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• ENDURO . AMA National Championship Enduro Series Round 5: The Little Rhody Enduro riders zeroed the section. Some riders commented that the section was a little dangerous, with lots of slightly covered roots, giant whoops and low-hanging branches. "The section wasn't too technical," said trail boss Seymour. "It was added simply to increase the mileage of the event. The terrain is very different from what riders face during the rest of the enduro. If the riders make significant changes to their bikes at the first gas stop based upon this section, they'll be in trouble." After the first gas stop, there was a sneaky check that caught several of the top riders off guard, including Davis and Team Suzuki rider and former . National Enduro Champion Steve Hatch. Both burned the check, dropping two points to the competition. The first test section came next and the club checked the riders in and out with all of the top riders zeroing the first check. The section was littered with rocks of all shapes and sizes along with plenty of mud and water. Many of the top riders complained about hitting rocks they never saw. Hines, Hawkins and Mike Lafferty rode this section .extremely fast and smooth, scoring the best times. Hines dropped 4:06, while Hawkins dropped 4:08 and Mike'Lafferty 4:22. Davis and Hatch also scored 4s but were out of the hunt with their previous burned check. Jack Lafferty Jr. was the only other rider to score a 4, just making the flip of the cards at 4:57. There were only a couple of 5s, while most of the top riders dropped six or more minutes at this check. A reset allowed most riders to get back on time before being checked into another test section. Again, it was a rocky, technical section. Several riders crashed, with a high number of knee injuries. Hines, Hawkins, Davis, Hatch and Mike Lafferty scored 2s. Jack Lafferty Jr., Husaberg-mounted Kevin Bennett, Kawasaki-mounted Mark Spence and WER rider Chris Smith scored 3s, while the other top riders dropped four Or more points. By Larry Toby' Photos by Kinney Jones WEST GREENWIQI, RL JUNE 23 n the rough, tight, rocky and techni'cal terrain of Rhode Island, Team Suzuki rider and five-time National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins scored his second consecutive win in the AMA National Championship Enduro Series. The win moved Hawkins into the series points lead over Kawasaki Team Green's Ty Davis, who held the lead after winning the first three rounds. Davis finished fifth on the day, spending much of the time struggling with a bike setup that didn't suit the difficult terrain, and now trails Hawkins by 13 points, 119-106. Veteran rider Kevin Hines got off to a strong start to take the early lead, though he would ultimately finish second overall, only four seconds behind Hawkins. Third and fourth overall, respectively, were the Lafferty brothers, Mike and Jack Jr., both of whom put in strong rides to finish just off the pace of the leaders. The Rhody Rovers Motorcycle Club held their 26th annual Little Rhody Enduro in the heavily forested terrain of Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut. "Ninety percent of the event is held on state forests in two different states," said trail boss Richard Seymour. "Land use is a constant challenge. This land can b~ ridden by permit and with severe restrictions." Despite the limitations, the club put on an outstanding event that was enjoyed by aU of the top riders. Rain had been threatening all week. Under cloudy skies on Saturday, Seymour predicted the top rider wou Id probably ose about 22 points. For the first time in a week the sun popped out early Sunday morning, drying up the terrain. Race conditions were the best anyone could remember result~ in a winning score that was half of what Seymour had expected. . "These guys in Rhode Island did a great job," said Hawkins. "They check you in and check you out with a few sneaky checks. It's a technical race, which is an advantage to me. When it comes to technical stuff, I think I'm as fast as anybody. "This place has been very good to me," continued Hawkins. "And Ohio has been good to me. If I could keep the series' events between Ohio and Rhode Island, maybe I would be in the hunt for another championship." Hawkins is in the hunt, as always. Hawkins had to ride fast to stay in front of CRE-mounted and former National Enduro Champion Kevin Hines, who always rides well in his own backyard. Hawkins beat Hines by a mere four seconds. "The last time this event was a National in 1990, Randy beat me by about fOUI seconds then," Hines said. Hines rode very well, beating everyone through the first two sections. At the second gas stop, Hines held a very slim two-second lead over Hawkins. Hines, known to favor brutal conditions, was a bit frustrated the event wasn't harder or longer. "It was a good event,just a little too easy," said Hines. "By the time I really got going in the afternoon and felt good, the race was over. If it had rained, the results would have been different." KTM's Lafferty brothers, from nearby New Jersey, looked sharp all day. Mike was definitely on the gas, trailing Hines and Hawkins by only two seconds in the morning and afternoon sections. In addition to Mike's third and Jack's fourth, brother Richard finished I 10th overall, while Jack Sr. won the Super Senior A class. While the top four racerS were all veterans of eastern racing conditions, Kawasaki Team Green's Ty Davis had never ventured this far east before. Davis was unsure of what to expect and appeared to be riding tentatively. "I did th best I could today," said Davis. "I kept losing 20 to 30 seconds to the leaders here and there. I came in one day early but that wasn't nearly enough. I need a whole week of practice out here. I wasn't prepared. My suspension setup was all wrong. I would have been better off if I had no valving at all. They (some of the local riders) told me there weren't many rocks out here. It was all rocks! Next time I will be better prepared." Davis finished fifth. The enduro started in a grassy field before going into the woods in a relatively easy section with few rocks. The loop was challenging enough to keep everyone on the gas. Only the top dozen (Above) Team Suzuki's Randy Hawkins took his second consective National Enduro win to take over the series points lead. (Right) Leading the way after the first two checks, CRE's Kevin Hines finished a close second.