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/127681
, ), <'ff' ~r~. · ~ ~.:.:.~ .~ (t:~ ,· H R ·S R M L · . ." Round 6 A E C A B E· ,' : ' -.' :ADN ational ChanipionshlpHare Sci'ambIe Series ~ --=- _ , Summers back on track (Left) Scott Pless inger leads the start of the AA class but would cras h a few turns later. He would eventually fi nish fifth. (Right) Defend ing champ Scott . Summers recorded his first National win of the season and Is currently th ird in po int s. (Below left ) Rod ney Smith led most of the race before tangling with a lapped ri der; he ended up second. (Bel ow rig ht) Thi rd--place fi nisher Tom No rton was a front-runner for most of the race before feelin g the effects of a cold and dropping off the pace slightly. By Mike Snyder Photos by Jay Chittenden SOUTH EDMENSTON, NY, AUG, 7 arlier in the season, things looked a little bleak - to say the least - for the defending champion Sco tt Summers as he struggled with not only an unu sual string of injuries but a strong continge nt of racers snapp ing at his heels. Well , the old adage " Goo d th ings come to those who wait" certainly rang tr ue fo r the Honda XR600~ mounte d com pe titor as Summers sta lk ed and waited fo r the current points leader, Suzuki's Rodney Smith, to make a mistake on the very demanding 7.1-mile circuit. Summers had his prayers answered on the seventh lap, when Smith was inadvertently balked by a lapped rider, which allowed the reigning champion an opportunity to sneak by and ultimately establish a 37-second lead that the previous leader just couldn't make up by the time the checkered flag fell. Finishing thi rd was last year 's winner, Team Mirage's Tommy Nort on, as the diminutive 125cc pilot hung tough with the two leaders for the first six laps until he started to feel the effects of a bad cold and crashed, which effectively end ed his charge. Suzuki's Steve Hatch claimed fou r th overall, while KTM's Scott Plessinger, wh o had trounced the troop s at th e previous round in Missou ri, overca me a disastrous crash to finish fifth. This win marked the first time this season tha t the American Honda/ Hond a li n e Chemical an d Oil s /Oak ley / Power-Bar/Wiseco/Alpinestar/ Specialized/ Metzeler/White Bros./US Tsub aki /Camelback / Arai Helmet / Answer E Products/Braking /TIuottle Jockey-supported Summers had stood on the top step of the rostnim. "The day went pretty w ell," said Summers . " I sort of hooked up with Rodney and 1 don't feel eithe r one of us were pushing it very har d becau se the course was extre mely tough, So we both realized early on that it was going to be a very physical race, where the first one who would make a mistake would pay the penalty and , fortuna tely for me, he managed to get tangled up with a lapper which allowed me to break away. 1 can tell you one thing, though, that XR600 definitely saved me to d ay, especially on those slick and steep uphills out on the back portion of the course. I'd have to say my bike won it for me today, that's for sure." After years of either muddy or dusty conditions, the organizers of the even t (the Thun der Ridge M.C) were blessed with ideal racin g cond itions . Co-trail boss Jim Mitrowitz guaranteed that the competitors wo ul d face a typ ically demanding circuit. As the 10 AA competitors began their eventual 10-lap o rdeal, it wou ld be Plessinger bolting out of the ga te and into the lead with Smith in tow. But his lead was sho rt-lived whe n Plessinger nailed a hidden bump that bucked him violently over the bars and land ed him d irectly in the path of the other nine comp etitors. Desp ite ge ll ing h it by num erous riders, Plessinger stru ggled to his feet, managed to get the bike up right fairly quickly but stalled the engine. He man aged to ge t the bike going for the th ird tim e in as man y tri es, bli tzed throug h a couple of turns only to crash yet again . After all this, Plessinger rode back to the pits to stra ighten out his bike and grab new goggles, Meanwhile, Smith and Summers battled up front. It wasn'tlong after entering the woods that the two front -runners wou ld beg in h ea rin g th e