Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

KTM factory pilot qu it the race after the third of seven laps . "I hate to qui t m uddy races but this on e is beyond muddy!" said Plessinger as he pulled his he lmet off un d er the cano py he was sharing with Conner. " It was the kind of mu d that's we t an d slipper y to ri de on b ut heav y a n d tacky enoug h to get you stuck. I stopped for goggles after the firs t lap, b ut I didn't stop after the second and I think that's wha t made me want to quit. I didn' t want to stop because 1 was right behind Andrews and Blackwell and I didn' t want to lose them. I tried to keep going but my gogg les were covered up (wit h mud) . I took them off so 1 could see in the woods but w hen we go t in to th e fields it was snowi ng so har d I could n' t see w here [ was going ." Plessinger also tried "hot grips" to compete with the cold bu t it d idn't help enoug h . "The tips of my fingers were numb th e whol e tim e," add ed Plessinger. "It was misery." "I can ride in th e mud better than . so me p eo p le m ight t h ink," said ' Andrew s. "I was ou t fron t and I knew tha t Scott (Plessinge r) and Tom Norton had to ride harder becau se th ey we re behind me and had to catch up. I jus t tried to rid e smoo th and keep the bik e going." Andrews held a lead of abou t 10 secon ds on Blackwell at the com pletion of th e second lap. Conner was able to pass N orton at the end o f the seco nd la p when Norton, struggling on the Kawasaki KX125, s top ped for clean goggles . And rews also stopped, but the pit areas o f Norto n a n d Blackwell were nea r another part of the course, separated by one mile of trail. After Andre ws dep arted , members of his crew began asking around for a "dry gas" additive, which they felt wo uld help solve his worsening bog. - "Andrews started strong," said Blackwell, a 22-year old West Virginian. "He tried to pull out from us right awa y and I guess he just kep t goi ng from the re. [ tr ied to ke ep him in sigh t but he was going really good." Blackwell said that he only fell once during the en tire run, slipping at the top of a short climb near the end of the race. "I was getting tired and a little frustrated . You could n't really pick a line through th e woods. You just had to drop yo ur whee ls in a rut and go with it. It's a lot harder on your legs that way." "You couldn't see the roots or stu mps most of the time," said Conner, who also d rop ped out before the complet ion of the two hours plus one lap long event. "1 dressed for th e occasion with Cor tex gloves and every thing, so [ was wa rm ou t there bu t [ hit a rock an d my chain derailed. I lost a lap trying to ge t going again so [ just call ed it a day. I d idn' t wan t to beat the bike up too m u ch beca use [ have to get it read y to go to Arizona fo r th e la s t h a r e scr a m b les national by Tuesday; there was really no point in going on." Norton also dropped ou t after the third lap. With two and one half lap s to go, a report on the rad ios pass ed th e new s " that Blackw ell had m a na ge d to trim Andrews lead all th e way down to 20 s eco nds, bu t b y the tim e the rid ers arrived at the scoring barrels - and the two-lap board - Andrews' lead time had risen back abo ve one min u te. He ultim ately won the race by one minute, 11 seco nds. Blackwell was another minute a nd on e ha lf a hea d of Hre hor, who che cked in eleven minutes clear of Lau th and Jones. "The vision thin g was tougher to d eal with than cold hands," said Andrew s w hile warming up in his van after the race. "I 'can handle havi ng my hands get cold but as soon as you ca n't see you have to slow down. As soon as you took you r go gg les o ff yo u couldn't see because of the snow." " Go gg les jus t d idn't work today, " s ai d Blackwell, w ho p er se ve red fo r anothe r second overall, his second in the last three rounds of the series. "I tried a new pair every lap but they would just get wet and slippery again in no time. Belie ve me, it was as bad as it looks," added Blackwell of the difficulty factor. "There were a lot of deep ruts and stuff out there. In some places we were digging d own to the d ry ground but then it would snow some more and it would be bad all over again." "Actually, I d o not think that it was as bad as it looked today," said Hrehor, a native of Eastern Europe who now