to the .start-finish line at Deadman's Point. Phil Holcomb, President of the District 37 Road Ride'rs, said the Chaparrals should keep the route chart on file. ''I'd like to see them do the same thing next year, only backwards," he said. "I thought it was great." Bill Adams; president of the Chaparrals for 22 years, reported one problem on the course. "A guy ran into a pickup truck in the mountains but apparently he didn't get hurt, and the guy that he hit drove him out," said Adams. eN OTHG Motocross National Brainard blazes at Sunrise By Greg Robertson ADELANTO, CA, OCT. 24-25 onda-mounte~ Elli~t Brainard· went home with a hve-foot-tall first place trophy by capturing the overall win in the highlycompetitive Intermediate class d,uring' the Over The Hill Gang Motocross Nationals, held at Sunrise Cycle Park. The racing format involved running two 20-minute motos on Saturday, then returning on Sunday to do two more motos going the opposite direction on the track. Consistency played a big part in determining overall winners for the weekend. Heavy rains on Friday night prevented any dust problems as Louie Springer led the other 22 riders through the first turn in moto one on Saturday. Brainard gated second and was past Springer for the lead by the completion of lap one. OTHG Northern chapter rider Mark Mulliner and Jon Hansen, along with the Sierra chapter's John Anderson, quickly closed in on the leaders. Mulliner and Anderson pushed Springer back to fourth. Brainard kept up his blistering pace for the entire 20 minutes to greet the checkered flag approximately five seconds ahead of Mulliner. Anderson took third over Mic Rodgers, who got around Springer on the last lap. When the gate dropped for the start of the second moto, it was Rodgers out front followed by Randy Cillespie, Springer and Brainard. Gillespie studied Rodgers' lines for a couple of laps before making the pass for the lead. A lap later, Brainard pushed Rodgers back one more position and set out after Gillespie. Brainard was on a roll as he overtook Gillespie for the lead with a couple of laps remain- H Chaparrals M.e. Dual Sport Trail Ride Dual-sport desert paradise! By Anne Van Beveren • Photos by Tom Van Beveren VICTORVILLE, CA, NOV. I espite conflicts with a local enduro, a grand prix in nearby California City and a National dual-sport ride in Arizona, the Chaparrals M.e. Dual-Sport Ride still drew a field of 75 riders. The day-after-Halloween event, which began at Deadman's Point about 10 miles west of Victorville, was billed as the last tune-up before the L.A.-to-Barstow-to-Vegas Dual Sport. Ride. The Chaparrals laid out a 158mile course to simulate the two long days of the LA-to-B-to-V, which is held on Thanksgiving weekend. Sign-up opened at 6:30 a.m. and, with the long D 24 course ahead of them, most riders opted for an early start. The morning was fine and cool, and rain the day before the event promised an almost dust-free ride. for most of the day. The first section headed south into the scenic San Bernardino Mountains, weaving back and forth among the pine trees on jeep trails that were still damp from the rain. The 50-mile mountain loop included two easy/hard splits. The first hard section took experienced riders up a steep, rocky trail, while the second section ran them downhill for five miles on trails littered with loose rocks. "I liked the long rocky uphill. It seemed like 10 miles of an enduro course," s~id Bob Tartter. "If you stopped, you were gone. Once you lost 'your momentjlm, you had to go back down and try again. The wimps couldn't make it. They had to go around." The trail looped back to the desert floor for a gas stop in Lucerne Valley, ing. Gillespie held on for second over Anderson and Hansen, who finished third and fourth, respectively. The first moto on Sunday was a Gillespie show from holeshot to checkered flag. The track reversal suited Gillespie just fine, as he stayed way out front and missed the motolong battle between Brainard and Mulliner for the runner-up position., Brainard fought off numerous pass attempts from Mulliner to take second by a bike length at the finish. Anderson was fourth over Hansen, who charged up from a midpack start to grab fifth. Springer holeshot the final moto ahead of Mulliner, Hansen and Rodgers. By the second lap Mulliner was leading, with Hansen second. Gillespie was closing on the leaders until he clipped another rider, causing. him to go down and drop to an eventual 15th place. Both Rodgers and Hansen got around Springer, but couldn't get near the two frontrunners. Anderson was all over Mulliner's rear fender, looking for a way into the lead, but ended up just a few feet short at the checkered flag: Hansen earned third place over Brainard, who put in an excellent ride, coming from 11 th to finish fourth and score the overall win. The Novice ranks were dominated by Good Stuff Restaurant-sponsored Michael Rigdon, as he holeshot'three out of four motos and went on to win two of those races and finish in the runner-up spot in the other two. Roger Hayes and Danny Lowers spent most of the weekend dicing for second behind Rigdon, with both riders earning a moto win. In the end it was Lowers over Hayes by a mere point to collect the second-place trophy. Dennis Burs was in contention for a top-three overall finish after three !potos, but an off-the-track excursion in the final round only allowed him to work up to II th from dead last, and ruined his chances. Members of the Old Timers Motocross Association were also on hand to join in on the fun, and that's just what Fred Kalmick did as he ran away and hid in both Amateur class motos on Saturday. Milton Roybal kept Kalmick in sight, but was never' a threat and took tw.o second-place finishes. Buzz Mo~ller and Wiley Seitzler split third-place finishes to end the day tied on points. Kalmick shot out to an immediate .Iead in the opening moto on Sunday, but the track reversal seemed to favor Roybal as he. grabbed the lead on the first lap and never looked back. Kalmick ran a lonely second the entire 'race. Seizler and Moeller were providing most of the close action in the race as they battled all the way to the checkered flag for third, with Moeller taking it by inches. . In the final round, it was Kalmick getting his fourth consecutive holeshot, with Roybal breathing down his neck. The battle quickly allowed the two Kawasaki KX500 riders to pull away from the rest of the pack. Roybal was all over Kalmick, showing his front wheel to the leader in several turns. After numerous attempts, Roybal was able to make a pass stick and ·went on to score the moto and overall victories. Seitzler and Moeller agian swapped finish positions in third and fourth, with Seitzler grabbing third overall. . CN Results ;. SATURDAY OTHG BEG: I. Steve Todd (Suz); 2. Jay Warren (Hon); 3. John Curran'(Suz); 4. Jim Swindells (Hon); 5. Chris McConnell (Kaw). OTHG NOV: I. Michael Rigdon (Hon); 2. Roger Maye~ (Hon); 3. Danny Lowers (Bon); 4. Bob Sullivan (Hon); 5. Dennis Bums (Kaw).

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