Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eOFF ROAD e AMA National Championship Enduro Series: Round 4 L-----., -'- _ Teammates Randy Hawkins (right) and Steve Hatch finished 1-2 at the Sawmill National Enduro. Hawkins edged Hatch by eight points on the tie-breakers. Hawkins edges Hatch at Sawmill NatIonal Enduro Photo by Dave Bertram NAVARO, CA. MAY 2 andy Hawkins, the defending National Enduro Champion, recorded his second victory of the four-round-old series in what was one of the closest finishes of the season. After 113 miles of technical and ruttedout trails, the outcome of the event came down to the seconds, as Hawkins. Steve Hatch and 1991 National Champion Jeff Russell all carded 17 points after the last check. However, after adding up all the tie-breaker points, it was the Team Suzuki-backed rider, Hawkins, who came out on top with a total score of 17.459 to Hatch's 17.467. Russell, the Team K1M rider, came out on the short end of the stick with a score of 17.479 points for third place. The Sawmill National was hosted by the North Bay Motorcycle Club, who laid out a rigorous three-loop course that featured at least one special test section in each loop, but most of the points were dropped in the last AA-only loop. Hardpacked ruts that still lingered from last year's mudfest, challenged every rider from the C class to the AA ranks. "It (the trail) was very technical," said Hawkins. "The club did an out- R 26 standing job laying out the course; this is definitely the best National (enduro) event in California." . The first two loops - the first totalling 42 miles, and the second 44 miles - was described as "fairly easy" by many of the AA riders, but points were dropped, nonetheless. Some of those points were lost in a tough special test section during the first loop. Kawasaki Team Green's Ty Davis proved that he was the fastest in this section by being the only rider to drop just one point All of the other top contenders, including Hawkins, Hatch and Russell, dropped at least two points. Last year's ISPE Trophy Team rider Jon King, who was riding on a minute ahead of Davis, said, "He (Davis) flew by me like you wouldn't believe; he was roostingl" . Unfortunately for Davis, whatever advantage he had gained on the field during the first loop was lost in the second when he burned a check that was zeroed by nearly everyone else. That meant that Davis was down a point to Hawkins, Hatch and Russell going into what would be the deciding third and final loop.. The .penultimate loop consisted of one 29-mile special test section, in which riders encountered three timed checks. Davis' hopes for an overall victory all but ended in the special test section when his rear tire went flat approximately seven miles from the finish. Despite the flat, Davis would drop just one more point - total- to Hawkins, Hatch and Russell through the three checks and still finish a respectable fourth overall with a 19.493 score. "Once he (Davis) gets his tim~keep ing down, oh man!" said Russell Ultimately, the final loop came down to a thre~way dogfight for the gold involving Hawkins, Hatch and Russell, all of whom went into the loop tied with two points each. When it was all over, Hawkins, the four-time National Enduro champ, had carded 3-.5-7 scores at the three checks, and Hatch and Russell recorded identical 2-6-7 scores. Through it all, however, the three riders remained in a deadlock with matching 17-point scores, but the tie-breakers would benefit Hawkins, giving him the overall victory. Looking back at the score cards, Hawkins had come within one second of dropping a whole point at the middle check on the third loop. He officially clocked in with a 5:59 at that check; had he been one second slower, his card would have shown a "6," and that would have given him a score of 18 total points at the end of the day, which would have dropped him to at least third place in the overall standings. At that same check, Russell clocked in at 6:34 and Hatch recorded a 6:12. "That check did me in," said Russell. uI came around a blind tum and saw Tom Webb, who had crashed pretty hard, and I ran into his bike. I asked if he was all right - he said he was - but the whole thing kind of broke my concentration. A tum later, I went in too hard and crashed. I got pinned by a tree, and everything pretty inuch went downhill from that point." Larry Roeseler, who won the series opener in Coalinga, caIifomia, rounded out the top five overall after carding a 2O.511-point score. The Kawasaki Team Green rider burned a check in the second loop and could never make up the two-point *penalty." Kelby Pepper, a Team KTM rider, finished sixth, via a 20.541 point loss. Former champ Kevin Hines of Team Husqvarna finished seventh, while Suzuki's David Rhodes, K1M-mounted Charles Halcomb and Suzuki rider Webb rounded out the top 10 overall King, a local favorite rider, had a top score going until his bike seized one mile from the finish when a rock broke off the waterpump drain bolt on his Suzuki and all of the engine's coolant ran out Dan Neilson, another local hotshoe, spent his entire ride keying off other riders after having his odometer break early in the day. The Team Husqvama rider ended up 15th overall. Of Results 011.: 1. Randy Hwwkins (Suz) 17.459 .....; 2. SIeve Hwtch (5=) 17.467; 3. Jeff R.....u (KTMJ 17.479; 4. Ty Davis (!andIer (Hon) 35.956; 17. J-Jn Il8hneInarUr (Yam) 38.974; 20. Joel Smith (HUll) 40.1022.

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