Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eOFF-ROAD e AMA WisecolYamahaIDunlop Grand National Cross Country Series: Round 9 Fred Andrews (207),Jeff Russell (9) and Jan Hrehor (3) charge off the start line. Summers is back with Hardrock win By Davey Coombs r 20 B UNNER RIDGE, W.V.,SEPT. 19 ea m H o n da's Scott Summers, a three-time Grand National Cro ss Country Champion, finally scored h is first w in of th e 1993 series at the Hard rock 100. Summers, plagued all season with inju ries, pulled aw ay from cu rrent s eri es po ints leader Fred Andrews in the first hour and was never headed again in the three-hour race. Andrews, aboard a Yamaha WR25O, settled for second, w hile Vet A cla ss winner and four-time National Enduro Champion Terry Cunningham finished a GNCC se ri es h igh th ird overall. Lancaster Sport Cycles team boss Tim Sh ephard fi n is hed fourth overall another season-high - and 200cc A class leader Craig Jones was fifth in the adjusted overall scores. " I' m glad to be back and relatively healthy, though I'm still in a lot of pain," said Summers, who lists his neck, back, wrist and, most recently, his shoulder as body parts that have been injured this season. "I took a bunch of Advil befo re the race and d issolved some aspirin in my CamelBak water sup ply. My bod y wa s hurting, but not so bad that it affected my performance." Summers also thanked his sponsors American Hond a, Bridgestone, Ans wer, Tsubaki, Honda Line O ils and Ch emicals, Oakl ey, PowerBar, Wiseco, AlpineStar, Specialized, Throttle Jockey, White Bros., CamelBak and Arai. "You can throw the as pi rin people in th ere, too, if you wan t!" joked Summers. The Bunn er Ridge course, w hich winds aro un d a mountain top owned by World War I veteran Colone l Ja ck " H a rd rock" Bunner, measured nine m iles per lap. Th e trails were mostly tight and rocky , wi th few area's for the compet itors to rest. There was al so a no toriou s hillclimb section with three routes of varying d ifficulty, dubbed by trail boss Jerry Huffman as Papa Hill, Mama Hill and Baby Hill. The trail that Huffman designed was a throwback to the old days of woods racing, with lots of steep uphills and downhills and some extensive rock gard ens. "Survival-ofthe-fittest," is how Huffman described his trail. Andrew s led the fir st row of Pro class rid ers into tum one after what was s u p posed to be a d ead-engine, green flag sta rt . However, Andrew s un inten.... tionally started his bike early. "The old guy, Mr. Hardrock, I think, was su p posed to s tart the race," sai d Andrews. "They said at rid er's meeting that we could go when he s tarts moving to go, but he must have flin ched or something, because I started my bike. I looked down the line and no on e else had started, so I kind of sat there thin king, 'What do I do now?' Then the referee helped the old guy throw the flag for real and we all just took off." Team KTM's Jeff Russell was closest to Andrews as they entered the woods, but soon Andrews lost severa l positions. " It wasn't half a mile before Fred took a bad line and everyone got around ' him," said Summers, who sta rte d out fifth, Then J.R(Russell) let me by about a quarter way around and I had the lead until Fred caught back up. We rode together for the first lap or two, trading places, kind of feeling out the course and each other." "I got the start but I took the long way around a section and everybody got by ," said Andrews. "I took a right when I should have gone left. Once I got back in the pack Duane Conner and J.R. let me go by them. Pretty soon I caugh t Scott and we followed each other a round for abou t a lap. Neither of us were going too fast at that point." At the end of the first completed lap Andrews led Summer s by just a few bike lengths. Summers, in tu m , had a lead o f a bo ut 40 seconds o n Te a m Yamaha's Jan Hrehor, who wi thdrew from the race after a big crash left him with a bruised tail bone and a damaged motorc ycle . Russell also