Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

a: w GO EARL.Y! 11. 11. ::::; U ...J ::J ~ >- III IT'S 5 :I: 11. NIGHT! FRIDAY May 8,1987 .O.C. Fairgrounds. Costa Mesa, California Jack Lafferty. Jr.• winds his Husky through a "stick farm" on his way to the overall victory at the Curly Fern Enduro in New Jersey. Lafferty nabs Curly Fern Enduro By Paul Clipper/ Trail Rider Magazine WARREN GROVE. NJ. MAR. 29 Jack Lafferty Jr. kept his Husqvarna 250WR's throttle open long enough to nail down the overall win at the South Jersey Enduro Rider's annual Curly Fern Enduro by one second over Yamaha rider Kevin Bennett. They both dropped 13 points. and Sc;rub Pine wi~ner Bruce Dengler failed to make It a three-way tie by one point. droppin~ 14 for second in the AA class on hIS Honda. ISDE hopeful Marty Baldwin rode another Honda to match Dengler's 14, and fu.at was good enough for the A class wIn. Mike Kopie, the High Point B rider at the season-opening Scrub Pine Enduro, led the 345 Curly Fern entrants into the woods - he started on minute "one" - and that's the last anyone saw of him until the gas stops! Kopie took the B overall at the Curly Fern as well. dropping 18 points on his KTM along the way - and at least two.of those points were burn points! Kevin Smith rode a Husky to the High Point C dropping 30 points. ' The run started out like the perfect enduro. The riders cruised down the road to a reset at 3.4, and then hit the first check just four-tenths later. Most of the more excited riders were "burned" here, and the check appeared to be a check-in, but the tig~t section that followed was just a little warm-up before 15 miles of hare scrambles-type terrain - all firecut, sand road and dirt road that was perfect Conoasting engines I New York rider Roger Kellv found out the hard way that his KTM's jetting was too lean, and came in to the first gas in the back oC a truck. It wasn't until about 15 miles out that the riders saw their first tight section -:- three miles long, and a perfect stIck farm I There was no way to get through it gracefully unless you were one of those dozen or so riders who don't even notice trees. The good guys only dropped a point here. The guys who won zeroed itl The second loop started out with some excellent firecut riding and more fun, smooth trail, but it was obvious the pace was increasing. Before long, the good old tight Jersey trails closed in, and the last 20 mile were a definite grind - a real workout for the top riders, and an absolute nightmare for the Bs and C . The tight trails eemed endless the sand just got deeper, and the late; numbers found whoop-de-doos that felt chest-deep in spots. If you didn't have some sort of knuckle protection ~n your bi.!'-e you were hurting big ume, and It never let up until the second gas on Savoy Road. But at Savoy Road it not only let up, it just about stopped. After a 30minute layover the course crossed through the woods and back out to Route 72, and then a strai~ht shot back to the finish. It was a surprisingly anti-climactic finish to this classic enduro. • Results G/CHP: 1. Jacl< Lafferty Jr. (Hus). HIP A: 1. Marty Baldwin (Hon). HIP B: 1. Mika Kopia (KTM). HIP C: 1. Kevin Smith (Hus). TEAM: 1. Tri Counly Sportsman. AA: 1. KOYin Bennett (Yam~ 2. BRuca Denglar (Hon); 3. Brian Blanchard (Hus); 4. Draw Smith (Han); 5. Mike McHale (Hon). A LIW: 1. Lew Char_rth (Yam); 2. Mike Maresca (Hon); 3. James Mitchell (Han); 4. Tom Phillips (KTM); 5. James K.....er (Kaw). A MEDI.LIW: 1. Paul Spampanato (Kaw~ 2. Pate Wetzel (Kaw); 3. Dave Burnett (Yam~ 4. Mark Gaertner (~ 5. Shin _ i n (Kaw). A MED/W: 1. John Roeske (Kawl; 2. Mike Borelli (Suz~ 3. Mike Hoover (KTM~ 4. Stan Hodgson (KTM); 5. Richard Mollenkopf (Yam). A H/W: 1. Bob Deveney; 2. Dale Freitas (Hus); 3. Ken Taylor (Hus); 4. Danny Sc:ottan (Hus); 5. Bob Bucl

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