Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - .. _--- -- B mDUROA~.~C~E_~_~~~_E_~_m_oS_ff_i~_:R oon_d2 __ e Nearly 300 riders turned out for the G reat Piney Woods National. J eff Russell (above) nipped Steve Hatch by a few seconds Ior the overall win. A burned check dropped opening round winner Larry Roeseler out of the top 10. Russell nips'em at Great PineyWoods By Jonny Be Karen Kemp PITKIN, LA, MAR. 17 T M rider Jeff Russell , from Ohio, was the overa ll winner at the Great Piney Woods N ational Enduro held in th e Kisatchi e Nat ional For est. Ru ssell edged out Suzuki rider Steve H atch, from New York, by a scant 13 tiebreaker seconds after both riders tied at 26 points each. SERA (Sou thern Enduro Riders Association) ace George Waller Jr., aboard a Suzuki, placed third with a 28 point score . Hatch was leading the event by one point af ter the second gas and said, " If I can pull this off, I won't be too worri ed about my fin al exams K 10 tomorrow. " However, Russell was abl e to capture th e win by edging Hatch by one point through the last loop, designated for A riders only. This event marked the second round of both the AMA National End uro Championship Series and the SERA Championsh ip Series, as well as being a points payin g event for the Sabine Enduro Circuit. The las t loop was referr ed to as " The Swamp" and was demanding in every way. The course was the vict im of ra ins th a t se t in o n Fr ida y in ig h t a n d remained steady th roughout Saturday , and ri ght up lO start time on Su nday. The Louisian a Trail Riders Association did a rem arkabl e job of bridging' the low spots and avoidi ng the bogs to allow the vast majority of nearly 300 en tran ts to finish the event . The first loop consisted of easy trails with lenient speed averages to allo w the Band C riders to enj oy at least the first part of the event. This loop was not without incident, however, as both open ing round winner Larry Roeseler and KTM 's Allen Gravitt unexplainably burned the first check at mile 11.0. This check was located o ne mile previous to a speed change to 24 mph over a rather suspi ciou s look in g rise. Most of the competitors made the check on time; one rider remarking, " It just as well cou ld've had a flashing neon sign saying checkpoint." Most of the co m petitors were sti ll clean after the first loop. T he real "racing" started shor tly into th e second loop. After a chec kin check the speed average bu mped up to 24 mph and rim through an eight mile sectio n of moguls and " Mons ter " mogu ls. T hese were the rem na nts of aba ndoned gravel pi ts tha t tested bo th , riders and sus pensions. T here were two checks a t th e end of the sectio n , the second one 3.2 miles past the first and right befor e a reset. This fooled a few o f the ri ders into believin g tha t the sectio n was fin ished befor e it actua lly was. Ru ssell , Kevin Benn ett and Hines all to taled five po in ts lost through these two checks. They were led by H at ch with a four and trailed by Wall er, Alan Randt and Jack Laffert y, wh o all total ed seven points lost at this point. The real test started a few miles into the third loop after a speed cha nge to 27 mph and a check-in check which sent ride rs into the "swamp." This test proved to be 26 miles of the wettest and most demanding of the event. The terrain