took an early trip home. "I'm just getting over a broken collarbone," said the 1991 AMA Na tiona l Enduro Champion. "I've been out for abou t six weeks and, I gotta tell ya, it's hard to just get back on your bike and go as fast as these gu ys. I figu red after half a lap that I wasn ' t rea dy for this kind of racing yet." Team Husqvarna 's Du ane Conner also quit the race due to mechanical difficulties. "We were together at the barrels after a lap," said Andrews of his early duel with Summer s. "I passed him for the lead but then overshot a tum, then after he passed me, he overshot one and I'm back in th e lead again. I tr ied to get away from him and soon I thought I had about 15 seconds on him - I cou ld barely hear him. Then a rock pu t me in a tree." "Fred fell in a ravine," said Summers of his rival's spill. "Som ething caught Scott Summers earned the overall win, adding a bright spot to an . injury-plagued se ason. his handlebar, I think. I figured that was my chance to get away from him. If he couldn't key off me maybe he wouldn't be able to get the pace and catch back up . But I fell and the bike went upside down and stayed there, flipped over on the bars and rear fender like a bicycle. I figured Fred would passme, but I got going again before he got close. I think he had some more problems but then just decided to hold on to second." "He was ahead, I could see him, but then I fell again and that was it," said Andrews. "I tr ied hard but it d idn't seem like I was making up any time. A second is as good as a first to me at this point in the series: ' . "It was pretty uneventful after Fred and I lost contact with each other," admitted Summers. "There was a point where I hurt my shoulder aga in (Summers is just getting over a shoulder injury) and I went slow for about half a lap . I tried to do the Papa Hill each time, though I d id get stuck one lap. Some people grabbed my fork legs and helped me up to the middle plateau, then I made the second section with no problem ." "I know I can stay with Scott, I just can 't fall down," said Andrews. "I went d own three times in one lap, which messed me up a lot as far as beating him toda y goes:' As far as the rest of the series goes , Andrews knows his grip on the title is firm for now. "Scott can still win, but he has to win every race. Anybody who beals him will give me help, but I plan on raining on his parade myself." The cra fty. Terry Cunningham carne up through the ranks from the third row of Vet A riders to occupy third overall at the finis h aboard his Kawa saki KX250. The effo rt was the former Nationa l Enduro champ's best cross country finish this seaso n and allowed him to jump up to 12th in the overa ll standings. " I was originally fifth overall but after they adjusted the times, I ended up fourth overall," sa id Yamaha-mounted Tim Shephard, a 34-yea r old veteran from Lancaster, Ohio . "Cunningham got away from me at the start. He was out front but I was back in sixth or seventh. I saw him up front but I just couldn't get close because the guys between us were hard to pass. I got to within 30 seconds of him as we were getting the white flag at the barrels for last lap . I caught and p assed Blackwell, but then I s ta lle d twice on the big hill and ended up pushing the bike over. I guess that's where he got away from me for good. I just go tta get a start next time " Fifth ove ra ll was Penns yl van ia's Craig Jones, the undisputed king of the 200cc A class so far this season. Jones equaled his season-high of fifth overall while building a lead of jus t less than two minutes on class runner-up (and seven th overall ) Dar yl Conner . Jones, who is s u ppor te d in part by Gear Ra ce wear, Race Tech , No Fea r, BT Racing and Scott, ha s won the 200cc A class five times so far this seaso n. Tea m Green's Dou g Blackwell wa s six th overa ll a board a Ka wasa ki 650 four- banger, but he won the unofficial sports ma nship awa rd for stopping to check on and assist fall en