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,',C WisecolYamahalDunlopJlTPlBr8king'Grand NationalCrOss Country series' , Round 1" Florl"da Motorsports Complex ',AMA O S: COUNTRY: ," ', ' ,, ', ' RS 1 - -- - - - - - - - - - ---=-- - - - _ ::.-..- - (Left) The AA class heads Into the first tum, with Steve Hatch (211) leading the way . (Below) Overall winner Guy Cooper (136) chases defending champion Fred Andrews, who was held to third by brake problems. Coopor COO, in off·ro d ··dobat·· By Davey Coombs OCALA, FL, MAR 10 n a meeting of one of the most competitive off-road fields in recent history, Team Suzuki's Guy Cooper emerged victorious in the opening round of the Grand National Cross Country Series in central Florida. Riding a Suzuki RMX250, the former 125cc NationalMx Champion won a four-way battIe with defending National Hare Scrambles Champion Scott Summers, defending GNCC Champion Fred Andrews and Team Green off-road star Ty Davis: Though he has participated in other off-road events in the past, Cooper, 32, was making his official debut as a Suzuki off-road team member, and this marked the first major win of his budding off-road career. "It (the race) was everything I imag-' ined it would be," said the American Suzuki/FMF /Moose/Dunlop /Galfer/ Bel-Ray / Uni / Pro-Taper / UFO / Sidi/Arai/W.E.R./Scott-backed Cooper. "Everyone said that these guys go pretty fast for two hours and then pin it for the last two laps or so, but that was my race speed all day long. I was going for it the entire time. I'm just beat right now. " Cooper edged Summers by just a few seconds after nearly three hours of racing on the dynamic seven-mile long Ocala track. The two put themselves in contention for the overall win after Andrews lost his front brake with two laps to go, and Davis destroyed a rear hub with just three miles to go . Both Andrews and Davis were leading the entire field of 272 riders when their misfortunes occurred. The final sprint for the win between Cooper and Summers saw the lead change hands at least three times before Cooper broke from the woods first and into the final motocross section. Andrews held on to a close third, while Davis had no choice but to drop out of the race. I , Rounding out the top fiv e over all were Suzuki's Steve Hat ch and Team Mirage's Thomas Norton , w h o was piloting a Kawasaki KXl25. Doug Blackwell, Kawasaki legend Larry Roeseler, five-time National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins, Vet class leader Tim Shephard and Team KTM's Kelby Pepper completed the top 10 in that order. The Ocala course was designed and managed by Jeff Russell and Tim Coombs of Racer Productions, and featured such challenges as tight woods, a hard-packed motocross track, long stretches of sand whoops and some case-busting lime-rock sections. The AA field headed the rows of riders . Desp ite his unfamiliarity w ith deadengine starts, Cooper took early control of the race and two th ings qu ickly became clear: Cooper was fast , and Cooper was inexperienced. "I got out front on the first lap and really didn't know what to do or how fast to go," admitted Cooper. "I looked back and saw Fred (Andrews) right behind me, so I waved a t h im like, 'Okay, let's get it going now.' I didn't go 100 yards before a vine ripped me off my bike." Early on in this series opener, a conflict that first erupted late last season resurfaced, as Andrews and Summers collided on the first lap. Andrews went inside of Summers in a tight comer and the contact caused both to go down. Summers was the last of the two to recover and the first to point his finger after the race. "Fred found a good line on the inside that really wasn't on the trail, but it was a legal line," said Summers. "He rammed me with his front tire and took me out. I'm getting a little tired of taking all of this. Maybe it's time to start giving a little back." Andrews was in control of the race until a problem w ith his front brakes triggered a chain of bizarre events that would decide the outcome of the race. Andrews overshot a tum entering the motocross track and surrendered the lead to Cooper. Then, after touching both wheels on the second jump of the double, Andrews overshot the following comer. As fate would have it, the defending champ slammed into Summers' mechanic, Fred Bramblett, who was watching his own rider from the outside of the comer. The impact literally knocked Bramblett out of his shoes, but fortunatel y he was not serious ly injured . Andrews soldiered on, his braking problems compounded by a string of banner hi s rear wheel had picked up . "I gave it 100%, but things just didn't turn out for me in the end," said Andrews. "I hit a rock or something and lost my front brake, then I went into the banners and that made things worse. I creamed Fred (Bramblett), but it wasn't on purpose or any thi ng. I really hope he's okay." , With Andrews having pr oblems and Davis and Cooper racing together, Summers' late charge went almost unnoticed until he was clo se en oug h to make a pla y for the lead , but Cooper knew he was coming. "I could hear Scott's bike for the last two lap s even though he was a couple hundred yards back," said Cooper, "and I can tell you that's a frightening sound when he starts getting close." . By the time the last lap wa s underway, Summers was right in the roosts of Cooper and Davis. Then Davis made a move of his own. "I just hammered down and caught him (Cooper) and he got tired," sa id Davis. "He was making , b ig mistakes and I could see it in his riding style . I mean, he was crazy from the beginning, but then he looked back and saw me and got really ou t of control. I mentally had him . I was yelling, 'Coo pe r! Cooper!' and then I passed him and was, like; gone. I thought, 'Bitch in', I'm going to win .''' With less than three miles ' to go, however, Davis' day ended when his rear sprocket came lose and sheared itself off the hub's mounts. "Davis was right behind me, and on the last lap he started yelling and hollering at me every time we slowed down," said Cooper. "He passed me and was ju s t rippin' down the trail. I didn't know if I could catch him. He probably would have won it had his bike not broken." With Davis' departure from the race, the battle for the win came down to Cooper and Summers - two riders decidedly different in size, style and background. Regardless, both knew it was time to go for it. "Scott and I were banging around there at the end," said Cooper of the exciting finale. "Movin g Summers off the trail is like trying to move a Pinto out of the way."