Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

!SCOTT's ;triple EADer Night time chills, Schreiberized spills, and EI Trial de Espana thrills By Len Weed V.O.T.E.'. Night Stadium Trial LA CRESCENTA, CA, DEC. 12 Carnage. Mayhem. Medic. It made Rollerball look like high tea with lace and rumes. The Superbowl of Motocross promotes their gladiaton at the Coliseum bit, but Andre Plouffe's night trial combined the best, or wont, depending on how you look at it. aspects of the Romans and the Christians as well as the gladiaton and the lions. Make that the gladiaton and the lines, not lions. Lines - as in sections. But what is the hot line over a Ford sedan, a van. or a teeter·totter? Andy Griffith got famous telling us what it was was football. But what Ir.ichd off the ATA's bisgat trials weeIr.end ever was a feet-up ball. The lint annual Night Indoor Outdoor Stadium Trial, presented by Andre Plouffe and V.O.T.E. Andre never did mak~ it clear where the indoor pan came in; the entire trial was outdoon. The trial site was a tumble down a terrace behind the Plouffe residence. A flat piece of land about 100 yards long and 40 yards wide did the job, helped by 1500 wau quartz lights. The 1979 ATA trials champion took his Oat piece of ground and built 10 radical. rowdy, adrenaline-activating 1eCtio... Andre got p1enly of input for organizing the event from his justdown-the-lIU'eet neighbor, Bernie Schreiber. Stadium trials are Bernie's fone, not that winning six of the 12 world championship events on natural terrain in 1980 is exactly chopped liver. Andre also viewed films of Bernie riding and winning the English Kickltan arena trial. That event made the top 10 on tbe telly over in Iimey land. Thus armed, Plouffe fabricated his diabolical dab·getten and machine mangIen. Following the format of the Kidstan Trial, riden were on the dock. lAbovel Scott Head won all three events of the tripleheader. (Right) The night trial was .pectacul8r. 6 piclr.ing up a point a second as they raced around tbe mini.loop. Observation points were added to the time count to determine overall score. Each rider rode two laps. Seventeen staned. The attraction of a weelr.end triple-header drew an impressive number of out-of-area trialsmen. In fact, only six of the 19 stanen were SoCal'en. The othen were home, resting up for the remainder of the weekend. Crash Cooper was in from Indiana. Arizona sent a delegation. SWMI Ossa distributor Ron Saum was accompanied by his wife who rode Sunday. Also along were Dale Eppard, Eric Scheru. Joe Alswonh, and side· hacken Babe and Arlene Sarver. Dave Pyle, Jay Terry, and Kary Krahel were down from Oregon. Nonhern California was represented by Keith McLaughlin. Tony Leduc and G~ry Hoover. The sections were unusual, to say the least. A quid stroll around the loop found the following: Section one - Up a teeter-touer, turn right, and climb a 5 ~ foot tall steel bridge. This one was a gimmee. Only one dab was dropped all evening. Section two - Over a massive industrial tractor tire planted venically in the ground. On top a rider was IooIting at about a four foot dab down to ground level. The ride down the tire led to a jumble of automotive tires, then a foot and a half tall step up to another vertically planted super tire. Number two was cleaned twice, by Scott Head and Oli Thordanon. Section three - Over a log to a teeter-totter that immediately delivered the rider to another log step, about 1 ~ feet tall. Plouffe had the onlyclean.. ." I." '.t.r",_, ~ l . J ' . . Section four - Your basic frontal assault on a Ford sedan. Dave Pyle and Denny Wolfe got the only cleans. Section five - Drop off the trunk of the Ford and circle around for another go, this time from the side. Scott Head scored the only clean. Section six - A 12 foot trip along a plank three inches wide. Section seven - Ride straight up the bad of a van. along the top, and drop off the front. No one cleaned the van. Plouffe, Krahel. Head. and McLaughlin one'd it. Section eight - Bunny hop over four rods elevated three. six, nine and 18 inches above the ground. Hopping the ftrllt rod gave the rider a three. Each successive success deducted another point. No one cleaned all four rods. Dale Eppard and Tony Leduc were the only ones to malr.e the first three. Section nine - The pyramids. Three triangular skids placed about one and a half bike lengths apan. Section 10 - A double-tiered stack of oil drums. the second tier about 5 ~ feet above the ground. Trialmaster Plouffe came up with the lowest score on observation on both loops. He dropped lion the fint circuit to Scott Head's 14. Denny Wolfe's 24 was third best. Denny endo'd as he cleaned the final section, the oil drums, and DNFd his bee. Plouffe again undencored Head by three points on the second loop, 14 to 17, as Kary Krahel turned in the third best score with a 25. Head, the 1980 ATA champion smoked everybody on time using some fancy sliding as he dashed bad and fonh to the sections. Scott topped Andre by an overall total of 26 points, but Plouffe disqualified himself from the trophies, moving everyone else up a nOlch. Observation scores ranged from Plouffe's low of 25 to a high of 72. Head had the quickest time for the two laps - 169 seconds. The slowest rider fmished with 502. Band-aids and spare parts were the order of the day. Crash Cooper dinged his leg. Dave Pyle had already injured a limb practicing for the trial. Jay Terry DNFd spectacularly, canwheeling his bike and shrapneling his throtde assembly. Well over 100 spectaton crowded along the terrace overlooking the com· petition course. Boyd Bernard of Burbank Yamaha handled the P.A. chores ably. Afterward, a number of door prizes donated by PJI. Nisco. Spon Traclr.s. Graydon. and Italjet USA were Kiven out. Winner Head. riding a Bay Area Bultaco. probably hit the nail right on the head when he said. "This is fantastic. It's the future of trials. There were people here watching and someday that can mean money and a professional spon." Stadium trials. like stadium motocross, does offer a complete show in a compact area with thrills, chills. and spills. It is already rolling in Europe and could eenainly offer an opponunily to lure and hold promising riden if it does catch on over here. Daytona Speed Week will see another stadium type trial in March. Plans for the or· ganization of a professional series are currently in the development stages. The Plouffe/V.O.T.E. star-lighter provided a stimulating kickoff for the weekend. Or. as Dave Pyle gleefully called it, "a real kick in the butt." Results PLOUFFE STADIUM TRIAlS: 1. Sa>lt . - (Bull 200; 2. IloIe e-d CMonl 2IiO; 3. Keith McLoughlin lIIuII 254; 4. Dow Pyle (Bull 288; 5. Eric Shortz CSWMI 291; 8. S _ - . . . t8uIl299; 7. T""" leduc tMonl 319; CrIIh lIIuII 319; 9. lion S - CSWMI 321; 10. Aid< SpruoI CMonl:M6; 11. 0Ii ~ a e- tMonl345; 12. ~ ~ lIIuII358; 13. Joe _ CSWMI370: 14. DorricIt . . . - tMonl418; IS. Donny ,~"'PNf:.I5.""'T....,.lft1cInIONF" .".

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