Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

AMA National Enduro Series: Round one Roeseler wins first National in Chaparrals Coyote Derby - o By Ed Regehr RED MOUNTAI N, CA, FEB. 21 ~ Once again, the top enduro riders in the country headed west to the sunshine, dust, and rocks of the California desert, for the opening round of the AMA National Championship Enduro 'series. Winding through the rocks 1O the top slot, with a score of 4/58, was one of southern Californ ia 's p rem ier off-road racers, Yamaha-sponsored Larry Roesel er. This was La rr y' s first Na tio na l win, an d h ad h e n o t burned ch eck N on the third loop, would have co m p letely lapped th e field. H is special test sco res were a o ne o n th e second loop, a n d a one o n th e th ird lo o p . Just missing o ut o n th e overa ll win, wa s Dirt Biker /O ' NeaI/Hu skysponsored Tom Webb. with a score of 4/ 135. Tom is o ne o f th e honest enduro ri ders in the desert, right now, with fo ur overalls out of the last seve n dis trict eve n ts. and a second overa ll beh ind Terry Cu n ni ngham in the Ch eck p oint 's National. H is special lest sco res were two o n the second loop, a nd a two o n the th ird loo p . Ro un din g OUI the top 10 overall, but n ot i n o rder, wer e Hu sk ys po nso re d Ri c k M un y o n (6), Kawasaki -sponsored Fr itz Kadl ec (6), Cycle G ear/Hi -P oin t/Nels on Bros. Hu sky-sponsored David Bertram (6), T ri -Va lley Honda-sponsored George H endrix (6), Kawas aki-sponsored Drew Smith (7), Can-Am-sponsored John Martin (9), J&K Cycle Inn/Sier ra Products/Honda -sponsor ed J eff Irwin (9) , a n d KTM - sp on sore d D ar yl Kuenzer (10). In th e A ranks, n orth ern Ca lifornia riders dominat ed th e Open class. with Bertra m laking th e win, follo wed by H endrix , a n d Irwin (9). T he 250cc win we nt to Simpson / Roost Factory/ Harry D. Fos ter Ya m aha-sponso red Cordon Smith (13), an d An swer Products/R]R Maico-sponsor ed Mark Cook (14). Cont inuing h is win nin g ways in th e 200cc class was Yamahamounted Bill Fullmer , J r. (10), follo wed by Yamaha-m o un ted northern Ca lfiornia ri de r Matt Cullins ( I I), and Kawasaki -mounted J oe Bonnello (16). Current number one Senior, Yam aha-mou nt ed R on Fry (23) edged OUI Curt Horst (26) fo r th e w in . with th ird going to Honda-m ounted Mike Sterl in g (38). 1982 Parker 400 winner, H i-Poinl / AI Baker -sponsored Bob Balent in e (II ), put in a fin e rid e co n sideri ng h e does not compete in man y timekeeping events, thumping his wa y 10 th e Four-Stroke.wi n . Other en d uro riders contesting this even t, were Suzuki-sponsored Jeff Fredette ( 12) a n d J ohn Fero (13) aboard 175s. Husk y' s Mike Melt on ( I I) a nd Mark H yd e ( 15) had fin e rid es going, until abou t five mi les from the fin ish . wh en th ey burned r herk 0 oy tw o mi runes. H us ky's Terry Cunningha m crashe d hard and dropped 12 poin ts. 1)-,17O pen cham p, Gram Pal en sk e ( I I) h ad h is rid e rui ned wh en he burned check 0 by IwO minutes, wh ile 0-37 number o ne 250cc: Garner Palenske. was forced 10 retire, after the seco nd loop, due to stomach sickn ess. Many top off-road racers ' rode thi s even t. including Husky', Bren t \Val lingsford and Scot H arden , Yamaha 's Br uce O g ilv ie and Chuck Mill er. Husky-m ounted Morris Norman . a nd Yamaha-m ounted Chip H o well. In the ' B ranks, R ick Daniel kept u p h is wi nning ways. baggi n g the 250cc class, with a sco re of 12. Also cardi ng a 12, was the 200cc class wi n ner. Kurt Bu tl er. The O pen class wi n we nt to Ken Ra msey (13). with th e Senior w in goi ng to Ross Termi n (24). The course consisted of three loops, w ith the 44-mi le firs t loo p for a ll riders. the 45-mile seco nd loo p . and the 50-mi le third loop for AA's. A's, and B's on ly. The first row of riders left th e sta rt lin e under clear skies an d warm tern peratures at 8:01 and headed no rth from the pi ts o n a whoopedou t trail , before p ick ing up a rocky uph ill a nd do wnh ill section, a few m iles o u t, T he course con tin ued down a whooped-o u t sa n d was h, before reaching the ro ll i ng hill s sec tio n overl ookin g Ridgecrest , L eaving th e Ridg ecrest area, th e co urse got a littl e roc ky th e rest of th e way 10 th e fini sh o f rh e lo o p . T he s peed ave rages swi tched back and forth be lween 24 a