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··OBSERVEDTRIALS:. .:. Round 7: United States . > '.W orldChampionship Trials.Series. O~rwd By Jon Maeda Photos by Patrick Dick inson and Mark KariyalDirt Rider NORDEN, CA, JUNE 25-26 T h e World Championship Trials Series returned to the United Sta tes after a one-year hia tus, and th e astonished spectators on hand may have witnessed history in the making. Fivetime World Trials Champion [ordi Tarres dazzled the crowd as he danced his factory Gas-Gas to a decisive win, further extending his series point lead . As it now stands , it looks as if Tarres is well on hi s w a y to a record-setting sixth World Championship title. Tabulating a sc o re of a m ere 18 points, Tarres easily outclassed the rest of the field. Finishing in the runner-up position was Tarres' 21-year-old countryman and teammate, Joan Pons, who a ct u a ll y tied 1992 World Champi on Tommi Ahvala wi th 26 points. By virtue of a lower Saturday score, Pons ed ged Ahvala for second-place honors. Still, the former champ was happy to gamer third-place honors aboard his factory Fantic. The snow-flecked mountains of the Donner Ski Ranch serve d as a perfect locale for the seventh round of the 1994 Wo rld Championship seri es . Last playing host toa World round in 1982, Donner remains a fav orite wi th Am erican and foreign riders, alike . The ski resort, owned by trials en thu siast Norm Saylor, abounds with huge slabs of granite, tall pine trees and tra ction galore. An ide al w eekend of geritle breezes and 78 degree weather gre e te d a total of 24 competitors, ab out five of whom were capable of toppling th e mighty Tarres m a chine from the pod ium. N otabl e ' among th e co m peti to rs wa s W atsonville, California's Kip Webb , the only rider to h a ve ch allen ged th e Donner course in both the 1982 and 1994 events. At 36 years of age , the burly, muscular Webb remains a cons tan t threat on the Amer ican trials champio nship circuit. Sa turd ay 'S ac tio n saw th e one-lap, fou r-mile course cro wde d, as spectators - es tima te d by organizers at app ro xima tel y 3000 on Saturd ay and 7000 on Sunday - took to the hill s en masse to watch the ride rs at tack the 12 sections. The new standards of World Rou nd competi tion have the riders negotiatin g a sing le loop as a qu alifier on Satu rday, to thin the ranks to a field of 40. For the Ame ri can ro und , howe ve r, no such thinning was required as only 24 riders started the event. Consp icuously absent w as reigning Ll.S, N ati onal Ch ampion Ryan Young of Pennsylvania, who lately rides only in d ef en se o f his Na tion al titles, with littl e in teres t in making appeara nces a t Wo rld events . New York's Ray Peters, a contend er for the Ll.S. crown,was presen t, tho ugh sidelined by injuries to his wrist and should er suffered during a midweek practice session. Peters rode a new French-built Scorp a a t the Cali forn ia El Tr ia l d e Espana in May, an d wo u ld certa inly ha ve been a top American contend er had it not been for his ill-timed injury. The Ll.S, round was the second of the series to utilize the new th ree-minute rule w ithin th e sections. Some r iders , notably Steve Saunders of Great Britain, w ere kn own to tak e as long as seven minutes in a section. Thi s often caused bo ttlenecks and long lines , preven ting some ride rs from being able to finish the event w ithin th e allo tted time. When 20 Five-time Worl d Champion Jordi Tarres captured his 51st career win in 'style and further extended his series point lead.