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eOFF·ROAD e Tecate250KEnduro Larry Roeseler scored his fourth-straight Tecate victory. The recent flooding in Mexico provided an extremely challenging course. Roeseler continues Tecate win streak By Chris Jonnum Photos by Kinney Jones EL TFSTERAZO, B.C., MEXICO, MAR 13 fter three consecutive victories at the Tecate 250K Enduro, few people doubted that Larry Roeseler was the unofficial king of .the event, but just in case anyone did, the Kawasaki Team Green rider rode to win number four at the challenging, National-ealiber enduro. Tough trail conditions made this the most demanding Tecate Enduro since the infamous 1978 event, as only 52 of the 144 riders entered completed three loops, with several of those riders houring out. Just 20 riders finished in '78. A 18 "While this event is known as one of the toughest - if not ti,e toughest enduros in North America, this one may have been the hardest (of all)," said Mike Atkinson, head scoring official for the Los Ancianos M.C. "That wasn't totally the intention of the club; weather was a major factor." The day of the enduro featured sunny and watm conditions but recent rain storms in Mexico had riders negotiating several small mud bogs, and Roeseler's 46-point score was 35 points higher than last year's winning total. More than one rider drowned out. his bike while fording the EI Alamo Wash, and the terrain west of the Testerazo River was avoided entirely, as the water was too high to cross. Roeseler was one of the few riders who didn't appear exhausted after the enduro. "It was a little more challenging than the past few years, but I really didn't have many problems all day," said the 36-year-old Roeseler. '1 was real conservative, because you can get hurt down here if you're not careful." Ironically, after finishing the enduro unsca thed, Roeseler twisted his ankle while preparing to leave the enduro Saturday night. "I was moving my box van, and I jumped out after I had parked it," explained Roeseler. "My foot landed right in a hole, and I completely folded my ankle over; it's all black and blue." Kawasaki swept the top three positions in the enduro, as Team Green riders Danny Hamel and Ty Davis finished second and third, respectively. Hamel was riding on Roeseler's minute, and was forced to key off of his teammate after his computer malfunctioned. "I had a lot of fun; my mileage was perfect all day," laughed Hamel, while patting Roeseler on the back. While most riders spent the day after the enduro in a horizontal position, Hamel, the defending National Hare & Hound Champion, showed his endurance by competing in and winning a southern California hare and hound the following day. The Tecate Enduro doesn't offer points for any_series, and the $90 entry fee is on the steep side, but top riders enjoy the challenge that the grueling event offers. The list of participants normally reads like a "who's who" of the off-road motorcycle world, and this year was no different. Several past champions were in attendance, and many riders showed up the day before the enduro to enjoy bench racing with the hot shoes at the Team Green/Thor-sponsored barbecue on Friday night. The residents of the hosting village of El Testerazo were quite hospitable, and children roamed the pits in search of stickers. "I still compete in a few events every year, and I always make sure this is one of them," said off-road legend Malcolm Smith. "It's a good challenge, and there's a really neat atmosphere." Riders began leaving the start line at 7:01 a.m., and the speed average was a straight 24 mph. Trail markings were perfect but timekeeping skills were useless for all but the best riders, as compeitors were late right off the bat. Despite the mud bogs, dust was also a factor in some areas. "I was having a hard time seeing out there," said KTM's former National Enduro Champion Jeff Russell, who broke his foot in Tecate last year. "Also, I was being a little too tentative in the rocks." Rocks were plentiful on the first loop, especially in one long wash that was litetally filled with boulders. At the completion of the loop, Team Green/ Xtreme / Dunlop / Bel-Ray/Race Tech/FMF /IMS/Trick/Tsubaki /PIo Taper /Radialite/Troy Lee/ Alpinestars /1 00% /Shoei/End ura / Power Bar/LR Enterprises/Oakley/ Acerbis/ NGK-sponsored Roeseler had the lead with a 17-minute score, with Hamel right on his tail at 18 and Davis next with 21 minutes dropped. Davis felt that he could have done better. "I was crossing that one river before we came into the pits, and 1 thought I had skipped some of the trail and was heading out for the second loop," said Davis. "I turned around and went backwards for a while, then realized 1 had messed up. I lost a bunch of time there." Bill Fullmer Jr. saw his day take a downturn when the clutch on his Kawasaki KLX650 malfunctioned early on. "I was bummed, 'cause I wanted to do good here," said Fullmer. "1 got the bike back to the pits, fixed it and rode the third loop; 1 had to get my 90 bucks' worth!" Another rider who experienced problems was KTM employee Scot Harden, who suffered a flat front tire. "It went flat at one of the check-ins, and I had a hard time keeping it on the rim," said