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/127253
~. ENDVR0 40th Annual Alligator Enduro ~ Open A class winner Charles Halcomb (left) and 250cc A class winner Jan Hrehor (righ t), from Czech oslovakia, flank overal1 Alligator.winner Randy Hawkins. Hawkins wins in 'Gator country . . By Tom MuelIer . DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 7 . Facto ry ' Yamaha YZ250WR rider Jeff Russell, from Ohio, was in co nten tion for the overall win, but slipped down to seven th pl ace at the finish . Team G reen's Kurt Hough (shown) battled with Russel1 all day long but came up one point short. Hough had to settle for eighth overal1 at the Alligator. 28 SUZUki factory enduro rider Randy H awkins topped 420 riders a t the 40th An n ual Alli gator En duro. H a wk i ns , ' t he defendi n g AMA Na tio na l End uro Champio n , je tted to H igh Point honors with a cu m u la tive seven ' po in ts, beating H onda ri der Kevin Bennett by less th an 10 seconds, via a tie-breaker ch eck. . . " T his was typ ical Alliga tor - .a lot of fun a nd safe to ride," said H awki ns, who rides a RMX250. "Winn in g at the Alligator is a big addition .to m y rid in g seaso n . It 's the right way ' to start your year!" Contrary to many p revious even ts, this year's 'Gator provided a sh ort, dry a nd fast course. La nd restricti ons gav e the hosting Da ytona Dirt R iders M.e. less terrain to wo rk wi th , and actual mileage totalled a mere 55 miles. No netheless, a ll riders added a str ong round of applause to show apprecia tion for the opportunity to rid e: "We're riding on Georgia Pacific la nd, and it has been closed to p ublic riding. They' re opening it to u s specifically for our enduro use," said club member Joe VanSeeters. . Riders left the tradi tional Alligator start area, a nd were set on a 24 mph:ยท pace for the entire event. A short jaunt up U.S. 92 sho t riders onto back roads, jeep trails, and into th e woods. Road cross ings at 2.3 miles a nd 9.2 mi les were th e o nly points in the course where knobbies met asp ha lt. Riders go t to churn it up through abb reviated water sectio ns at m il es 1315; 56:59, and 61-62. 'T he 'Ga tor gas stop was set a t 49.6 . miles, where a reset to 55.9 ga ve those on time time enough for a quick lunch break . Talen ted riders zipped th rough th e first three checks on cruise co n trol, but it was the sections into checks four and five th at kept everyone fighting to keep time. ' . " Wowl There was eight or nine miles of stuff that got really tight. A big Husky started with us, and he must a have really had a time," said Kenny Boyd, who broke trail to gas with fell ow Kawasaki ri der St eve Hil l. "T hose palmettos ca n be killers !" T eam Ya maha's :Jeff Russell was showi ng six points lo st a t ga s, one of the top scor es in th e field. " T he th ick brush a nd palme tto leaves make it hard to read the trail," said Russell . " Yo u come up on a rid er real fast, a nd you can' t find a way around until he moves aside. I' m fro m Ohio and I know how to ride mud, but they haven 't thrown much of it at us today. By the looks of the ro ute sheet, our mileage 'to ga s is pretty much the race." After gas, lead ride rs motored into virg in territory. The next section was . a fresh cu t area th at was marked the morning of the even t. Clandestine st um ps were part of that area, and tha t's th e making of gr eat enduro tales . " J us t look a t my foot, how about tha t!" said Robbie Neeley, an ex-pro MXer who's now on the trails wi th T eam Green. "I hit so me th ing so hard it tore the buckles rig ht off m y boot. J us t before tha t a vine caug ht me a t th e th roat, and I ha d to throw the bike away. It was so th ick in some sections you had to ge t way up on your pegs just to see the rou te arrows. There were a bunch of p laces where they could have th rown some ex tra checks a t us, but the resets go t us back o n time." Florida T rail Riders hotshoe Kenny Keylon was also on a AA pace, but admitted the Alligator didn 't co m p leme n t his ri di ng sty le. ''I' m likin ' it, bu t it' s ti gh t ou t th ere, and I'm an op en cou ntry man," said Keylon. " In har e scra mble s I can get ahead , but wh en it ope ns up in the All igator, everyone can go 24 m iles-p er-ho ur. " Riders started ro lli ng in to the finish area a t 12:50 p .m., less than four ho urs af ter the 9:01 key time. Making a quick climb to the top of the leader boards whe Team Green's Jeff Fredette and Yamaha's Russell , both showing a six.