Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127124
Suzuki-mounted Randy Hawkins was in the hunt for the overall but ran out of gas less than a m ile from the first gas stop. Alligator Enduro Larry Roeseler roosted his Kawasaki KX250 to the overall victory at the Alligator Enduro, edging former Nat'l Enduro champ Dick Burleson. Roeseler burns 'em in 'gator country By Tom Mueller Burleson, now riding a Kawasaki, came close to nabbing the overall but lost out to Roeseler by just one point. DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 3 Kawasaki ' Team Green's Larry Roeseler completed his Daytona Cycle Week triple whammy by dropping eight points and winning the 39th edition ' of the Alligator Enduro. Earlier in the week, Roeseler was second overall and firs t 250cc at the P lan t City . National H are Scrambles, and then topped the Over-Sf) class at the Da~tona. Amateur Supercross. The California desert ace the~ brought the same KX250.to tJ:te Alligator, and It .was ~mc:e agam urne to step into W1.~ner, S circle. . " . Let s g? shoppmg, s~ld R~eseler after toppmg over 400 nders m the compeuuye event. "Mark johnson ( Ka w~sakl Team Green ~anager) promised me a leather coat If I won thi.s thing, and I ~?Ow just what he's gomg to buy me ! The relatively long course - 94.6 miles on the route sheet and 72 actual miles - provided tight woods, deep sand, open trails, and fewer wet areas than in previous years. " Eleven days ago the whole course was under water," said Tom Cambre; a mem ber of the p romo ting club, the Daytona Dirt R iders. "The sun and wind since then has dried it off. T he -T ornoka Consolida ted Land Company owns all the property we run on, and because of them we can lay ou t such a high quality course." As usual, the 'Gator brought o u t a n umber of unique entries. Scott USA rep Bevo Forti returned to defend his Vintage class title with a Bultaco Sherpa, but mec hanical g rem lins b rou g ht the Bu l to a halt ยท in the first woods section. "Most guys get to make up their enduro stories over a 70 mile ru n," said Forti, "and all I got was a couple hundred yards of trai l to work with." Another rider drawing attention was Rodil Cup World Supercross champ Jim Holley, riding a fat-tire Yamaha TW200. "I always wanted to ride the Alligator, and Yamaha gave me this ride. I don 't know how to keep time, but I'll just try to hang out with the guys on my row. " Riders exited the start area, adjacent to Daytona Speedway, and rode a short distance on US 92 before entering the woods. The first three checks were relatively easy for mos t riders to zero, but it was between checks three and four - 20 to 32.4 miles - that even the best dropped most of the day 's points. Most go t back on time by the fifth check, and at 46.1 mi les riders broke clear of the woods for gas. . "These are rea lly neat trai ls," said Roeseler, who dropped one poi nt at check three and seven points at check four. "Some of the spots are sort of messy, but the only way to stay on time was to splash right through. That deep sand really sucks the gas; I ran o ut right befo re the gas sto p, but it didn 't cost me any time." Seven- ti m e National enduro champ Dick Burleson was entered in the Senior A class on a KX250, bu t it was "King Richard " wh o gave