o
00
~
In his first TlNIm Haky ride, Frank Gallo won the Open I/A cIeaa.
AM.A/ISDT Qualifier Series:
Round two
lAbove) Ed Lojek survived the rain. winning overall by nine seconds (points).
(Below) How often do you see a Harley V-twin lit a Two-Dey?
Lojak leads
Alabama TwoDay survivors
By Gary Van Voorhis
MAPLESVILLE, AL, APR. 12-15
Ed Lojak led a field of 34 survivors out of a 300plus rider starting field to post the best individual score in the Perry Mountain M.e. organized Alabama Two-Day. Husqvama-mounted
Lojak held off Frank Gallo -' in
£
his fi n'd.e lor T earn H usk y ~t
by rune pomts (seconds) 1505 to
1514. Gallo took the Open division
16
win in the combined Letter of Intent
and A class while Lojalr. was the 2S0cc
1/A winner. Yamaha's Ron Ribolzi
took the 17Scc 1/A class.
There were no 12Scc 1/A finishers
and no B class riders finished Day
One. In all, nine gold medals were
earned, starting with Lojalr. and Gallo
followed by KTM's new star Frank
Stacy, with Maico rider Steve Van
~atermeulen and Y.amaha-mounted
RIck M.unyon roundIng out the top
five. Mi!'-e Melton, a~ard a J:luslr.~,
place? SIxth overall trailed by .~lbo~I,
KTM s Rod Bush and SUZukI s MIke
Rosso to round out the gold rush.
Unrelenting rain turned Alabama
red clay into slick, no traction grease
on the trails, ~alr.ing hills .which woul~
~ave been e~lly passable m dry condlliOns, forrmdable roadblocks for one
and all.. Pasture land that was J;lart of
the specIal test became a quagmIre.
Planning on mostly dry weather
when organizing the event, the Perry
Mount~in M.e. ?pted to st~rt Open
class bikes first WIth descending order
to the one-two-fives. That backfired
and Open bikes churned up a sea of
mud and ruu that left the smaller
bikes struggling.
Perhaps the most telling remark. of
the event came from a farmer observing
the fmal test in a steady downpour on
Day Two. He turned to Mike Rosso,
who had finished his run, and asked,
"Yo~: !;>ors sur~ d~, lo~e this, don't
you? It s mY.J0b, saId Rosso. The
farmer shook hIS head.
Day.One
Rain had fallen steadily from midafternoon on Friday and by 7 a.m. key
time the impound area was partially
covered by a ruddy colored sea of
swirling water. Lightning accompanied
by the rumble of thunder did little
to make those who had second
thoughu about starting less doubtCuI. By the end of Day One over 260
of those with doubts and a good many
of those without would be spectating
or dryinK out.
The slowest of three time schedules
was used and club members wc:re in
(Continued to page 18)
