Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

l\HOUSI, c,' sr c.o CO Italian ace Sala, th e reigning 250cc World Endu ro Cha m pion, was in th e thick of it, th ou gh, on h is tw o- stroke KTM, a nd he ac tua lly nosed ahead of Pe t erh ansel a n d Ch arb on n el at o n e point. • "But straigh t away I sank into a bog and got wa ter in the carbure tor," Sala s a id . "Th ey p a s s ed m e back a lmos t togeth er." Wit h th e lead ers riding a lm os t an h our a hea d of sc h e d u le , the cr owd hea ded for the unrnissable fina l on Le Corbeau Mort, a sho rt, steep, slippery, fire-brea k climb that is transformed with the a id of floodlights. As u sual, th ousa n ds of sp ecta to rs blocked the en tire w idth of the hill , moving aside only at the last moment as the tw o lead ers burst fro m th e forest an d at tacked the fin a l climb . Bot h mac hines came to a stop at the same place, and the following scene was just unreal. The crowd formed into two massive human ch a ins a n d drag ged , pushed , u rged a nd forced th eir heroes u p the hill. Engin es screa med at peak re vs for w h a t seemed hours, radiat o rs b oil ed ov er, and th e hilI d isappeared und er clouds of steam. Tortured clutches gave off the acrid stink that herald s "the end" fo r th e friction plates . As the human crocodiles writhed their way up the hill, CharbonneI' s chai n ga ng ou tpowered Pe te r ha ns els, but a d e ad heat was declared as the crowd had made the difference . Sala arrived nine minutes later, a nd upon his reachin g the top of the hill, a crowd of Italian spectato rs pa ssed him over their heads to the pod iu m. A fur ther seven minutes later came the firs t Husky ri d er - Fr e n chma n Christia n Bou let. Fifth wen t to Nico li, als o on a Husky. "I got stuck in a bog very close to the s tart, " Nicoli said. "Boulet helped me ou t of it, so it is rig ht that he finishes in front of me. To finis h fourt h is great, but 1 really aim to win it next year!" Sar tin an d Hughes ca me ho me 10th and 11th, respe ctive ly, p leased to have finished but already planning next year . "Tha t wa s u nb eli e va ble," Sartin said . " N o o ther e ven t even co mes clo se . When w e come back next year, we wi ll know exactly what to exp ect. To get up with the leaders we need to be mu ch better organiz ed and have a lot of helpers a ro un d th e course - li ke th e French have." C ha r bo n ne t who is th e only rider to have finished all five Gilles Lalay Classics, was disappo inted not to have been a clear wi nner . " I drowned my bike at the penu ltimate hazard, the [arrud Ca scad e," Charbo n n el said . "Step hane caugh t a nd passed me." But Peterhanse l reckoned that justice had bee n don e and th at, after fiv e hours a n d 18 minutes of co n tinuous riding (o n t op of four a n d a half hou rs in th e morning) , the game of cat and mouse ended in a d ead heat. 0 Gilles La lay Classic Limoges, France Results: February 25, 1996 O /A : 1. (TIE) La u re n t Charbon nel l Stepha ne Peter h an scl (Kaw) 5:18.22; 3. G iova nni Sala (KTM) 5:27.30; 4. Chris tian Bou let (H us) 5:31.20; 5. Arnalda N icoli ( H u s) 5:41.03; 6. Eric Be r n a r d (KT M) 5:44.18; 7. Serge Nuq ues (Yam) 5:46:44; 8. Davi d Castera (Yam) 5:48.55. 9. Dominique Cosil s (Yam) 5:56.01; 10. Rob Sarti n fl, (Left) World champion 250cc enduro ri der Giovanni Sala gets carried atop Le Corbeau Mo rt , or Dead Crow Hili. Sala was t hir d, nea rly 10 m inu tes behind Charbonnel and Pete rhansel. (Rig ht) Th is Is what the Classic is all about: r iders bogged down in r uts and mud w ith spectat ors en joying t he La lay melee. (B el ow) South Afr ican Alfie Cox flogged his KT M to 25t h p lace at t he fi ni sh . Over 4 0 Vets class . " I think my · endu ro day s are over." An d rew s' said, "l'll stick to classic .scrambles this -summer. I can still win themr' T op Brit is h ri der. fo r mer 12 5cc · Andre ws has also sampled A merican desert race s during his varied World End uro C ham p io n P au l Edmo ndson , and seve ral top ' career. Spanish riders cou ld not ride the . Lalay . bec au se it clashe d w ith a ' A mong the 36 offic ial finishers was S pa ni s h C ha mp ion ship r ou nd . . Worl d C ham p io nship trials ac e Edmondson was furious abou t" the B runo C amozz i. A board his clash as he. rated the Lalay as the Yam aha YZ instead ofhis us ual event to wi n; Fonmer tw o-time Lalay G as-Gas. Camozzi bat tled his ' way wi nner Sven Eric Jonsson and . top , to the finish two and a 'half hours S wed es were al so' kept awa y by ' behind t he winners, Belgian tri als unfortunate National commitmenis . rider'O a n y Crosset finished much In contrast. Britain moved the date . h·i gher. in 12th. . . o f it s opening N at ional C ham piStatistical types' may be interested onship back a week to allow Sartin to" know 't hat the favorite brand and Hughes to compete, .forthls years Lalay was KTM with 49 entrie s . Th e Au s trian 'mar que The supe r-t o ug h Gilles La lay w as f oil o w ed by Ya mah a ( 48 ) . C lassic might not be everyone's Husq v ar na (37 ) , Kaw asak i (28 ). .idea o f a funda you t . b utIt is · financially rewarding if you can · Honda (23), TM (1 1J. Husaberq (7), win it. Some $9 000 is up for grabs ' Gas Gas (4), Suzuki (1) :. · to the first man who can reach the _First 6f the two four-stro ke finishto p of Dead Crow Hill first. · 'ers , "an hour afte r the leaders. was Ve tera n ail -ro unde r Mick · Laurent BouffioUll. in ' 14 th. His ' Husab e rq 3 50 ap peared t o b e Andrews was the oldest starte r in more tr act able than the 600 cc ver· the Lalay at age 52 . Andrews just faiied to qualify by two plates in the ' sio n s used by several b rave starters. morni ng qualifier but still. wo n the Briefly.....

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