Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

::·AM LIA IL.IT E D ·R . ':series ·. Round 2: William's Ranch R B l N UEnduro :-: E O' ANational·Chaiilpioil$hipReliabil' amel al home in Ihe dDSI By Steve Berkner CROSBYrON, TX, APR. 16-17 ompeting in dry, dusty conditions, Kawasaki's Danny Hamel beat Suzuki's Randy Hawkins by ( 34 seconds to win his first-ever National Reliability Enduro at the second round in Texas. Due to a fourmonth dry spell, the competitors - most of them accustomed to wet and muddy woods riding - found themselves in riding conditions more akin to a hare and hound. It was those conditions that allowed Hamel, a three-time National Hare & Hound Champion, to employ his desert racing techniques and leave his competitors in the Texas dust. Riding in the Heavyweight two-stroke class, Hamel put together a string of top-10 special test scores to post the win. "I just tried to ride hard during the two days," said the Kawasaki Team Green/Thor/ Alpinestars/Bieffe/Braking/Dunlop/Donjoy /Endura/F&L/ RK/IMS/Maxima/N-Style/Pro Circuit/Scott/Sprocket Specialists/Back Canteen/Terrycable/MXA-sponsored Hamel. "The dust and dry dirt conditions definitely favored us desert racers. 1 went out there this morning (Sunday) with the lead and rode conservatively, trying not to make any mistakes." Kelby Pepper followed up with third place on his KTM 125, putting tiddlers in two of the top three spots (Hawkins rode a Suzuki RMl25). Just five seconds separated the scores of Hawkins and Pepper after two days of special tests. "My ride was pretty much uneventful out there," said Pepper. "The 125s were really at a disadvantage in the grass tracks, though, especially on day two, when the trail turned to powder. 1guess I'm happy with my performance:' special-test talents were challenged by two motocross tests and two terrain tests each day. Because of the dust, a final motocross was not held. The MX tests were held in a sandwash near the pit area. Both tests were approximately one mile long and were used each day. The terrain tests were approximately four miles long each, and consisted of tight single-track through manzanita and cacti. Both tests were used on both days . During a day-one transfer section, riders were routed through the "Rambo" area, a canyon ridge the club traditionally showcases on their enduros. The 30-inch-wide trails com bined with a tight schedule made it impossible to stay on time. All the riders were late to the following check check 10 - and were assessed route points. Only the eventual top-four overall finishers - Hamel, Hawkins, Pepper and Andrews - got away with dropping just two points, with the rest of the field arriving even later. Riders were penalized 60 points for each minute late, and in a sport where 60 seconds can separate the top 10 places, the two-minute-late crew had a distinct advantage. This set off a flurry of protests after day one, with many of the seasoned Six-Days vets voicing their displeasure with the section . Andrews may have won the qualifier had his inexperience not cost him after the section in question. Riding in his second reliability enduro ever, the (Above) Danny Hamel capitalized on familiar, desert-llke race conditions to post his flrst-ever reliability . enduro win. (Right) Who says enduro riders can't race motocross? Kelby Pepper punishes a powdery Texas berm. Hawkins, who campaigns an RMX250 on the National Enduro circuit, concurred. "I really like riding the 125 in the tight terrain sections," he said. "The 125s are losing too much power to the 250s in the deep sand." Filling out the top five places were Grand National Cross Country Champion Fred Andrews and off-road Jack-ofall-trades Larry Roeseler. Heavy dust plagued most of the 168 riders, making it difficult to read the ribboned trail each day. Getting lost on the countless criss-crossing trails was a common problem. During the first day's second special test, many of the riders became lost and ended up cutting the course, throwing off many of the test scores. The confusion led the event's orga- nizers, the Lubbock Trailriders, to throw out the first terrain test. Club president Dan Hooks said they were forced to use ribbon almost exclusively, rather than the more traditional florescent arrows. "The grazing cattle havea tendency to ea t the markers," he explained. "We can spend all day before an event putting up arrows, and if the ca ttle decide to move in overnight, the arrows are.gone." The course markings may have also played into Hamel's hands. "I make my living following ribbon in conditions like these," he said. "I'm sure that's the reason 1did so well here." The course consisted of two days over the same 92 miles of trail, located 20 miles southwest of Crosbyton on the 12,OOO-acre WilIiarn's Ranch. The riders' Yamaha pilot was extremely fast through the manzanita, but was still scored two minutes late. "I was a little confused when 1 came into the check," said Andrews. "I was the only guy there, and none of the other guys on my minute were around. 1 sat there and waited another minute until 1 figured it out." "Even though 1 was already one minute late when 1Cameinto check 10, 1 had plenty of time to get punched in," said Hawkins, another victim of the check. "I started begging with the lady to punch me in quick. She musl've got confused because she started looking at both sides of the card like she didn't know which side she should punch, and my minute went away." . Kawasaki's Roeseler, Davis and

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