30-year-old KX500 two-stroke,
and Baylor qualified ninth out of
10 Open Pro bikes.
At 5:45 a.m. Friday morning,
the N2 bike of Bryce Stavron/
Jack Mentha made first dust as
71 bikes/quads embarked on a
550-plus-mile journey from Crys-
tal, Nevada, to Dayton, Nevada.
Typical of the early morning
hours, the dust was thick and
hanging in the fast roads and
sandwashes at the start of the
race.
Through the first two pits, no
passes were made, but Logan
and Brabec were moving up on
the field, gaining time on the
riders ahead. By the third pit 100
miles in, Brabec had closed to
the rear wheel of the N22 bike
(Jarrett Megla/Matthew Combs
team) to pass while the privateer
Honda team pitted for gas. The
rally bike, holding eight-plus gal
-
lons of gas, was only set to stop
for gas three times throughout
the race, with plans of making
passes in the pits while their
competitors refueled.
Leaving the third pit, the flood-
gates opened for Brabec, who
went on a tear over the next 150
miles to pass through the dust
and move ahead of the other
three bikes to take the physical
lead as well as the overall lead
at pit six in Tonopah. Despite the
dust and some racers not giving
an inch to the Dakar champion,
Brabec's charge through the
pack in such a short amount of
WIND
IN THE
P44
Former Motocross
Champion Chuck
Sun (center), Dick
Wilk (right) and Greg
Zitterkopf finished
runner-up in the 60+
division.
