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eOFF·ROAD e Reliabili Enduro Series: Round 3 Czech Jan Hrehor set fast times in three special tests to score the overall win in the one-day event. Hrehor bested runner-up Terry Cunningham by a mere nine seconds. • 1 MCARTHlJR, OH, MAY 30 e won't be eligible to represent the U.S. at the International Six Days EndlUo (ISDE) in Holland this fall, but AMA officials are probably beginning to wish otherwise, as Czech hero Jan Heehor bested some of the country's best Six Days riders to post the overall victory at the one-day Little Burr Reliability Qualifier that was hosted by the Enduro Riders' Association. A few years ago Heehor was one of the top enduro riders in his home country of Czechoslovakia, but for the past two seasons, he and his family have been staying in Traveler's Rest, South Carolina, with close friend and defending National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins, while Hrehor contests the National Reliability Enduro, Hare Scrambles and Cross Country circuits. Per FIM regulations, riders can only ride for the nation of their citizenship in international team competition, so Hrehor will probably compete for his home country in October. After a year of riding Suzukis, the diminutive 26-yearold has switched to a Yamaha YZ250, and he receives most of his support H 24 • urrWID 0 re or from Ohio's Lancaster Sport Cycles. Heehor also topped the first day of the opening round in Tulsa before slipping to fourth in the final results, but he experienced problems at the second round in New Jersey and finished back in the pack. Finishing just nine seconds in back of Hrehor in the runner-up position was four-tim~ National Enduro Champion Terry Cunningham, on a Kawasaki KX125. The Team Green rider, who earned all of his titles in the mid-1980s, hails from nearby Athens and was riding in his first round of this year's series. Placing third was Suzuki's Steve Hatch, with Tim Shephard, the co-owner of Lancaster Sport Cycles, fourth and Husqvarna rider Duane Conner completing the top five overall. The host club had planned for rain, but dry weather prevailed and the schedule for the 7Q-mile loop was fairly lax. The transfer sections consisted in large part of gravel two-track and paved roads, so it wasn't difficult to stay on time. In contrast to the previous round where a controversial route check all but decided the overall winner, none of the top-placing riders dropped any route points in Ohio. The course, which riders completed two times for a total of 140 miles, included one grass track and two terrain tests. Riders were timed both times through on the grass track and one time on each of the terrain tests. At the end of the day the riders competed in a final motocross test. After the 8 a.m. start, the course took riders over a few easy miles of dirt roads before dropping them into the first special test, a grass track that was laid out in an off-camber hay field. Hrehor got things off to a good start by posting a time of 386 seconds for the quickest ride through the test, though Suzuki's Rodney Smith, winner of the opening round, tied Hrehor with the exact same time. Cunningham and Hatch tied with the next-quickest time of 395 seconds, which put Cunningham in the lead of the 125cc division. Hawkins was just one tick back with a 396-second score. Doug Deaton was impressive on his Kawasaki, posting a time of 399 seconds. About midway through the loop, competitors were greeted by the first terrain test, a 3.2-mile section of trail through the woods. The Yamaha/Sport Cycles/Pro Circuit/Scott/MSR/Bieffe/ Boyesen/W.E.R/Metzeler/Pro Taper/ Tsubaki/Bel-Ray /Sprocket Specialistssponsored Hrehor was again the fastest, turning a time of just 477 seconds. This time Hrehor's competition wasn't as impressive; Cunningham was the closest, exiting the test with a 492-second time, and Hatch was just two seconds back at 494. Hrehor's chances for an overall victory suddenly increased when both Hawkins and Hatch missed an arrow and got lost in the test, losing valuable time. In fact, many riders overshot the same poorly marked turn, though lC\ost realized their mistake earlier than the two Suzuki teammates. Hawkins' score was 772 seconds, and Smith lost a whopping 940 seconds before he finally got back on track and exited the test. The remainder of the first loop was uneventful for the majority of the riders, and many switched to "cruise control"