Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Kwin Hine. rode his KTM to top the AA cl...; Hine. we. second overall, just one point out of first piKe. (Above) Terry Cunningham came through the woods to win the Buck..,. 150. (Below) Owe Bertr.m w .. second AA rider. ANA National C .....Ion....p Enduro SerIes: Round 5 , .C. tops Buckeye 150 By Raymond M. McCoy ATHENS, OH, MAY II Two-time National Champion Terry Cunningham was on the main jet in southeast Ohio and found himself overall winner in the Athens Motorcycle Club Buckeye 150. Cunningham's 27-point victory over Kevin Hines' 28-point finish was a neat recovery from last week's 16th place finish be.28__ b~(U:Jil}es' f~t. ~un.njl)g!F!f!1 ~.sn:t . without his problems. "I had quite a few problems with slower riders, crashed several times in the afternoon from lack of concentration and the trails got pretty dusty," said CunninKham. He had to alter his game plan slightly after crashing several times in one section. "I had to slow down. I had Hines beat by three points in the morning and I didn't want to throw it away." . Hines, on the other hand, did exaaIy as he hoped to. "I need a smart ride, I've got a good cushion of points now and I know there are some preuy fast riders down here, I'll settle [or a placing to get more points." The sponsoring Athens club gamb.Ied on past clear, sunny weather conditions to layout a challenging ride and it paid ofL At sunrise the skies were clear, turning a cool, damp morning into a dry, hot day. The morning loop provided the starters with a section of 20 continuous miles of woods with one check in the middle and an emergency check to end the stretch. After the first loop the trail led back to the club grounds [or a 20-minute layover which most riders used to get back on time. The afternoon loop was more o[ the same, ending the ride several miles [rom the club. Wally Wilson wrapped up the ride like this, "It was easy, then they kicked our butts, then it was real easy, then they really kicked our bultS, then it was easy and then they kicked out butts all over again." Slipping into third overall and second in the AA ranks was Dave Bertram. His !lO-point ride reflects his attitude. "I'm just riding along, it's alot of fun. I've made a few mistakes o[ my own, but in a run that has as much virgin trail as this it's hard not to make mistakes." Most o[ the riders agreed that the new virgin seaions accomplished their goals of creating a national-caliber ride while adding new and fun ridin~. Can-Am's Hare Scrambles Champ.lon, Johnny Martin expressed sioular thoughts on his !I!I-pomt ride, "It was a good ride! it wasn't il cake walk. They got alot of tricky stull out there in those woods. The tighter that stuff is the better I ride." Husqvarna's newest addition, Jeff Russell, struggled through the morning without any goggles and later lost the trail, which set him back six points in that seaion. "I like to got my eyes beat out in the virgin 'trail without my goggles. J feel pretty good, I'm just not getting any breaks." Russell overcame his handicap to finish with 40 points, seventh in the AA ranks, just one point ahead of a recovering Mike Melton. A mending broken hip and twisted knee brought Melton out to just get some riding time in. '"I'm not going very fast," he said. "I just got to get some time back in the saddle, not worry about anyone else, just trying to do the best I can." Breaking into the top 10 and capturing the high point A title was local rider Carl Altier on a Honda, with 41 points. "I thought I did terrible. The bike was great, I just hung on and it pulled me through," commerued Altier. Altier's score was equal to that o[ Jeff Fredette's with the emergency checks doing their job, giving Altier the nod. Fredette's Kawasaki suffered from braking problems. "First the rear brakes deteriorated, then I bent the disk up front and after I had a chance to fix them before the second . gas, then they began to grab in the afternoon," explained Fredette. Filling in first place in aU the A classes were all hometown riders. Thrashing his KTM through the morning loop produced two flat rear tires for Mike Frazee but it didn't keep him from taking the top honors in the Open A class. "Those flats hurt me in a couple of checks, but I'm happy right now. There's nothing I can do about flat tires," said Frazee. Totally dominating the 250cc A class was young Scott Plessinger, whose 49-point score on board a Yamaha turned out to be only his second enduro ever. Dwight Rudder persuaded his beat-up Kawasaki back to the dub for a 55-point [in ish, enough to better everyone else in the 200cc A class and garnish first place. "I got the flat, then I crashed. I dropped three dummy points at the end trying to fix the flat and didn't even do it," grumbled Rudder. Putting in an exceptionally fine ride to capture the high point B victory was Adam Cadle. His 59-point score not only was much better than a lot of the A riders, but also moved him right into those hotly contended ranks. Results OVERALL: 1. Teny C............... I_I27 ... AA: 1. ~n H'" (KTM} 28; 2. David IIernm lHusl 30; 3. John Menin (C-Al33; 4. Il8ndI' _kina(Hua'35; 5. MIUT_t_,38; 8. GeryJohnaIOn (Hual.; 7. Jd R_CHua' ~ 8. (TIE}Jd _ lK8wVMIU Mellon (Hua}41. HI PT A: 1. Carl Alt.... lHon141. OPEN A: 1. MIU Fr_ (KlM) 45; 2. Wally Wilson (Hua) 48; 3. TImolhy _ I (C-A) 63. 250 A: 1. SCon Plnal_ (Yernl 49; 2. Gellie W8td (HonI57; 3. MIU Sc:hoII(Hon) 80. 200 A: 1. Dwltht R _ CKawI 55: 2. Mervin Buttricl< (Yeml 83; 3. Jd Hupp (Hanl 88. HI PT 8: 1. Adam ~ (Hon) 59. OPEN B: 1. Ba"yGe.on (Hual 119; 2. Me,.,.,.1Iay (KTM) 79; 3. Wayne ~ (Hua) 87. 250 B: 1. ViclDr Ctine (Hua, 84: 2. Brae T_ie (Hon) 83: 3. Carl John-. (KTMI 115. 200 B: 1. Dowl Plcbrton (Yam! 85: 2. Jam. . White (KawI8&; Jim GiAtlllin 90. 4-STRK: 1. Chuck Deily (Hanl 82; 2. Gery Whia....n (Hua) 154; 3. Ge«ge S"",I_ (Han' 174. SR: 1. 8i11 Moroz (Hua) 2. G _ DeVeny (Hual 80: 3. Dicl< Nalle (Huel 81. SUP SR: t. Leone Smith (Yamll04: 2. Richerd Lencwer (Kewl 108; 3. Ge«ge T _ (KewI 150. n;