lives in South Carolina. "The biggest problem fo r me was the cold, not the mud . My fingers were so cold I could not hold the bike for one ho ur of the race. I changed goggles every lap w hich helped. I got stuck a few times, I crashed a few times. Third is not too good, bu t not too bad ." "Brand new brakes, bra nd new tires, brand new chain an d sprockets and it' s all w orn it, " said G en e O'Nail, th e . defending 250cc A class series champion. "It was just p lain b ad o u t ther e . I couldn't even stay on the seat at the end. This was no race for a beginner bu t I felt like a beginner out there!" Tenth overall, O'Nail finished behin d And rews Racing rider Tod d Morain (sixth overall) and Brian Keegan (ninth overall) in the 250cc A class. The top Vet A on the da y was Tim Shephard, who also crossed the finish line as the seven th-best rider in the overall field. Pennsylvania's own Ron Palermo su rvived the course to win the Open A class while Ohio's Ga ry Roach was top s in the Fou r-Str ok e A ca tego ry. Long-time ar ea wo od s racer Joe Lojak was the champion of the Seni or A +40 class. c::N Results O/A: 1. Fred Andrew s (Yam) ; 2. Doug Blackwell (Kaw ); 3. Jan Hrehor (Yam); 4. Jeff Lau th (Kaw); 5. Cra ig Jones (Kaw); 6. Tod d Mor ain (Yam); 7. Tim Shepha rd (Yam); 8. Daryl Conne r (Kaw) ; 9. Brian Keegan (Yam); 10. Gene O' Nail (Kaw ); 11. Curtis Bardonner (Yam); 12. Jeff Murgel (Ka w); 13. Ron Pale rmo (Yam) ; 14. Da vid Santi (Yam); 15. Darryl Kue nzer (Yam); 16. Bob Ellis (Kaw) ; 17. Sha wn Brell (Yam) ; 18. John Sherry (Kaw); 19. Gary Roac h (Ho n); 20. Jose ph Lojak (Yam) . PRO O/A: Fred Andrews (yam); 1. Doug Blackw ell (Kaw) ; 2. Jan H rehc r (Yam); 3. Scott Pless inger (KTM ) 4. Th omas No rton (Kaw); 5. Du an e Co nner (Hus). O PEN A; 1. Ron Palermo (Yam); 2. Bob Ellis (Kaw) ; 3. Sha wn Brell (Yam); 4. Danie l Pale rmo (Yam); 5. Ca rl Ennis (Yam) . 25 0 A: 1. To d d Morain (Ya m) ; 2. Bri a n Keegan (Yam); 3. Ge ne O'Na il (Yam); 4. Je ff Mu rgel (Ka w); S. David Santi (Yam) . 200 A: 1. Je ff Lauth (Kaw ); 2. Craig Jones (Kaw); 3. Da ryl Co n ne r (Ka w); 4. C u rti s Ba rdonn er (Ya m); 5. Robert Bennett (Ka w) . 4/ STRK A: 1. Ga ry Roach (Hon); 2. Tr acy Wa mng ton (Hon); 3. Rodney Jud son (Hon). VET A: 1. Tim Shepha rd. (Yam); 2. Darryl Kuenzer (Yam) ; 3. John Sherry (Kaw) ; 4. Gallie Ward (Yam ); 5. Mike McCa rre n (Yam). SEN A: 1. Joseph Loja k (Ya m) ; 2. Terry Mea le r . (Yam) ; 3. Harry Greenlee (Yam); 4. Dave Coombs (Yam) . OPEN B: 1. Rob in Mille r (Hon); 2. David Jo nes (Yam); 3. Rich ar d Lukaesko (Ya m); 4. Scot t Yochum (Hon); 5. David Gaitan (Hus). 250 B: 1. C lin t Bard onner (Yam); 2. Jam es Rodgers (Yam); 3. Brian Pepka (Ka w ); 4, Joh n Gri mm (Yam); S. James Teagarden (5uz) . 200 D: 1. Kelvin Hull (Yam); 2 Robin Specht (Kaw) ; 3. Robe rt Thom pson (Kaw); 4. Dave Tu rko vich (Yam); 5. Josh ua McLevy (Kaw). 4JSTRK B: 1. Mar k Mar tin (Ho n); 2. Barry Hawk (Suz); 3. Josep h Lu kaes ko (Hon ): 4. C harles Dailey (Hon); 5. Ralph Thorn (Ho n). VET B: 1. Fred Bashor (Suz); 2.. Randy Mansberger (KTM) ; 3. Wes Ault (Yam); 4. David Fiola (Yam). Senio r 8 : 1. Fra n k Erbe (Yam); 2. David De hner (Yam); 3. Robe rt Cox (KTM ); 4. To m Par fitt (Yam) ; 5. Ron Piro (Yam). SISE N B: 1. David Sanders (Kaw) . 200 C: 1. John Bennett (Suz); 2. Da niel Felger (Yam); 3. Jam es H ughes (Su z); 4. Rich ard Shaffer (Kaw); 5. Michael Dehn er (Kaw). OPEN C: 1. Brian Moore (Kaw) ; 2. Theodore Zak (Yam) ; 3. To ny Taraborrelli Cram ); 4. Daniel Brin do (Yam); 5. TUn Niclda s (KTM) . A MA GRAND NATIONA L C ROSS C OUNT RY CH AMPIONSHIP S ERI ES POI NT ST A N DI N G S (After 12 of 13 rounds): 1. Fred Andrews (155/4 wins); 2. Jan Hrehor (148/2) 3. Scott Summers (143/2); 4. Doug Bla ck we ll (137 ); 5 . Tho mas N orto n (109); 6. Tim Shephard (101); 7. Cr aig Jones (87); 8. Gene O'Nail (86); 9. Scott Plessinger (83/3); 10. Terry Cunningham (74); 11. Blair Sh arpless (64); 12. Jeff Russe ll (62); 13. Gary Roach (6 1); 14, Jeff La ut h (60); IS . D ua ne Conner (57) ; 16• . Ow ain Miller (56); 17. Rud ner. Smith (54/1 ); 18. Randy H aw kins (48); 18. Larry Roese or (48); 20. Ty Davis (42). GIVE A GIFTGET A GIFT Treat your family and friends with a holiday gift subscript ion to Cycle News and get your own copy ofthe Cycle News 1994 Calendar of Champions. 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