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/125866
rn AMA Nation I 51 . IlQ 2 After two rounds. a wide open series By Lane Campbe ll .... IlQ g ;... g -CA LI FO R..' \ IA , J UN E 22 & 23 With the SoCal and NorCaI rounds of AMA's Nation al Trials Seri es run, Lane Leavitt (Bul) and Mark Eggar [Mon ) traded wins on each others' territorv, while New York 's Don Swec't (Yam), with a second and a third, leads the series on points. For each of the two '7 r-Cl C'l >--: := winners. it was work one day, ride one day, since one series ru le requires each co ntending rider to work his hom e club 's eve nt, riding all the others as a visitor . (This was one of the rules t hat gene rated the disagreernen t between SoCal cl ubs an d the governing council.) T hose riders who hail from any pl ace other than northern or so u thern California, therefore, had an early adva ntage picking up points in two even ts to th eir hosts tone. T he top six riders' unofficial standings after two ro unds: Pts, 1. Don Sweet. N . V . 2 . Joe Gug liemelli. Wash . 3. Lane Leavitt, NorCal Mark Egga r, SoCal 4 . Steve Da rrow, NcrCat 5. Bob Hopkins Yam Yam Su i Mon Mon Yam (312 ) (4 /3) (1) (l) (2) (7 /5) 2400 2000 1600 1600 1300 1 2 00 Round On e was held Saturday, June 22 at Saddleback Park under severely dry, dusty co ndi tio ns. Th e way eve ntual winner Leavi It struggled through the sections during the first tw o loops, few would have put -any m oney on his ch an ces. Yet as -it· tu rned ou t. Lane was doggedly figh ting for threes where many Experts had been taking fives. Th e determination paid off when he caught fire on the third round, cleaned fo ur sections in a row and put to gether a 14 points loop (his others had been 30 and 33) to win the trial with a two poin t margin over Steve Darrow. Meanwhile, Don Sweet was getting most of the cheers from the gallery as he put together several brilliant individual rides, particularly in the gully climb Traps Nine and Ten, and also across the rock face at Trap Eight. w hich he and Kirk Mayfield both treated like a freeway on their third loop. By one p. rn. it was virtual ly over, giving people time to saddle u p for the 4 0 0 mil e ru n north to Red Dog, in Cali forni a' s Gold Rush co untry. This has to be one of t he prime trials lo cati ons o n the American West Co ast, m ountains covered w ith deep, fr agr an t pi ney-woods an area' that co uld s wallo w u p t he en tire Expert fiel d an d give back a deep silence to the section checkers waiting for the riders ' second ap pea rance. T he sections at R ed Dog Sunday were genera lly easier than Saturd ay 's, bu t th e time schedule was tig ht -fo r the challeng ing 14-m ile loop. With tim e pres sur e bu ild ing, fatigue became a maj or fac tor for many ride rs to wards th e en d o f t hei r second and final loop. Th ose with b o t h stam ina and speed be tw een the sections came out o n top. Mar k Eggar, wearing a big gri n to go wi th his ne w Mo nt e sa, just go t better during his second loop while everyone else was doing worse, putting together a 13-8 pai r to beat Don Swee t by two poi n ts. Rider s see med to have the most fun (scar ing th em selves in the process) in L an e Leavitt's Trap 19 , a compound gully climb with powder di rt , lots of pebbles, roo ts and even a few big rocks, wit h a return route that led precariously along the lip of the gully. Or, as one rider put it after footing h is way up for a well-earned three : "You know what's almost as bad as gett ing up this mother? Getting d own !" • . . Saddleback winner Lane Leavitt always looks dead serious in a section. In th is particular trap. he better be. Dedication. Jerry Young drove day and night (rom Pennsylvania to handrassle a less than cooperative GRM. Too bad you can't see the drill job on the engine. Even the holes have holes. For a guy about to cop a Five, points leader Sweet looks suprisingly in control of the situation at Saddleback Trap Three/Four. Sitting on the gas cap and wide-eyed, Kirk Mayfield from Tulsa in ' unfamiliar piney-woods. Results SADDLEI3ACK PARK, ROUND ONE'!. . Lane Leavitt . N arCal (Bul) . 2 . Steve Darrow . Nor Ca t (M an ) . 3 . Don sweet. N .Y. (Yam) . 4 . Joe Guglie melli . Wash . (Yam) . 5 . B ob Nickel sen , Co lo. (H an). 6 . Bob Tyson, N orCal (Bul) . 7. Bob H opkin s (Y am ) . 8 . Marv in Heath, Wash . (Bul). RED DOG, ROUND T W O : 1. Mark Egga r , SoCal (MOn). 2 . Don sweet. NY (Yam) . 3 . Joe Gugliemelll, Wa sh. (Yam) . 4 . B Ob H o pk ins (Yam). 5 . Mariana Wtldley socar (M On). 6. Jeff Koskie, socar (SUZ). Marv He a t h , Wash . (Bul). 8. Rich Delaney, socat (Mo n) . 7. r 17