n d 30 mph every few mil es. Most AA's, A's. a nd B's h ad 10 hustle on th is loop. bUI a zero was still accomp lis hed by most of th e top riders. l\Iall ) C I idt'1> tho ugh t that the loop was a bit 100 roc ky, bUI they shou ld have expected it, si nce th is event was a Na tional. T a kin g th e C overa ll a nd Fou r-stroke w in, was Bern ie Ech terl in g , w ith a scorel o f IWO. T hane Ri vers ca rded a three, giv in g h im rhe Open win . wh ile J~ ck Si merman (4) look 250cc hon ors. a n d Tom Wilhel m (4) screa me d to Ihe,200 win. The Seni or win went to Do n Nel son (5), with Dan a Bell (16) pu tti ng in a fine rid e for th e Woma n B wi n . a n d Debb ie New la n d (I II) thumpin g her XR200 to th e Woman C gold. After 10minu tes for gas a nd repairs, th e rid ers h eaded west , up a n d down a ser ies of hills. T hese em p tie d into a cros s co u m ry trail rh at crossed Fiddl er 's Gulch a n d Hwy. 395. Th e coures continued, going up the hill used for th e sta rt of Checkpoint' s even t la sI year, th en picked up th e fir er oad used by CEA, a co u p le o f yea rs ago. The speed average was 24 mph through th ese sectio ns . A few miles lat er . i t was specia l test tim e. Th e specia l test was in th e Rand Mounta ins, a nd co ns isled of righ t, twi st y sa nd washes with rock d rop-off's . It was fo ur m iles long a t a speed o f 30 mph . T he best score '. by a ny o ne was a o ne. with mo st riders Larry Roeseler won his first National enduro on his VZ490. cardi ng a Iwo, After a specia l test, th e course beca me shale a nd ro ll ing hill s. A seve n minute reset was locat ed in thi s section. T he roll in g hill s turned into a sa nd wash th at led th e ri ders o u t into Fr emont Valley. T he co u rse th en crossed Hw y. 395. and was basica lly rock field s, a l30 m ph , th e rest of th e way 10 th e loop 's finish . The riders had to h ustl e to mak e the finis h o n time. The best score a t rh e end of two loops was a one. wi th IwO being the average. a nd many top ri ders do wn q uill' a lo t more. due 10 bu rned checks. Timekeeping was essential in th is event. After a 20-mi n me res t pe riod, the riders, once again . headed north in a sandwash, befo re p ic ki ng up th e rollers tha t para llel T rona Rd. T h is section was a bo ut eig h t m iles lun g, a t a speed o f 24 m ph. A: the en d o f this section, and righ t o n the o the r side o f Trona Rd .. was a reset. It was now time for the special test o n th is loop. The special test wa s 16 mil es long at a speed of 30 mph., a n d co ns isted of ver y tight trail in th e sa n d hills, wi th co ntinous hard left a n d ha rd ri gh t tu rns. T he best score in th is test wa s a o ne, turn ed in by R oeseler. After th e specia l tes t, th e riders got back o n lim e a t a 13-minule reset , befor e con tin ui ng o n a very right o ne bike tr ail , a t 15 mph. After th e tight trail , the co urse p icked u p th e roll in g hill s and ridges a t th e top o f th e sa n d h ill s, at a speed of 24 mph , before fI ying down a ver y steep a nd loose h ill. A few m iles down th e trai l was a six m in u te reset. Fo llowi ng th e rese t, the riders flew through th e ro llers at th e base of th e sand h ill s, a t 30 mph, the n tu rned left o n to a road. Snea ky check 0 was loca ted j us t ove r a ri se o n the road. a nd PUI many riders OUI of th e ru n n ing whe n they bu rn ed it, T his check was protested by Grant Pal en ske, Mike Melt on, a nd Mark H yde. T his forced th e club 10 rerneasure sec tio n 's mil ea ge w ith th e bik e th at set up th e loop. T he m ileage wa s 50 feel inside th e a llowa ble o ne- ten th of a m ile. After this check, wa s a rese t, and it wa s onl y a half m ile from th e fi nish . N eedl ess 10 say, m ost riders were o n lime to the finish. Mo st of th e riders had favorab le co m me n ts o n th e event. Marking was good. m ileage was rig h t o n, terrai n was va ried. but not that tough, a nd speed averages changed co nstan tly. T he Chaparra ls had a 101 of tricky checks, tha t were burn ed by ma ny top riders. • Unofficial Results OVERALL: I . Lar ry Roeseler (415 8~ AA: 1. Tom W ebb (4 / 1 3 5~ 2. Rid< Munyon (6/1 00). A Open: I . DavKI8ertram (61 2. George Hendri x( 6); ; . 3. Jeff Irwin (91 250: I . M ike Garren (12 ~ 2. Go

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