Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127661
',1994 AMA National Enduro , ' ' Round 3: Bell Ranch ,E D R N U O series By Davey Coombs File photos by Steve Berlmer TURKEY, TX, MAR. 27 me r ican Suzuki's Steve Hatch w it hou t a d o u bt established himself as the m an to beat in th e 1994 AMA National Enduro s, winning the th ird round at Bell Ranch in Texas by the narrowest of margins , Ha tch edged Suzuki teammate and five -time Na tional Enduro Ch ampion Randy Hawkins on emergency seconds after each finished the run wi th a total drop of six points, But H atch wo n the enduro, dubbed the Ca prock Ca nyon Na tional, by 25'seconds on the tie-breaker. Team KTM's Jeff Russell finish ed another point down in third , while CREmounted Ke vi n H ines and KTMequipped Josh Whitaker rounded out the first five overall. "This is the first time I've ever been ..... l-t ~ 14 in the lead at this point in the series," sa id Ha tch , a resid ent of Ithaca, New York. "I'm usually a slow starter. I feel reall y go od abo u t m y ch anc es ri gh t now; better than I ever have, really." As for his qu ick start in the series Hatch has w on tw o of th e firs t three rounds - th e Su zuki pilot cr edits his temporary chang e of ad dress during the off-season for hi s recent s u cc ess. "I guess the biggest asse t was practi cing in California w ith Rodney Smith for th e last few months. With th e winter s so tough in New York, going out there for th ree months gave me confi d ence to start 100% ins tead of waiting six months to find my rhythm and my confidence." H atch was the s ta r of a field of approximately 250 riders that attended the third National enduro of the season, which was run with great acclaim by the Post Enduro Association. The enduro was located in the middle of the northern part of the panhandle o f the Lon e Star State. The course totaled approximately 125 miles, without resets. The enduro started at 8:00 a.m. and was over close to 3:00 p.m.. Although the event w as on the dry and d usty side, most riders agreed that the organizers went out of their wa y to ma ke the run an enjoyable and spectatorfriendly event. "They held a yo uth e nduro on Sa t u rda y along wi th a grand-p rixs ty le race. It was really neat becau se most of the mechanics got in on the GP ra ce and it was fun to let those guys ride for a change," said H a tch , who lists his sponsors as America n Suz u ki , Moose Racing, Trelleborg Tires, Cycle Gear, Bieffe He lmets, Smith Goggles, FMF, RK Chain, Uni-Filter, Jerry Bernardo, the Bad Betty . Squadron, Sunoco Racing Fuel, Answer Pro Taper bars, Alpin eStar, Acerbis, 100%, Bel-Ray, Po w er Ba r, Cee t, Motion-Pr o, JT Sprockets, Works Enduro Rider and Link Racing. He also m en tions tha t his mechanics are Joe Shedron and Dan Fuller. (Far left) Steve Hatch won his second National In three tries , extending his advantege In the points race. (Left) Defending Champion Randy Hawkins had the same score as his teammate Hatch, but finished second on tie-breaker points.