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GCROSS COUNTRY AMA WisecolYamahalYokohama Grand National Cross Country Series: Round 3 e Aaron Hough ( \ 24) led Duane Conner (8), Steve McSwain (\ 7), Doug Blackw ell (9) and the rest of the 250/0pen A class to th e fi rst tum. Cunningham leads Green sweep at Boyer By Davey Coombs Photos by C.J. Coombs BOYER, PA, APR. 14 h io's Terry Cun ni ngham capi- O talized on a lat e error by Hondamounted Scott Summers to win the wet an d m udd y Bo yer G ra nd Na tiona l Cross Country event. The 32year-o ld Cu nningha m, a four-ti me Natio nal End uro Cha m pio n, wa s followed across the fin ish line by Kawasak i teammates Duane Conner and Doug Blackwell . "This is the first cross country or hare scra mbles Nationa l th at I' ve won since the '85 Blackwat er," said Cunningham , wh o is backed by Team Gr een , MS Racing, Scott , Bel-Ray, Dunlop, T sub ak i and Bell. " It was a Blackwater-type race toda y. The ra in and mud an d everythi ng makes it hard to deal with, but you j us t have to be prepared, men tall y an d physicall y to fin ish the race. Never quit. Never give up." 26 Cu nni ngham's charge to victo ry came at the expe nse of Sum mers, the defending G NCC Series Cha mpio n and curren t poi nts leader. He was battling Cu nn ing ham for th e lead lat e in the race but bro ke the handl ebars of his Honda XR 600 in half when he fli pped off of a steep, rutted hill. " \ blew it on the h ill ," said the American H o n da /B r idgeston e/ Ca mel back-sponsored Su mmers. " \ had 45 seconds on Cu nni ng ha m wh en I go t stuc k wi th someo ne and lost traction. It started sliding backward s and when I jumped off, it j ust took off end-over-end." Summers repaired the broken bars and salvaged I Oth overa ll to mai ntain the series po ints lead. With Cunn ing ham adjusted o ut of the class resu lts as the overa ll win ner, Team Green /Dunlop/ Scott/MS Racin g' s Conner was awarded top 250cc A class hon ors. KTM Amer ica's Steve McSwain cap tured th e Open A'win o n th e heels of hi s fou rth-o verall finish. MassachusellS KTM pi lo t Tom my Norton pulled off the 200cc A victory wh ile Honda -mounted Rick Parsons acco u nted for th e Four-Stro ke A win. With the help of the Mar ion Township Volunteer Fire Department, th e Boyer run was o n the GN CC schedule for the first tim e since 1985. Track designer Ken Speer p ut toge ther a cha lle ng ing six-a nd-one -ha lf miles loop that featured several tight woo ds stretches and some strip-mi ne hillcli mbs. Several short swamp sections also do tted th e course, bu t as th e wea ther grew worse and the tra il began to deteriorate, the riders were ro ute d a way fro m th e wa ter hol es. T he un official fastest lap time of the day was Aaro n H ou gh 's 27:13 openi ng loop. Cunni ng ha m's last trip around the rutted course lasted approximately 32 m in utes. Ho ug h , pi lo ting a Team Green/ Scott/Stoug h ton/Yoke-backed Kawasaki KX250, surged into the lead off of the dead-engine 250/0pen A class start. P ennsylvan ia 's Co n ne r , McSwain, Sum mers, Blackwell and Cunning ham a ll fi led in beh ind Ho ugh. At the tail end of the first lin e was Canadia n woods raci ng star Guy Perrett. "The referee sig nalled 10 seconds to go befor e the start and I realized th at my goggles were under my arm in a p las tic bag," sa id Perrett, wh o is supported by Optimal O il, Sim p lex Cycle, Kamloops, and Cycle Works of Ca na da. The big ATK rider got off last but was able to work his way into fifth o verall by the end of the first frantic lap. Hou gh still held the lead with G ear / Met ze le r / Du ral u b e/B a rr ' s bac ked McSwain, Summers and Cunnin gh am foll owing. At the co mp letio n of the seco nd lap Cun ning ha m rode the point po sition with Summers and H ou gh riding clo se behind. Co nner was 20 seconds deeper in the field and held down fourth with Ans wer/ KK Cycl e Supply/Wiseco / Cam-2 rider T im Sheph ard up two spo ts to fifth overa ll. McSwain had sli pped a full minu te off of the pace and was back to sixth in th e overall running. Team ATK's Tony Hendon, fourth overa ll at the previou s GNCC ro und i n Ten nessee, was back in sevent h place. " I kn ew I was in the top lO on th e first few laps and I just kept trying to move up ," said Hendon. " Lateron I go t stuck o n some rocks and had my chai n knocked off. T urns ou t the rocks had bent my sprocket up. I was three miles from the pits when it happened. " Ironicall y, H endon 's long walk back through the in clement weather had h im arr ive a t the sco re barrels just in time to see th e checkered flag fall. On lap three Hough's hopes for a top ยท finish ' wer e dash ed when he crashed in one of the swamps. The accident caused vision problems for the Indiana rider after a contact lens was jarred out of place. Kawasaki's hopes also dimmed sligh tly when Summers emerged from the woods with the lead at the halfway mark. Cunningham was 10 seconds back in second while Conner rode another two minutes behind in third, a deficit he would erase on the fourth lap. . "I caught up to Terry at the gas sto p ,". said 22-year-old Conner. " H e was putting on new gloves or something and we were able to take off together for the last two laps." " I wasn't real pl eased with my pit," said Cunningham of th e extended sto p. " My hands were really cold and slippery and I co u ldn' t get my gloves off. Then Duan e and I went after Scott (Summers) togethe r." The difference betw een the leader and his Kawasaki-mounted pursuers was 15 seco nds. The third Kawasaki still runnin g towards th e front belonged to fourth-place Blackw ell, who wa s three minutes behind Summers. With th e race winding down in the th ird hour, the riders were suffering on the slick , muddy trails. Re-routes