riv al Ja n Hrehor. Classic C ycl es / Gea r/MJ USAf AGV / Maier /W D40-s u p porte d Gen e On a il added thi rd 250cc A win of the series to his resume aboard a Kawasaki KX250. Onail claimed eighth overall in the process, just in front of third-place 200cc A rider Jeff Lauth. The Four-Stroke A leader was, once again, Gary Roach on a New Lex Honda / Ma ier / AXO / Sprock et Specialists /Shoe i / Pro-Vue-backed Honda XR250. Roach, 30;worked his way· into 10th overall at the finish. His closest rival in the thumper field was New Lex teammate Rodney Judson, who occupied 19th overall at the checkered flag. Lineman Cycle-Gear Racewear rider John Vincent topped the Open A class, while Vents/Dirt Works/KAB/Bryan Photo-sponsored Rick Bryan ran second . Lojak's Yam aha rider Shawn Brell rounded out the top three in the class. Todd Morain was the second fastest of the 250cc A class, and Eric Weiland was third. Terry Meal er was the top Sen ior A r ider, besting a talented class that included Joseph Hull, John Gallagher and Joe Lojak. lJ'I Results O/A: 1. Scott Su m me rs (H on); 2. Fred Andrews (Ya m); 3. Terry Cunningham (Ka w); 4. Tim Shepha rd (Yam); 5. Craig Jones (/Caw); 6. Dong Blacltwell (Kaw); 7. Da ry l Conner (/Caw) ; 8. Gene Onail (Ka w); 9. leff Lauth (Kaw); 10. Gary Roach (Ha n); II. Rick Kres ic (Yam); 12. John Vin cen t (Yam); 13. Curtis Bardonner (Ya m); 14. Todd M or ain (Yam); 15. Robert Bennett (Kaw); 16. Rich ard Bry an (KTM); 17. Eric Weiland (Ya m); 18. Brian Kee gan (Ya m); 19. Rodney Jud son (Hon); 20. Dave Santi (Ya m). PRO OIA:. Summers; I. Andrews; 2. 8lackwell OPEN A: I . Vincen t 2. Bryan; 3. Shawn Brell (Yam); 4. Bob Ellis (](a w ); 5. Dan Palermo (Yam). %SO A: 1. Onail; 2. Morain; 3. Wei land; 4. Keegan; 5. Santi . 200 A: 1. Jones; 2. Conner; 3. Lauth; 4. Bardonner; 5. Bennett. VET A: 1. C unn ing ha m; 2. Shepha rd; 3. Kresic: 4. lohn Sherry (/Caw); S. Ga llie Ward (Yam ). 4-STRX A:.I. Roach; 2. Ju dson; 3. Tracy Warrington (Hon); 4. Don Bohn (KTM); 5. Steve Holbert (Hon ). SR A:. I. Terry Mealer (Yam); 2. Joseph Hull (Yam); 3. John Ga llagher (KTM) ; 4. Joe Lojak (Yam ). SISK A: 1. Da ve Coombs (ya m); 2. Jam es Derek (Yam). OPEN B: 1. Rich a rd Lukaesko (Ya m); 2. David Gaitan. Jr. (Hus ); 3. Robin Miller (Hon); 4. Adam /Carlski (Hon); 5. Cra ig Goemmer (Janey (/Caw); 4. O>ris Shaffer (s uz); S. Todd Ca llihan (Kaw) . 4-STRK B: I. Barry Ha w k (suz); 2. John s haller (Han) ; 3. Mark Martin (Hon); 4. Daryl Ga itan (Hus); 5_ Ralp h Thorn (Hon). VET B: I. Fred 8ashor (s uz); 2. Paul Miche ls (ATK); 3. Rand y Ma nsberger (KTM) ; 4. G rego ry Rzep linski (Yam); 5. Ada m Cadle (Yam). SR B: I . Ma rk Maddox (KTM); 2. Shelby Murray (Yam); 3. Robert Cox (KTM); 4. Fra nk Em. (Yam); 5. David Dehner (Kaw). SlSR 8: 1. Dona ld Harl ess (Ya m); 2. Dennis Zinz (KTM); 3. Stephen Eibon (Kaw). 1251200 C: 1. Jim Jarrett (Suz); 2. Scott Fontaine (Kaw) ; 3. Andy Thorn (Yam) ; 4. G uy Stump (/Ca w); 5. Thomas Grogg (Kaw ). 2SOIOPEN C: I . Tony Tarabo rrelli (Yam); 2. Ga ry Bunner (suz); Th eodore Za k (Yam ); 4. G reg Fem:nce (Kaw); 5. Brian Moore (Kaw). TRAI L: 1. And y Beal ko (Kaw ); 2. Mar k Schmidt (Han); 3. Cha rles Burkhart (I-Ion); 4. Robert Hull (/Ca w); 5. M ichael Kubincanek (Yam). MINI : 1. Jeremy Berw an ger (Kaw); 2. Matt Yukevich (Suz); 3 . Travis Sw ann (Suz). AMA GRAND NATIONAL C'SHIP CROSS COUNTRY SERIES POINT STANDINGS (Afte r 9 of · 13 round s): 1. Fred And rews (151/3 wins ); 2. Scott Summe ra (109/1); 3. Jan Hrehor (96 /2); 4. (TIE) Tom No rto n / Do ug Blackw ell (94); 6. Tim She phard (73); 7. Cra ig Jon es (71) ; 8. Blai r Sha rp less (64); 9. Sco tt Plessinger (63 /2); 10. Gene Onail (62); 11. Gary Roach (59); 12 . Te rry C un ni ng ha m (58 );13. Rodney Sm ith (54/ 1); 14. (TI E) Randy Hawkins /Larry Roesel er (48); 16. Ty Da vi s (42); 17. Dwain Miller (36); 18. Du ane Con n e r (3 3); 19. Je ff Ru s se ll (32 ); 20 . (TIE) Mark Hyde/Brian Keega n (29).

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