was comp lete with tight trees, ruts and grassy bogs that were difficult to read . The B and C riders were cut off previ ous lO this loop to try lO save the trail from total destruction. It was through thi s test th at Russ ell was able to retake the point he had lost to Hatch and pull off th e win by virtue of tiebr eak er sectio ns. This loop also proved lObe the undoing of Hines wh o was three minutes off the pace, a victim of the bogs. Lo cal ace and ISDE gold meda list Dwight Rudder was ab le to secure th e Four-Stroke A class win over heavil y fav ored National Hare Scrambl es Champion Scott Summers by a slim single point. Rudder 's' excellent ride was assisted by an early row con trasting with Summer s wh o rode his Honda on ro w 65. Summers might have won the class yet if not for a pack of wild Ca tah oula hounds snap ping at Rudder' s heels, motivating h im more th an somewha t. Several .riders had stories of these hou nd s in th e last loop which were described as th e Hounds of H ell, Dingo Dogs, or Rabid Wolves . Most riders were lOO tir ed at this point to pay mu ch attention lO the canine spec ial test, alt ho ug h everyone was careful not to crash in th eir terri tory! Overall B awards were shared by KTM ride r L arry Pe evy , J r. a n d Kawasak i rider Gl en Myatt who were locked in an unbreakable tie of 12 points and six tiebreaking seconds each . Peevy won the I25cc B cla ss and Myatt won the 250cc B class. Michael Thiele was able to win th e 200cc A class in sp ite of losing his front fender and havin g to run th e third loop [enderl ess. Cana dian Blair Sharpless cont in ued his winning ways aft er the Alligator Enduro last weekend in Florida by _ winning the 250cc A class. This Suzuki rider seems to enjoy ri ding in somethin g o the r than sno w. Sharpless fin ished sevent h overall. So u th eas tern Bike News' Larry Whi te mad e the trip from Alab ama to win the overa ll Short Course honors as well as th e Senior B class. White started lO ride his Husky th rough the las t loop , but thought better of it when he enco u nt ered the Ca taho ula hounds. Greg Peterson took the 200cc Veteran A class win o ver Buddy Pierce and Phil Williams. Peterson was quite happy that hi s trick kn ee didn 't blow o u t all day, givi ng him the best ride he's had in quite a while. One of the hi gh lights of any Great Piney Woods Enduro is th e Cany on Jump spec tator point. T h is is an old railroad emba n kment whi ch the competi tor s jump OUt of, being judged on alti tud e and air. David Bragg and his Kawasaki 250 was the winner this year , edg ing out Roeseler. The Louisiana Trail Rid ers Associat io n wanted to thank for est rangers Lisa L ewi s . and John Baswell for helping so mu ch with the event. Also thanks to Travis Johnson for all his help, and to the Leesvill e Radio Club, the Vernon Sh eriff"s Dept. and the Crav en s Fir e Dep t. Without th ese gr eat peo p le there would certainly be no eve n t in o u r Kisatch ie N ational Forest. CN Resu lts 0 / A: 1. Jeff Russell (26); 2. Steve Hatch (26); 3. Geo rge Waller Jr . (28); 4. Kevin Benn ett (29); 5. Alan Ra nd t (29); 6. Kevin H in es (29); 7. Blair Sh arpless (30); 8. J ack Laffert y (33); 9. Dwight Rudder (25); 10. Alle n Gra vitt (35). 0 / A B: 1. (TIE) La rry Peevey (KTM )/G len Myatt (Kaw). 