Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Series point-leader Hines powered his KTM 350 to second overall in Iowa, despite a crash during the morning loop. Team Kawasaki 's Jeff Fredette (above) rode his KDX200 to the overall victory in the Rattlesnake 100 Enduro, beating KTM's Kevin Hines. Da ve Bertram suffered a 10%' penalty for losing his score card . Cagiva-mounted Terry Cunningham, riding his first National Enduro since breaking his right leg at Burr Oak in May, finished fourth overall. AMA National Championship Enduro'· Series: Round 9 Fredette shakes Rattlesnake Enduro By Merle Acord WINTERSET, lA, SEPT. 6 Team Kawasaki 's ISDE T rop h y Team member J eff Fredette, ridin g h is backup bike, a Kawasaki KDX200, powered through 122 ground m iles of slick woods trails, deep water and high-speed open pastures to edge Kevin Hines ' KTM 3"0 b . t t :J • Y two minu ~s a th e Des MOInes Enduro RIders 22 M.X.-sponsored Rattlesn ak e 100 En: d uro, Chuck Craig, who sha red route captain duties with Ge ne Mapes, said, " We're runni ng Rattlesn ak e Hi.1I ag ain , o nly th~ s ti m~ w~' re gOIng up th e ~teep s ld~. If It ra ms very mu ch we II be do in g some rerou ting in th e morn in g beca use th e rivers come up rea l fast. The mo rnin g loop is 73.6 mil es and we'll ru n pa rt of the first loop again in th e afternoon. We're stopping the Trail class rid ers af ter 103.6 miles and th e B riders after 119.6. The double As and As run another 30 miles and it will be cont in uo us trails. We mean to tak e points aw ay. The chec ks are placed so th e rid ers will carry th eir points. " Sunday morning all eyes were o n th e sky; it had rained during th e night a nd it was still an a ngry deep purple. The riders had visions of the North Riv er , which they would cross severa l times in th e first section, flowing over th eir handlebars. The visions were close, and on occasion the water level was just below the gas tank, but the major obstacle was the wet grass in the ope n ast ures and th e slick do wn hills. " I didn 't have a ny trouble with the river," said Fredette. " The wat er was deep but th e bouorns were alwa ys hard. I fell down several tim es on the trails a nd that was a concern to me because I had sh ipped m y bike to Poland for the ISDE , bu t worse, I also sen t all my spare parts ahead, so if I broke a n yth ing toda y, I wo uld n' t be abl e to replace it." "At th e no on gas ," said Fredette, " Kevin (H ines) had me by on ly a m in u te a nd I thought that wa s prett y good because I wa sn't pushing it th at ha rd . I didn't want to tak e a chance o n getti ng hurt th is close to the ISD E. But th en I zeroed a bunch of checks a nd was feeling good so I cranked it u p a notch . Then I passed TC (Terr y Cunnin gha m ) in th e last section a nd I knew I was do ing a ll right so I cra n ked it u p a nother no tch ." Surprise entry Cunningham, riding a Cagiva 125, finished fourth overall , nine points off the pace with a score of 52. This was Cu nningham's ' first National enduro since fracturing his right femur at Burr Oak in May. "T he club did a great job of lay-out and th e organization was one of the best, " said Cunningham. " I had a good day and I felt I rod e prett y good. I was on th e minute ahead of Fredette and he ca u~h t and passed me in th e last long section a nd just steadi ly pulled a way. I watched him for quite awhile and that was th e best I have ever seen Fredett e rid e." Team KTM's H ines, a minu te behind Fredette o n 33, wasn't too happy with his ride . " I got caugh t in som e barbed wire in the mornmg loop, " said Hines. ''I'm sti ll no t su re how it happened but the wir e caugh t my front brake lever and caused me to dump on the downhill side. T he bike fell on top of me and I couldn' t get out. I don 't kno w why but th ose things are always happening to me. It was a tough ride and I rode terribly. Bu t, I finished ahead of Bertram, I may have lost this battle but I' m winning th e war." Team Husqvarna's Dave Bertram also had problems in th e morning loop and ca me in from the first loop with a score of 14. " I did a big number a nd lost my headlight, and front fender, and a few points in the first sectio n, " said Bertram. " I was a little.shook-u p for a few miles and d idn't realize until too late that my score card was taped to th e front fender. So I had to tak e a 10%penalty. Tha t dropped me from third overall to seven th . And th e lu ck of th e draw hurt so me, I was o n minute 21 which meant I was br eaking trail. " J eff Russell put hi s T eam Husqvarna 430 through th e 71.8 mile morning loop wi th a 13 minute loss and fini sh ed th e da y with a score of 51 that was go od for third overall. T eam Husqv arna 's Four-Stroke ent ry J eff Irwin , after powering a big 510 th rough th e course with on ly a 56 po int loss, sa id, "T his was one of th e best events I' ve ridden this year. They h ad a lmos t every th i ng wood s, hill s and water, but what impressed me were a cou ple of steep off-ca mber hills. They were in the tigh t woods, an d th e face of the hill was covered with th is sha le roc k and the rai n had ma de it slick. The o nly way it cou ld hav e been wo rse would ha ve been [ 0 try and ride it with a street tire (I DE ecology ). I a lso hit a rock a nd fell down in th e wa ter

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