OFF. ROAD
. 1995 AlA Grand.National Cross Country Series
Round 10: Wilderness 500
winner was California's Ty Davis, who
won the opening round of the 12-race
series in Florida. With a rider's best
eight scores counting towards the final
tally, Plessinger is now in control of his
own destiny.
The event marked the first time the
Wilderness GNCC appeared on the
series schedule. The rescheduled event,
originally planned for an Ohio facility in
June but postponed due to a summerlong drought, was held on Saturday
rather than Sunday so as not to conflict
with a huge benefit race the next day in
Ohio. The change also meant that the
bike race would precede the ATV event
and ensure tight, virgin trails of the
roomy Wilderness Water Park.
"This is will be a' true hare scrambles,
and that's what 1 like," said Plessinger
before the run. "Maybe this will slow
the early pace down a little for everyone." The hilly course measured more
than 11 miles in length, most of which
was through closely knitted trees. Lap
times hovered just over the 3D-minute
mark throughout the afternoon. More
than 200 riders attended the event.
Plessinger suffered a terrible start,
going into the woods in last place, but
was still able to work his way up to
fourth by the end of the first lap. Summers had an even-worse opening lap.
"I hit a tree on the first lap and
that's why I was so far behind," said
Summers. "1 had to stop and bend the
brake pedal back out, but it was still
sticking out a little bit." Summers completed the first lap right behind
By Davey Coombs
CLARKSBURG, WV, SEPT. 30
eam KTM's Scott Plessinger took a
huge step towards retaining his
number-one plate in the AMA
Grand National Cross Country Series
when he captured the 10th round overall win at the Wilderness G CC in central West Virginia. The defending
Champion took advantage of a late miscue by title rival Scott Summers to
secure his place at the top of the points
standings with just two rounds left in
the series.
"There's a lot of racing to go, but 1
feel comfortable going into the last two
races," said Plessinger, who also has a
pair of National Hare Scrambles titles to
his credit. "If I can just stay in front of
Scott and Fred (Andrews)..."
Finishing a season-high third overall
at the Wilderness GNCC was Yamahamounted Duane Conner, who led a consip,erable part of the first hour. Fellow
Yamaha riders Doug Blackwell and
25Dcc A-class winner Brian 1