0 / A SHORT COURSE: 1. Larry White (Hus) . AA EX: 1. Steve Hatch (Suz); 2. George Wall er Jr. (Suz); .!. Kevin Benn ett (H on) ; 4. Allan Randt (KT M ); 5. Kevin H in es (Suz). 200 A: 1. Mich ael Thiele J r. (Kaw); 2. Randy Frady (Kaw); 3. Eric Wh ite (Suz); 4. La rry Rousseau (Ka w); 5. Roger McKni ght (Kaw] . 250 A: I. Blair Sharp less (SUl) ; 2. Raymond Davis (Sul I; 3. Dou g Jon es (KT M); 4. G lenn Hollingshead (KT M); 5. Jerry Gibson (SUl) . . OPEN A: 1. Kelby Pepper (KT M); 2. T err y Bainbridge (KT M); 3. Micky Young (KT M); 4. Ken Lea rd (KTM ); 5. Lewi s What ley (KTM). 200 VET A: I. Greg Peterson (Kaw); 2. Buddy Pierce (Kaw); 3. Phil Williams (Ka w) ; 4. Mike Ca ntre ll (Kaw); 5. J ohn Massey (Kaw). OPEN VET A: I. Wesley King (Kaw); 2. Glenn Hunt (KT M); 3. Budd y Hollingsworth (SUl); 4. Mike w ard ; 5. Larry Cane (SUl). 4·STRK A: I. Dwigh t Rudder (Hon); 2. Scan Sum mers (Hon); 3. Guy Perr ett (AT K); 4. Larry Arr ingto n (H o n); 5. Kenn y Knobloch (H e n). SR A: 1. Don Kni ght (KTM ); 2. Dan Richards (Ya m): 3. Bob McKnight (Han ); 4. Roger Bailey (Ho n ); 5. Gary Doerr (Kaw). S/SR A: I. Charlie Burk (Hon): 2. Neal Cooper (H e n): 3. T erry Webb (KT M); 4. Dickie Hual (Kaw). t25 B: I. Mike Herltkoler (KT M); 2. Mark Robi n (H an ); 3. Clayto n Flores (Ho n ); 4. T ho ma s Ear l (KT M); 5. Greg Frad y (Ka w ). 200 B: I . Ch ris Breaux (Kaw); 2. Trey Wells (Kaw); 11 3. David Clem ens (Kaw); 4. Paul Co x (Kaw); 5. Alan , ! Pattil lo (Kaw). 250 B: I. J ell Altma n (KT M); 2. Troy Sweeney , (Ho n); 3. Mark Hebert (H on ); 4. Todd French (Hon): 5. Robin Dubose (Kaw ). OPEN B: I. Mar k Seals (AT K); 2. T racy 'Barsto w I . (H us); 3. Bobby Stu lts (KT M); 4. Pau l J on es (Kaw); I 5. Darr ell Diam ond (KT M). 200 VET B: I. Byron La ne( Ka w);2 . J im my Malon e (Ka w); 3. Allen Vines (Ka w ); 4. Chris Bur chfield . (Suz); 5. Cleve Altm an {Ka w ). OPEN VET B: I. Larry Decker (SUl ); 2. Bob Sch lemmer (H a n ); 3. Fred Pittman (Yam ); 4. T erry Brown (Han): 5. David Morgan (KT M). 4-STRK B: I. T erry West (Han); 2. Mike Ruhl in (H on); 3. Stephen Pa ir (Hon); 4. And y Hayes (Hen). . Sit B: I. Tomm y La ne (Han); 2. Gera ld Pear son (H us): 3. Ernest t. ynch (AT K); 4. Ronnie Batri llo (Kaw ); 5. Marvin Graves (Kaw ). S/ SIt B: 1. Tom Tarver (Han); 2. Dale Roach (Ka w ): 3. Mike Menou (KT M); 4. Fred Meeks (Kaw); 5. Berni e Mal one (Ha n ). WMN: 1. Elai ne Nobles (H a n ); 2. Gwen Bai ley (Hon ): 3. Lisa Schexnay der (Hen): 4. Donna Hughes (Kaw); 5. Miche le Roa ch (Hon). JR: I. Brad La ne (Ka w) : 2. Ryan Beard en (Yam); 3. Ro ber t Li ttlefield (Yam): 4. J am es Blackham (Kaw); 5. Drew Co rne ll (KT M). 200 C: I. Mark Reed (Kaw); 2. Phill ip H oepfner (Ka w): 3. Daniel Kon icke: 4. Bob Sill s (Kaw); 5. Donnie Desadi er (Yam ). OPEN C: I. Keith Clarke (Kaw); 2. Mark Herron (S uz); 3. Dal e Konicke (Hon ); 4. Gord on Alle n (Han): 5. T on y Nester en k (Han ). 200 TR: I. Co lin J oachim (Ka w) : 2. Lee Vallet (Ka w) ; 3. Scott Kum ler (Ka w): 4. Ja ck Sm ith (Han). OPEN TR: I. Jam es Cro wley (H us). 4·7 YTH: 1. Rebecca Ba iley (Yam ); 2. Drew Hunt (Yam ); 3. Kevin H alls; 4. Pai ge Beno y; 5. Dani el McKee. 10·1l ITH: l. Ro bbi e Hoo lah an (Ka w): 2. Kyle Hend erson (Kaw): 3. Corey Berth elot (Ho n ); 4. Asa Whatl ey; 5. Mark Schw ab. 12·14 YTH: l. Chr isto p her Wh atl ey (Ka w).

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