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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127602
special test, bringing him to the second
gas stop w ith his two-point lead still
intact.
At the gas stop, a flurry of activity saw
all the leaders exchanging their worn rear
tires for fresh rubber, as each attemp ted
to gain any possible advantage on h is
rivals. After swapping brake pads, refueling and clea ning off the mud -packed
radiators, the riders ventured out for their
third and final loop. Hatch and Hawkins,
blistered through the next pair of tes ts,
each dropping a 14 points to Russell's 16.
Hines' bad luck contin ued w hen his
bike lost its coolant due to a faulty head
gasket and locked up, ending his da y prematurely.
In th e next special test, which was
immed iate ly foll o w ed by an other,
Hawkins nea rly gave a minute back to
Hatch, stopping the clocks just seconds
away from a four at 3:56. Hatch got his
revenge and moved to within one point
of the lead by dropping five in the next
section, while Hawkins posted a six. But
Hawkins gained the point back by zeroing the new phragmites reed section near
the fin ish, while his challenger was a
minute late.
An obviously relieved Hawkins
claimed his fifth championship, but his
protege showed that he will truly be a
force to reckon with next season. In only
his third year as a nationally ranked AA
competitor, Hatch has cl imbed the
enduro rider's ladder of successin a relatively short time, and looks poised to continue upwards.
"I had a couple of li ttl e problems
throughout the da y where I made some
m istakes, but I wasn't the on ly one,"
sai d the Suzuki/MSR/Scott/Metzeler/
Braking/RK/Bel -Ra y / Tech n os e l /
100 %/E xceed /Pro-Taper/
Asics/ICO/Moose /Bieffe/Factory Connection-sponsored Hawkin s. " I think '
everyone suffered a little bit today. I got
off pretty g o od in th e morning, bu t
burned that seven th check and ju s t
couldn' t ge t rolling in that long section
after the second gas. In the conditions we
raced in today where you constantly feel
you're not going too good, you've got to
remember that everyone else is racing in
those same conditions, so you never give
up. Despite the weather, this was one of
the best races we competed in this year;
these guys put on a national-caliber race
that was cha llenging enough to test the
riders and decide a championship."
"I'm just happy to move my national
ranking from fifth place last year, to the
second I got today," said Hatch. "I had a
Bar k Buste r wo rk loose in the morning
section, which hampered my r id ing
beca use it w ou ld ja m against my leg
every time that I turned into a comer, SO I
had to stop and take that off. I would beat
Randy th rough a section an d then he
would beat me back in the next section,
so it was back and forth nearly all day,
which makes it fun. We all knew that the
club would put on a great race and I
don't think any of us were disappointed.
It was a perfect end to the season because
instead of a couple of special tests deciding the overall outcome, it was nearly the
entire day of racing, which resulted in the
high scores. I was a little worried that we
would have to face some bottlenecks
because of the weather.earlier in the day,
but that problem ne ver materialized ,
thankfully."
"I fell a few times because of the slippery conditions out th ere, but I was
happy overall with m y ridi ng today,"
exclaimed third-overall finisher Russell.
"I had a rock jam into my chain, which
caused it to lock up the moto rcycle, and I
actually thought that it had seized. I was
on a downhill when it happened, which
added to my misery because I couldn't
g et the rock out of the ch ain until I
dragged th e bike to th e bottom. Steve
managed to catch me while I was working on it, which shows you just how long
it took to fix. (Hatch started three minu tes
behind Russell). One thing yo u are
guaranteed
when yo u
Michael Lafferty trudged through the mud to finish fourth overall.
race at this event is that you have to
think; Charlie loves to put in those tricky
checks that are just over a hill or hidden
behind something, so there are no easy
checks and you have to work for everything you get. It would be nice if all the
national enduros were like this."
Fourth overall was grabbed by
Michael Lafferty. "I had a really good
day," said the 1&-year-old from New Jersey. "I had a little problem with those
phragmites reeds earlier today. I was a little intimidated by them because they're
so slippery, but I guess the Secret to riding in that stuff is just hold it wide open
like Hatch and Hawkins do . Those guys
are absolutely phenomenal, so I was glad
that I was just able to stay in contention
throughout the day. Those guys go hard
from beginning to end, so I had to pace
myself a little."
KTM rider Kelby Pep p er may not
have been happy with his fifth-place finis h, but it
d id se cure
his third-place in the final standings for
the second-straight year.
"I had a very bad morning because I
had a lot of problems with my glasses
fogging up and I could barely see anyth ing," said the quiet rider from Colorado. "I ended up taking them off, and
I'm near-sighted, so I couldn't really
make things out until I wa s on top of
them, which was too late. I was able to
use them after the first gas, once the
morning mist went away and it started to
dry up a little. It was a tough day because
we don't get much ra in back home in
Colorado, so I really don 't get to practice
riding in slick muddy conditions like we
had here today."
COl
Results
OIk I. Randy Haw kins (Suz); 2. 5...., Hatd1 (Suz); 3.
leff Russell (KThI); 4 . Micha el Lafferty (Kow); 5' _Kelby
Pepper (ICTM) 6. ChrisSmith (Suz); 7. AL Rand , (KThl);
;
m
8. lack Lafferty j, .; 9. Brian Lohman; 10. Bill Atkinson.
AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENDURO
SERIES FINAL POINT 5T ANDlNGS (Ileol 7 out of 9
rounds~ 1. Randy Hawkins (191/ 4 wins); 2. Steve Hatd1
(177/3); 3. Kelby Pepper (166); 4. Jefl R~l1 (147); 5.
Kevin Hines (131).
Steve's basically the sa me thing, because he's alw ays
eag ocr to listen to w.hatI have to say and is always asking
meques tions ,'H(s willing to learn and he tries. It's sort
of Iik,~ deja .vu .in that I'm the .veteran showing the ropes
to the new up-and-comer, so I hope that wh en I'm off the
pace, Steve will be there to carry onwards for Suzu ki.
What motivates you year after year?
1 just love to ride. Whe n it starts to be a cho re and
begins to feel like a job, I'll qu it and do something else
like play golf. .The people associated with this particu lar
sp ort arc, in my opinion, the best group in all ofoff-road
compe tition. The ca mara derie w ith my teammat e also
helps. me stay wi th it, becau se I like how we push each
other and still remain good friends.
Now that you've got five titles, are you shooting for
Dick Burleson's record of eight?
No, that record will never be broken, because of the
competition now an d the am ount of races we compete
in. I'm happ y right now to be third on the all-time win
list.
Your mechanic Dale StegaI has been a ma in stay in
your camp since the beginning of your career. How
instrumental has be been in your success?
Basically, I wouldn't be w here I am in this sport if it
wasn't for Dale. He deserves much more credit than I do .
He's my best friend; he motivates me; he tells me to pick
the pace up at a race and will pat me on the back or criticize me wh en I need it. The reason for my five championships is Dale Stegal, without a d oubt.
How long do you think it'll be before you decide to
hang your boots up and retire?,
'.'
Well, I don't kI}ow about hanging my boots up. Each
something else.com~up d seem tobe getting more ;
he advertising partJoi