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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LOCAL EVENTS Jimmy Lewis scored the overall win at the Coyote Derby Enduro nea r Ridgecrest. Best in the West Series: Round 3 Lewis traps Coyote Derby Enduro win By Anne and Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren RIDGECREST, CA, M 3 AR. TM 's J immy Lewis topped a field of more th an 300 end uro riders to score the overa ll win at the 21st Annual Co yo te Derb y En duro a t T eagle Wash. Lew is completed th e fast-paced 120mile event with two minutes and 48 seconds in pe na lties, edg ing runnerup Tom Webb out of the number one spot by just 15 seconds. '.'We were pretty close go ing in to the las t loo p, " said Lewis. " I was hop ing it would get tougher and spread u s out, bu t it stayed fairly easy." The Chaparra ls M.C.-sp onsored event was the first enduro in this year's Best in th e West Series. A large number of AMAIDistrict 37 desert racers joined . the regu lar en d uro fi eld a nd the promise of a dust-free rid e after two days of rain swelled the entry to recor d levels. The event began at 8:00 a.m. and the lead -off riders h eaded so u th towards the Shadow Moun tains on the ir way into the first 38-mile loop. Speeds ranged from 17 mph to 30 mph through open terrain and there was no special test, bu t carefully placed checks kept the riders on their toes. "There were lots of timekeeping tricks in th e first loop. The riding was pretty easy but you had to concen tra te on what you were doing, " said Lewis. A lapse in concentratio n das hed Team Gre en 's Paul Krau se's hopes in the early running wh en he h it a check two minutes earl y and points were racking up fast a t the end Of th e loop, as an unexpected downhill at the last check had riders sliding in early with both wheels locked. Riders took 20 minutes out to rest and refuel when loop one was over, then it was back on th e gas for loop two. ., Suzuki rider Robb Mesecher burned his hopes of a clear score in th e 40mile second loop. "I hit a check early and I was so upset that I rode off from that and crashed. I ended up losing five points," Mesecher said. " It was so K fast today . I guess they're trying to brin g some desert guys in , bu t I th ink th ey sho uld' ve taken us up in the rocks for 15 or 20 miles. You needed to take a ' Dan Smith ' pill before thi s race." Pete Postel was ma king the mos t of the wide open terrain. "That secon d loop was a grea t kicker for me because it was so desert race-ish," said Postel, who tack led the course aboard a Honda CR250. Over-Sf desert ace Kenny Parry was hav in g tro ub le keepi ng up on a KX125. " I' m ha ving fun in the tight stuff, but when it's fast 1 don 't stand a cha nce," said Parry. " I'm riding a 125 just for fun and I'm doing the event so 1 can learn how to do them (enduros). This is abo u t the l Oth one I' ve done." T ed Hunnicutt, the number one Open class racer in District 37 desert compe tit ion, . had hi s wor k cu t ou t trying to keep time for the first time. " I' ve ridden a cou ple of enduros before but th is is the first time I've don e it 100 percent on my own," Hunnicutt said. " I still have a lot to learn , bu t it's a lot of fun . 1 think I'm goi ng to to do it again. I'm even goi ng to get an enduro card." Grant Pa lensk e was read y to trade his enduro card in after he reportedl y seized near th e end of the second loop and was forced to drop ou t of the compet ition. As the racers compared points befor e the 30-mile third loop, Lewis and KTM pilot Tom Webb were th e ones to beat. Lewis was hoping the ride would get even tougher to open up th e narrow points spread, while Jim Lewis, Sr. who was riding on the same minute as his son, was hoping things would ease up enough to let him make it to the fin ish. " My kid 's. ru n n ing me int o the ground, but I'm having a marvellous time," said Lewis, Sr. ''I' m abo u t 20 minutes down going into the last loop, but I'm not worried. I'll just crank it up and make it up befor e the first check," said Lewis, Sr. The top conte nders were cra nk ing the speeds up as loop three headed out through Charlies P lace and th en made a loop northeast towards Searles Dry Lake. Speeds began at 24 mph and went up fro m there, and even the front-runners were scrambling to keep up when the average hit 36 mph. 39 ยท