Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

th ur round of the National Enduro Series has become known as one of the wettest, and the vast u ndergrowth in the area makes it one of the slickest and most difficult terrain to navigate on when wet . "We used two loops," said club member Vic Ely. "We had a 12-m ile loo p to the grass track. The grass track was approximately 2.9 miles long. The first terrain was 2.2 m iles and the second terrain was 4.5 miles long." The course went 42 m iles to the first gas stop then snaked through the fores t for a nother 40-mile loop . After completing the first 82 miles, the riders headed back out on the same first 40 miles of the first loop but run in the opposite direction . After the last 40mile section, the riders competed in the final MX special test. The event was also a points paying event for the AMA District II com pe ti tor s. Shortly before th e o penin g 8:00 a.m. start, the lead gr ou p of 31 L O l riders were wondering if th is year's enduro would be reminiscent of past years' . events, as th e ski es opened u p and produced a downpour which las ted ro ughly half a n ho ur. T he ra in did, however, sett le so me of the dust and dryness but produced breath- rob bi ng humidity in conj unction wit h near 90. degree temperatures. Hatch, who scored his first-ever overall Qualifier win one week ago in Michigan, scored the fastest time in the firs t section. " T he day went good, " said Hatch afterwards. "I did good in th e first gr ass section, though the rain made the ground really slick. The first terrain test had a lot of branch es and it was tough to see and pick lines with the real deep ruts. The third terrain . was more open and fla t. I happened to tip over and highside and lose about fiveto- IO seconds in the final grass track." Four-time National Enduro Champion Cunningham put his many years of Six Days experience to good work, as he tallied th e low est co mbined sco re in the specialtests, " Everything just went goo d," Cunningham sai d. " I was p leased wit h the first test despi te bobbling in the comers. This event was like a lot of the Six Days, but it co uld' ve been a lit tle tighter. I fell in the terrain test and lost a few seconds and bailed bigtime in the second sectio n of woods, abo u t eight miles in when I tried to go around slower ri ders. " Summers powered h is big fou rstroke through the tests, collecting low scores. " I had a decent grass track, but I fell in the terrain test as I went through these six-foot whoops," said Summers. "I was going fast and the tra il turned while I was in midair, so I had to banzai through the woods to catch back up. The second grass track was real slippery and hard-packed. I did well." . Hough had to dial in his Kawasaki KDX250 before getting comfortable o n the bike as the day wore on. " The bike felt a little weird in th e first grass tra ck; it was cu tti ng and .diving under in th e corners, so I bumped up the compression damping a little bit and that helped a lo t. " sai d Hough. ' i\ rider Ed Lojak, who is just ge tting back into co m pe ting aga i n after inj uring his thumb and wrist earlie r in the year, was unbeatable in th e Open class. He topped all the Open LOI riders, including to p contender Da ve Bertram by 73 poin ts, 2374-2447. . Bertram said, "I thought it was an easy trail today and it all came down to th e tests. I fell in the first grass Chris Sm ith posted another consistent ride, claiming third in the 250cc class. section when I caught my front wheel '. in ruts. " Any hopes of Bertram overalling the Open class was