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iE D R ··. . . .... . Round 6: Little Raccoon Classic N U O· ' AliANational C hampionshl E nduro series' Defend ing cha mpion Randy Hawk ins took his fi rst win of the serie s. WELlSTON,OH,JUNE 12 36 andy Hawkins should think about relocating from his home in Traveler' s Rest, South Carolina, to the state of Ohio. Just two weeks after winning the Ohio round of the National Reliability Enduro Series, the Team Suzuki Off-Road rider took his first victory of the year in the National Enduro Series at the Appalachian Dirt Riders' Little Raccoon Classic - also held in Ohio. "Next year, I'm going to try and see if I can get the AMA to hold six or seven events in Ohio," joked th e five- ti m e National Enduro Champion after his win. "It 's usually one of the tighter races - a lot like where I live. It's slip pery, and it takes a lot of throttle and clutch control. It can also get hot, and it usually helps if you slow down to go faster." Hawkins - the king of brake-dragging - is perhaps the best rider on tigh t, technical, tree-lined trails like those found in Ohio. He dropped just 12 points in the event, four ahead of runner-up and Ohio native Terry Cunningham. The event has long been a stop on the National circuit, and nothing can take the place of experience when it comes to putting on enduros. The lIB-mile course was mu ch dryer th an has become the norm for th e pa st few yea rs, and ruts . formed in previous mud runs had dried out and hardened. With a light layer of grass co ve ring the ground, the ruts became in visible. A s trai gh t-24 mph speed average was utilized, and as is normally the case in Ohio, tree-dodging s kills were a priority . Hawkins described the event as "just a good, oldfashioned enduro." Ha w kins norm ally ge ts the yea r off to a slow start, and this year has been no d ifferent. Com in g in to th e e ven t, Ha wkins had won two Qu alifiers and a National Hare Scra mbles, but the Raccoon victory was his first in the end uro series. . "For a cha nge, th in gs went really well," said the American Suzuki/MSR/ Metzeler/ Scott/Bieffe / Pro Circuit/Factor y Co n ne ction / RK/ Braking /l00%/ Pro Taper / Motion Prof Acerbi s/ BelRay / Sprocket Specialists / Troy Lee / Boyesen / Uni / Rocky /WER-sponsored Hawk ins . "I th ink it's too early to say I' m m akin g a comeback; ask m e in abo u t th ree races. I think it was just a ma tte r of everything coming together and going my way." Four-time National End uro Champion Terry C unning ham, on a Yam aha WR25O, was second overall on his home tu rf, "It helps (the home-court advantage ), but it' s not as big a difference as everyone thinks," said Cunningham. "Like the first 40 miles of trail, I'd never ridden before, and the last part I had on ly rid de n about eigh t or nine years ago. The stuff that was familiar, was just because they ha d used it in the Qu alifier tw o weeks earlier. Mainly, it's jus t the fact that I feel comfortab le." Cunningham wasn't feeling comfortable in one special test, when the bolts on his sides ta nd loosen ed up and it began flopping around. "I had clipped a tree in the sect ion before, but I didn't realize it had loosen ed up," said the former champ. " It was bouncing all over the place , and at one point it kicked me completely sideways on a straight trail. I figu re d I' d better stop and do so mething, so I rotated it count er-clockwise up on to the peg and just stood on it with my foot. That made me have to stick my foot out when I shi fted, so it slowed me d own. I figure it almos t cost me second overall." Rid ing in h is first -e ve r National End uro, cross country ace Doug Blackwell finis hed an impressive third overa ll, ridin g on m inute 49. " It was surp rising, " a dmitted Bla ck well , w ho campaigned a Kawasaki KX250. "Normally when I' ve ridden endures, I've been on t h e s a me m inute as Terry (Cunningham). This was my first time on my own. I just did w hat the computer to ld me. I d on ' t know how to ride possibles an d all that s tu ff, so I jus t tried to sta y on time all da y. I think it was an advantage being on a late minute." Blackwell actually tied Cunningham on points, but lost out in the emergency checks. Rejuvenated veteran Kev in Hines was fo urth, frustrated at not hav ing m ad e up m ore ground on H atch. "It was pretty dismal," said Hines, who dropped 17 points. "It was an easy event - lots of pavement and di rt roads. Ra nd y ha d a real good ri de, but I should have been up there in second. I lost a point to those guys after a gas stop. It was about a mile later than it