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Second overall went to John Martin. A slim 10 seconds separated Martin and Melton. National Enduro Champion Mike Melton felt at home on the sand and took the overall win. Alligator Enduro . Melton pins the Gator By Suzi Mingo Photos by Tom Kolnowski DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 8 Team Husqvarna's Mike Melton wrestled the legendary Alligator Enduro for 64.1 grueling miles and came up with a 10second victory over Can-Am's John .Martin. Both AA entrants dropped II points with Melton losing I . '3 d I minute, 0 secon s at the one tiebreaker check to Martin's I 20 minute, 40 seconds. Husqvarna/Malcolm Smith/Smith Goggles/Bel-Ray/Dunlop/Paul Hines Racing-sponsored Kevin Hines was third overall with 16 points dropped. Floridian Mark Stevens and 8-time National Enduro Champion Dick Burleson each lost 20 points, but Stevens finished founh overall after the tiebreaker was figured in. Stevens, wh~ rec.eives suppon from Huskyaf.ldHl-POl~tRaangProducts, also recelved the Hlgh POint A award. It was Mellon's first ride in the Alligator Enduro, and he said, "It was really easy in places--a lot of timekeeping-- and then when they did put you in the woods, they kept you there for a little while. They ran you through a lotofthose palmeuos, which could be tricky." Melton also said he lost the trail once and had to pick his way through tight trees and stumps to get back on course. Numerous other riders re- I Kevin Hines splashes through one of the few wet sections in the 35th running of the event. poned the same problem, including 200cc A winner Gray Leonard, who said, "I got lost one time between the second and third checks, and that probably cost me about two minutes right there. I thought the trails and all were great, but they could have had a few more checks going into the woods." The Jones Goggles/Wayne Cycle of Hudson, North Carolinasponsored Can-Am rider finished sixth overall in his second Alligator outing. The 35th Annual Alligator Enduro was masterminded by the Daytona 200 M.e., with course layout and sweeping provided by the Daytona Dirt Riders, a Florida Trail Riders Association club. Daytona 200 M.C. president Jerry Strange said the 1984 edition failed to attract the big-name sponsorships of past years. "The club itself footed the bill for everything," Strange said. However, the club did receive assistance from local sponsors, including Daytona Sport Center, Cycle Goodies and Cycle Accessories. Perfect riding weather greeted tbe nearly 300 entrants: temperatures in the mid-sixties, blue skies and balmy breezes. The first group of five riders motored off at 9:01 a.m., with the last row departing 58 minutes later. There were only four AA entrants: Martin on tbe 20th row, Melton on 22, Burleson on 24, and Hines on 26. The route sheet showed a course mileage of 78.8 miles, including four resets. The entire distance was run at a 24 mph average. Along the way, riders encountered everything the Alligator is famousand infamous--for, Including a couple of tight tree sections, lots of mud and palmeuos, and one long expanse of water underpinned by chain link fencing. There was a 15-minute layover at the gas stop, which put Burleson back on time after he ran out of gas on his 500cc Husky Automatic and dropped eight minutes at the tiebreaker check. He called it, "One of the beuercourses--beuer marked, more woods. The checkpoints were in the right places. It was fun." Can-Am's Geoff Ballard of Australia started on the sixth minute but soon broke his pacer, so he followed Martin after the gas stop "to get some experience in enduro riding." Ballard added, ''I'll be living in a slide-in camper for the next eight months and ·riding the National enduros, National hare scrambles andiSDEQuaLifiers.