was hed away at th e start of the final motocross test when he stalled his bike at the wave of the gree n flag. Loj ak won the rnoto, Defending National Enduro Ch ampi on Randy Hawkins was in conten tion for the o vera ll wi n early in the da y until endoing in a spec ia l test when his front wheel hit something buried in the grass. In th e fall his elbow was badly bruised a nd had to be iced just before the final MX test. " It (the crash ) really shocked me a nd knocked the wi nd ou t of me," said H awkins. " I had th e best ti mes in th e 125cc cla ss." Despite crashing and injuring h is elbo w, H awkins landed the LOI 125cc £N class win. Second LOI overall Scott Summers scored the Open Four-Stroke class win. Ed Lojak competed in the serieS for the first time this year and won the Open class. Results WI 12.'1: l. Ra ndy Hawkins (Suz) 2543; 2. Jell Odom 2564; 3. Greg Hal l 2617: 4. Peter Ru ggiero 2696; 5. Ch ris Botto uy 2792. LOt 250: I. Steve Hatch (Su,) 2.'141 ; 2. Kurt Houg h (Kaw) 2.'160; 3. Chris Smith (KT M) 2411; 4. Alan Randt (KT M) 2479; 5. Raymond Davis 2527; 6. Brian Blanchard 2.'138; 7. David Santi 2574; 8. Russell Cherry 2602; 9. Marc Grossman 2665; 10. Mark Mangold 3040. LOI OPEN: I. Ed Lojak (ATK) ; 2. Dave Bertram (Su,); 3. Fred Hoess (H us) 2457: 4. Mark Hyde (KT M) 2457; 5. Doug J on es 2481. LOt 350 ~TRK: I. David Rh odes (Hbg) 2475; 2. Andr ew Smith 2511; 3. Ron ald Cadwell 2996. WI OPEN 4-STRK: I. Scott Su mmers (Han) 2345; 2. Jason Dahners 2605. LOt SR.: 1. Joe Lo jak 2689; 2. Wade Su mmers 2722; 3. Gary Doerr 2761; 4. Tom Ho lmes 3822. AA: 1. Terry Cunn ingha m (Kaw) 2304; 2. Duane Conner; .!S. Roger Nichols; 4. Karl Fahringer; 5. Tim Hart ; 6. Je ll Lowery; 7. Carro ll Rutter. A 12.'1; I. Michael Burke; 2. Ji m Hunt: 3. Terry Bender; 4. Dou glass Rin ehart: 5. Jell Reynolds ; 6. Robert Roman s; 7. Jdf Anderson. A 200: I. JoeSchmidt; 2. Bruce Denney ; 3. Robb ie Stephenson; 4. Dan iel w olfe. A 250: I. Scott Plessin ger: 2. Steve Gillard; 3. Ron Rehmert; 4. T om No lestone: 5. Wal ly Wilson; 6. G"'lI"ry Cutright ; 7. Brett Burkitt; 8. Jef f Wolfe; 9. Dan iel Ford; 10. T ed Stone; 11. Roger Lo hru n; 12. Jim G illi lan . A OPEN: l. Scott Pri ce; 2. Steven Has hman; 3. J im Miller; 4. Darrell Hardin; 5. Scott Sp ilie; 6. Geor/IC Ely; 7. John Eberts: 8. Rodn ey Brown ; 9. Jd f Sim mons. A +STRK: J. Cull en Ru iter; 2. George Rogers; 3. Brian Stobbs; 5. Joe Halterman. A SIt: 1. T erry Flynn ; 2. Tom Morri son; 3. Tom Cha nn ell; 4. Richard Havenar : 5. Donald lim; 6. Lennie Rh oad es; 7. Dan James; 8. Robert Voll mar; 9. Gary Jordan; 10. Steve Sarber. B 12.'1: I. Gary Flan na gan ; 2. Mike Slop ko; 3. Floyd McN ichols; 4. Morn e H ix enbau ~h ; 5. Michael Zoldak ; 6. Kevin Brandon; 5..Dale Bivens. B 200: l. J ason Aliso n; 2. Bill Walter; 3. Ross Surra tt; 4. Bernard Evans; 5. Tim Hayes; 6. Bob Carpenter; 7. Jelf Carpenter; 8. Michael Hillenbrand; 9. Dou glas WhipCord ; 10. Daniel Riesen; 11. Troy Fogle; 12. Jerry Downard. B !SO: 1. Brad MUler; 2. Scott KlamCoth; 3. Friu ~ide l ; 4. Ri~ Higgins; 5. John .Zanollo ; 6. Bryon Bivens; 7. Crai g Tharp; 8. La: Gngsby: 9. Joe Hall; 10. ROD Polcsak; II. G reg Beck ner ; 12. Sam Ra mondeli: 13. Fred T urn er; 14. Jo hn Gi££ ord; IS. Harlan d Smyers; 16. Rich ard R utter; 17. Steve Moh ier. B O PEN; J. Elmar Krttza ; 2. Bertram Dunlop ; 3. Clifford Saul: 4. Charles Tellard; 5. Jack Downward; 6. Jon Powelson; 7. Ken Ri cks ; 8. Frank Woods; 9. Jell Powelson: 10. Gary Evans; II. Kirk Sessions : 12. Ron Hagerty; 13. RU 5st'1IGarvi n. 13

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