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Dlc:k Burleson continued his quest for title number eight with 8 win In Minnesota. AMA National ChamP-lonshlp- Enduro Series: "'oulldS . Burleson edges Cunningham in North Star Enduro By Doug Frazeur HILL CITY. MN, JUNE 14 Defending National Champion Dick Burleson dropped 18 points in the· muddy IOO-mile North Star National Enduro to take the overall title from Husqvarna teammate Terry 20 Cunningham -- who also lost 18 Arnold, riding a Kawasaki" who took home overall. b t 13 conds afte th -: ya scan se r e i n all, only 31 riders finished the tie-breaker checks were entire run. tabulated. Cunningham lost his It rained in Minnesota and the chain guide roller past the halfway Range Riders M.C. ran their southern point and his chain kept iumping off course. The course was predominantly the sprocket, cauaing him to lose vaJuclay trail and two-track, with rare able time and eventually the overalJ sections of road. After nearly an inch win. Cunningham topped the AA of rain Saturday, more on Saturday class. night, and continual heavy rain on The overall A win went to Sunday. the course became very Husqvarna's Mike Melton with a loss slippery, very rutted, and nearly of 25. In the B ranks it was Jeff impassable for the Briden. Burleson started on minute 20, with Darryl Kuenzer a row behind Dick. But Kuenzer, unable to start, opted to change to minute 36 after repairing his bike. Subsequently, Kuenzer was protested by Terry Cunningham and disqualified. Jack .Penton was slated to start on 22, but was still hurting from a crash the week before. He didn't start. As riders left the line there was a short sprint across a grassy field, then a climb out of a clay ditch and onto a highway. Several riders fell in the ditch, but all eventually made it down the several miles of road to the first check. Jeff Smith, riding a Can-Am he assembled out of parts returned on warranty, came to the check six minutes hot. Suspecting a check, Smith was waiting around the corner when a small boy popped his head from the brush and called, "Hey, dad, here's one over here."' The boy ushered Jeff into the checkpoint and a healthy loss. Despite that, Smith said, "I enjoyed it greatly. It was muddy, just like England." Immediately after the check the trail plunged into woods for several miles and with the section being run again in the opposite direction at the end, it bec!lme very rutted. The soft spots widened out as riden went wide, and in some spots, where the trail became impassable the crew rearrowed to give a slight assist to the later numbers. By the flllt gas. 56 miles out. the AA riders and top A riden were ah~"-d of the Briden. Some riders guessed they could make it to the main gas at 54 miles. They were wrong. Several miles before main gas, the trail was littered with bikes. One very mucky swamp section was followed immediately by a huge slick clay hill. Bikes were stuck in the swamp, they were standing against trees, and they laid on the trail where they fell when they sputtered to a halt part way up the hill. At the main gas stop Burleson tightened up his chain for lack of anything else to do. The latter stages of the run were where the bulk of the AA points were lost. Cunningham zeroed the first emergency check, but when he hit the second, he dropped seven minutes and fifty-four seconds due to the problem with his chain. Cuimingham found the ride very similar to southern Ohio, very enjoyable and very much within his grasp, but for h.is mechanical problem. John Martin dropped 32 points in his second run after injuring his back. John is working hard to regain his conditioning. The Mayo Clinic gave him the OK to ride, but they were not happy about it. Immediately after the run there was a flurry of official activity in the pit area as an inquiry by the Husqvarna team into Kuenzer's number change resulted in a protest lodged by Terry Cunningham. Dan Bergerson, the cou rse referee, accepted the protest and disqualified Kuenzer. Bergerson said, "Darryl understood what the consequences of the number change would be when he did it. When the protest did come in, I had no choice but to uphold it. The rule book is very specific in that area." Suzuki team manager, John Morgan, felt it was an excellent event. He did not appear to be overly concerned that Mike Rosso DNF. Rosso stuck his bike in a gargantuan mudhole 10 miles from the start. After spending several minutes in and about the mudhole, and straIning most if not all of his back muscles, Rosso called it a day. According to Morgan the PE 175 Floaters the enduro team has developed are working well and one of the bikes has been shipped to Japan for analysis. Overall B winner Jeff Arnold dropped 138 points while Craig Harthan won 200cc B with loss of 218, and Dave Severtson dropped 310 points to win the Open B. These were the only three B riders to finish the course. Ken Fruth, the 250cc B champ, houred out on the eighth check. The bulk of the riders recorded five checks and packed it in after the main gas stop, if not slightly before. Fritz Kadlec looked very good winning the 250cc A class with a 54 point loss, and Steve Ellefson was right behind with a 60 point loss. Jim Hernesman, clerk of course, said the ride would have been much easier for the B riders without the rain. He felt the AA riders dropped six or seven more points due to the conditions. • Results OVERALL: Diclc Burlooon CHuo118. AA: Torry Cunninghom IHuol 18. OVERALL A: Miko Mohon IHuoI25. OVERALL B: JeIf AmoId IKawII38. AA: I. Cunninghom; 2. Rondy Monin ISuzl 25; 3. Rondy _ ISuzl 26; •. John Fero !Yam! 26; S. Jolf " ' _ ISuzI 28; 8. Kevin LoVoie (KTMI 31; 7. John Monin IC·A) 32: 8. Vic Ely IKaw) 33; 9. M.k Hyde IKaw)43. 200cc A: 1. Lorry Schwoppoch IKawl 108; 2. Jolf 3. Bruce Kor_ CKawI181; •. Jock _(Yoml240. 2SOcc A: I. Fritz KlIdItlc IC·A) 54; 2. Stew E11e!1on IC-A); 80; 3. Stew RMChke (HuoI 83; •. Scott _ CHuoII25. CHuo!116; S. Jony _ HaalIHonll39; OPEN A: I. _ o.vton lSuzl 120; 3. FonllIinlt (Huo! 100; 2. Richord John _ (Huo! 123; •. L-. _lHuoI222. 200cc B: Craig Hor1hon CSuz) 21 B. OPEN B: Devid _ _ (HonI310. SR: 1.' Dole _ !Yom) 120; 2. Tim Zior.-. OCTMII80; 3. Jony 5_15_1180: •. Jolt Smith lCAl201. .