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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126633
(Top left) Ro n Ribolzi ce lebrated hi s first National w in after a tough event, (Above) Terry Cunningham spl ashed hi s way to second while John Martin (left) tore t hrough the trees for t hird . AMA National Championship Enduro Series: Round 3 Ribolzi tops Bonner Creek • survivors By Dan McCauley ENON, LA , MAR. 20 " I can 't believe I wo n," sa id Husqva rna Support rider R on Ribolzi after his victory in the 125-mile Bonner Creek National Endu ro. T h e win was the first for R ibolzi in National competition. S ~ea~ c:rossin~s. swollen by heavy ram Just p~lOr to the start•.deomated rhe.Iield.; 1 with only 18 of the 250 starters going the entire d istance. _~~ .err Cunnlnglta. , H usqvam a) defen d in g Na tional Cha mpion , and Ca n-Am's J ohn Marr in pl aced seco nd a nd third overa ll , resp ectiv ely . H ow to ugh wa s it ? Ribolzi 's winning score was 56, with Cunningham losing 62 and Martin another five points orr th e pace. Onl y eigh t finishers had sco res under 100. The High Po in t A win went to another Husky Support rid er , Terry Seales. The New Orleans Enduro Association under th e direction of president Chris Rodeman, put out a stro n g effort to provide riders wi th a top notch run . They even went as far as to lay o u t a three mile practice loop. While trail conditions wer e ideal on Saturday, Sunday morning brought heavy rains which continued past sta rting time until what wou ld hav e been arrival time at the first gas stop so me 40 miles out. A large portion o f th e entry wat ered out in str eam crossings, boggy ar ea s and low lyin g , wat er-covered terrain before th e gas sto p . Runnin g out of g a s co s t Jeff Fredette, David Bertram and Cunningham tim e before reaching the ga s slOQ,J.n i!IJJ.u-ll oY _t2.riger.s.I!t;.Ige u, l;r to the stop without serio us problem s. A re-set a t th e sto p wasn't en o ugh to put th e m ajority back o n time. Ribolzi a nd four other riders were th e on ly o ne s 10 leav e th e sto p still on lime. Basic survival was now the name of th e game. The rain had stopped and from th ere to the end, th e trails got progressivel y beuer. However, that didn't matter for Mark H yde, Fritz Kadl ec and John Fero. All three ended th eir da y in the first section. H yde en doed hi s Husky in a creek . drowned out the engine and then houred out before the first check. Kadl ec's fate was much the same. although his engine seized due 10 the ingestion of so much water. Although few B and Senior clas s riders remained, the run was over for them at 75 mi les . The AA and A class riders still had a good distance 10 go. SERA AA rider Darryl Bell, who started on the eighth minute, was the first rider to the second gas stop, Mike Melton, th e leader in th e series point standings arr ived next . He had started on row 24. Melton had lo st a good deal of time after drowning out in the fi.!.S.t2.eftion. Cunningham• .Martin