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Terry Cunningh.m collected his second consecutive over.1I w in .t the Buckhorn N.tion.1 Enduro. AMA National Championship Enduro Series: Round six Teatn Husky sweeps Buckhorn National By Jim Bowman OAK RUN , CA, MAY 16 It was Husqvarna teamma tes Terry Cun- ningham, Mike Melton and Mark H yde that claimed first, second and third overall honors today a t the Buckhorn National Enduro. The Buckh orn was the third and last ro und of the National en duros to be held in northern California. Each Nationa l enduro attracts those factory rid er s from a ll over the country who are co m peti ng for previous championship points. Each National enduro also gives the local riders a chance to meast.lte themselves against the nation's tOQ.riders.lt was in consideration for ' is high caliber of competitio n t the Reddin g Dirt Rider s Motor Cl u b designed and hosted wh at be the toughest enduro to be h eld in District 36 this year. The course started on trai l at the bris k speed average of 30 mph. T he tra il began as a roller coas ter ride that weaved arou nd trees as it wound up and down a wooded hi llside. Next was a brief stretch of pavement and th en still tighter trail. All the AA riders lost at least one point in this section: some AA riders and all of the top A riders lost at least two points at the first check. From check one, the course got much tighter and ro ugher. The trail turned and plunged into a series of th ree eye-opening, rock-strewn do wnhills: invariably, there was always a sudden turn at the bottom of each. In between the downhills and immediately following was plenty more tight trail. This trail passed through some beautiful green woods and a number of picturesque creek crossings, but it is doubtful that many of the riders had much time to drink in this beauty. This section, between checks one and two, was the one that took the most points from the riders. Cunningham won the race in this section by being the only rider to drop six points. Melton, Hydeand Kawasaki's Drew Smith dropped seven points in this section, and all ended up in the top five. The hardest hit AA riders in this section were Dirt Bike maga zine's Tom Webb and Suzuki's John Fero, each losing 10 points. Rumor has it that more than a few novice riders were an hour late by the end of the next section . From check two. the riders rode through more of the same terrai n at reduced speed averages. The speed average dropped firs t to 24 mph, then to 2 1 and fina lly to 20 for the n ext 25 miles to gas . At check three, the last before th e riders stopped to refuel. the final sorting of the top 20 riders took place. Cunningham and Mel ton each dropped one point here, and Jeff Fredette earned his fourth overall finish in this section by doing the sam~. Hy de and Cycle Gea r /Nelson Brothers/ H i-Point- sponsored H usky rider Dave Ber tra m were the on ly two riders to drop two points in this section: the rest of the A and AA riders lost three or more points here. It may sound funny to declare the race won when it's but half over, but that was the case today. With the exception of Webb, none of the AA riders lost a point in the second half. Webb wouldn 't have lost a point either, but he got lost just before check six: as it happened, the extra point didn 't affect his place in the top 20. Although hardly any of the AA riders lost a point in the second half, this part of the event was hardly boring. The riders left gas and headed straight into a section called "the rock garden," This section was made up of granite and lava boulders and was situated on a downhill. T he section was rough enough to trip up a number of riders, in cl udin g Cunningham and Can-Am's John Martin, but fai led to make the nation's top riders late to the check at the bottom of th e hil l. The riders left the rock garden and spent the rest of the run traveling over fireroad, trai l and a few creek crossings. The most interesting of these creek crossings was on a bend in a fireroad. It was a small creek with a big log planted there to reduce erosion. As with the rock garden, this log threw its fair share of riders, but some of those were cleaner and better refreshed for it. The finish line was at 100.4 miles and ended the five-and-ahalf hour event. Today 's event was definitely a feather in the cap for Husqvama. Not only did their trio of factory riders sweep the top three places, but Husky support rider Bertram took th e A overall as well. Kevin Hines, another Husky support rider, placed first in the 250cc A class and third overall behind Sierra/Honda-sponsored Jeff Irwin ; Hines accomplished this despite running out of gas three times during the first loo p . That H ines was give n gas by three different enduro riders is a tribute to the attitude of enduro competitors. When as ked if he en joyed the Buckhorn En d uro, H yde sai d, "Each week, so far , [the north ern Ca li forn ia enduros have been] gettin' better out here - except for the dust." Melton agreed: "It's nice to be late [to checkpoints] for a cha nge." Of course, Cunningham was happy about his win and said, "If they make 'em tough, I can do all right," The 1982 Buckhorn National was tough and did challenge the top factory riders that came from a ll over the country to compete here. As all the novice riders rode the same course, it goes without saying that these riders found the co urse a lot tougher than the average enduro. Although th event ran smoothly, referee Mike Vincelli, from th e Redding Dirt Riders. said that the event will be differen next year . If the club again hosts National enduro, the speed aver age will be reduced for the novice riders The Redd ing Dirt Riders appreciat the novice's participation and wan to give each rider the most for hi money. Results TOP TWENTY: 1. Terry Cun ningha m IHusl; 2 M ike M elto n (Hus) ; 3 . M ar k Hyde (Hu sl; 4 . Je Fredette (Suz) ; 5 . Drew Sm it h (Kaw) ; 6. Fr itz Kad le (Kaw) ; 7. O.ve Bert r am (Hus); 8 . Jo hn Mani n (C· A I 9 . Jeff Irwi n IHon ); 10 . John Fero (Suzl; 11. To W ebb (Mail; 12. J ack Pen ton (Kaw); 13 . Kevin Hin e (Hu s); 14 . M att Culli ns (Vaml; 15. Je ff Hen nin (KTM) ; 16 . John Maaker (KTM); 17 . Brian Beat i (Hon l; 18. Grant Palen ske (Mai); 19, Johnnie Beck en (Han); 20 . Dal e W armut h. AA : 1. Terry Cunningham (Husl; 2. M ike M alt a (Hus); 3. M ark Hyde (Hus). 200 A : 1. M att Cullins (Yam) ; 2. Johnnie Beck e (Han). 250 A: 1. Kevin Hines (Hus); 2. Jeff Hennin (KTM). OPEN A : 1. Dave Benram (Hus); 2. Jeff Irwi (Han); 3. John He.aker (KTM).