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/126462
o oc 0') ...-4 John Penton. who's never missed an Alligator Enduro. made his debut on a Kawasaki KDX 175 and won the Super Senior class. Alligator Enduro • Teddy Leimbach held a hot pace through the tight stuff and dropped 12 points for the overall. besting teammate Jack Penton by one point. John Martin is getting to be known as one of the finest tight woods riders around. He cerded a third overall. losing 19 points. Leimbach tackles tight stuff By Tom Mueller DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR.6 "It's just not like the run I've heard about. You could really get it on in the woods," said a che,ery Ted Leimbach after taking the overall win in the 31st Annual Alligator Enduro. Leimbach dropped a scant 12 points in the 66 mile run. Leimbach's Kawasaki teammate Jack Penton took 34 second overall and High Point A honors with a score of 987. Both riders were on KDX 175's. "It's one of the best Alligator runs I've ever ridden," said Penton. "It was competitive. In one place it was wet· I followed the arrows when I could have had other lines. There were very few places where I wasn', ~assin' it." Seeming to increase in popularity each year, this year's event had 380 entries. To keep things orderly, the ru n was scored by a com pu tl'r printout. Layout chairman .Tom Cumbee and the Daytona 200 M.C. seemed to feel it was time for a change and altered the course used in the past. "This is the fourth year I've ridden the Alligator and almost all the trails were different than before," said Dean Kronenwetter, third place finisher in the Open A class. Not bad for Kronenwetter, since he was sorting out his brand new Husky 390. A combined three·quarter mile long spectator arealgas stop was located 33 miles into the run. The spectator area provided water, mud and open field and ran parallel to Highway 40, about 15 minutes from the starting area. After the spectator area was the gas stop, which offered ample access for all riders to their pit crew and vehicles. It was, however, a bit dangerous as riders were both entering and leaving the area at a good rate of speed. Those walking in the pits had to keep an eye peeled or risk the chance of being used fora berm. Can·Am·sJohn Martin was the only AA rider entered in the event. Manin dropped 19 points. good enough for third overall. "I didn't see any snakes or gatorsl" said Martin after sliding past the finish line. "There were no real problems with the course except a couple of bushes. They put you right into the tight stuff. " Tight stuff seemed to be the order of the day. Martin was sporting a deep scratch on his chin, and many other riders that rode with unprotected faces were also wearing cuts and scratches. A problem occurred at the finish line, where many riders were coming in off course to the left of the fmal check. "It was a real worn trail," explained Kawasaki's Jeff Hill. "You went down a hill and then came up again. The