Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ENDURO ECEAEndtiro series Round 10: Foggy Mountain Breakdown Enduro (Lett) The Lafferty Brothers, Rich, Mika, and Jack (from left to right), tlnished tlrst, fourth, and tIfth, respectively, in the ECEA Foggy Mountain Enduro. (Below) KawasakImountad Len Rehatchek Sr. rode strOng and won the Super Senior B class. BLAIN, PA, JULY 21 magine this: miles and miles of rolling, green hillsides. Upon closer inspection a serpentine track appears lined with yellow surveyor's tape and scores of manufacturers banners. Ten thousand wild spectators press up against the tape to wait for the passage of their national heroes, jabbering in foreign tongues, cheering for all. Sounds like the World Enduro Championship series or ISDE right? Well, except for the 10,000 spectator thing, the scene described was the final special test at this year's Foggy Mountain Breakdown Enduro, held on July 21st in Blain, Pennsylvania. Coincidentally, the final special test also played a pivotal role in determining the day's overall champion. Coming into the section, National Enduro Series title contender Mike Lafferty was in the driver's seat, marshaling his KIM to a lead .of five or more points over the entire ECEA field, except, that is, for a pesky Suzuki-mounted Fred Hoess. Hoess nearly went poin't for point with Michael all day long and trailed by but a single point prior to the final start control. Hoess nearly managed to steal the win with a scorching run through the turf and ended up posting the best score in the section, beating the flip of the card to shave a point and even things up. Lafferty, however, was only seven seconds slower and managed to hold off the hard-charging Hoess, winning the overall by a slim three-second margin. The event was run from the spacious Blain Fairgrounds, located west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Hosted by the Susquehanna Off-Road Riders, this midpoint in the ECEA series saw an unbelievably high turnout of riders, as over 320 riders entered the series' only closedcourse enduro. A contributing factor was the fact that the weekend was graced with perhaps the best July weather possible with clear skies, low humidity and cool temperatures that dropped into the 50s on Saturday night and race-day highs that topped out in the low 80s. The sizable field included a number of big names incl uding the Lafferty brothers, Bennett, Lojak, Hoess, a full complement of ECEA AA riders including Spence, McHale, Grossman, Cossaboon, Stankiewicz, Vanaman, Shenigo, and Benson and a considerable influx of nearby District 7 racers. Club co-trail bosses Jack Weitzel and ECEA president Mike Vanovich had laid - out an 85-mile ride split into two loops through the heavily wooded Appalachian highlands of central Pennsylvania. The course was to treat riders to some unbelie-vable picturesque mountain vistas and surprisingly loamy dirt sections through pine needle-covered forest floor and grassy mountain two-track. Ooser inspection, however, revealed non-ridable challenges. Off-camber trail running across the face of open, wooded mountainsides traversed scores of basketballsized rock piles, fields of sharp loose rocks, and literally cords of downfallen logs. At signup the club had posted the disclaimer: "By the very nature of its name, this is an endurance event. Riders should be prepared accordingly." This was no joke. There were three points-taking sections planned for each loop. The ride was unevenly split as the morning loop was to cover a shade less than 35 miles. Speculation had most riders looking past the morning's ride.and saving themselves for the afternoon's 50-mile jaunt. This proved a bad assumption. The morning's ride started innocently enough with mostly timekeeping trail and connectors for nearly the first 10 miles. Soon enough, the speed average was bumped to 24 mph and riders were checked into a lengthy section that proved extra slick due to a heavy morning dew. Nearly six miles of greasy rocks yielded to an emergency check-out at which Mike Lafferty and Fred Hoess tested best with four-point scores. Michael also got an important early edge on emergency points here, going 251 to Hoess's 261. Mark Spence and Jack Lafferty Jr. were close behind through the section with 5s while a handful of other top contenders including Richard Lafferty, Ross Benson, Craig Shenigo, Shawn Brell, Brian Blanchard trailed with 6s. As was to become the norm for the day, the check-out was followed by a healthy reset to get everyone back on time. Woods roads and trail connectors for several miles brought riders to a checkin to the morning's second special test. While somewhat shorter at about four miles, this section contained perhaps the boniest rock piles of the day and even some tight trail in second-growth forest. A secret check-out found Mike Lafferty, Hoess and Jack Lafferty each carding 2s, while Spence, Shenigo, Brell, Blanch, Dwayne Shirk, Rich Lafferty, and Bill Atkinson roosted in a point behind at three. A short reset a precious little rest time elapsed before riders were dumped back into the mornings final section, another 3-miles-plus excursion through the rocks at a blazing 24 mph. Here Michael Lafferty got an important leg up on the competition, setting a two-point benchmark through the section. Hoess, Spence, Jack Lafferty Jr., Benson, Shirk, Brell, Blanchard, Rich Lafferty, and Robbie Mohn each dropped three. A nice trail ride of woods roads and asphalt returned battered riders to the fairgrounds for the gas stop and a much needed 25-minute break. The standings at the midway point had Mike Lafferty leading the field with the only 8 card, Hoess nipping at his heels with a 9, Jack Lafferty Jr. two down at 10, and Spence with an 11. Like the morning, the afternoon loop' contained three more point-robbing sections, the final being the much anticipated grass-track special test. Things started quickly enough as the check-in to the fourth special test was found a little over a mile out of the gas stop. What followed was another fairly short section that was a tad over three miles, sandwiched by secret checks. Hoess and Lafferty picked up where they left off in the morning, each posting benchmark two-point scores. Again nearly the same handful of top riders followed with 3s, including Spence, the other two Lafferty brpthers, Benson, Shenigo, Shirk, Brell, and Larry Poplin. After the obligatory reset, the club gave everyone a break. For nearly the next 30 route-sheet miles, riders were able to soak in the incomparable Appalachian mountain scenery with a brisk timekeeping trail ride over mountaintop woods roads, smooth loamy trail and other' connectors. Eventually all this fun came to an end with the check-in to another lengthy points-taker. Another five-plus miles of abuse, a secret checkout and subsequent reset resulted in Michael Lafferty and Hoess shaving another point, scoring three in the section to the 4s posted by the rest of fast crew. Eight or nine miles of trail and road connectors were used to get riders to the start control at the beginning of the grass track; a reset provided just before to assure everyone's arrival on time. Out of the gate, the grass track had riders roosting turffur nearly four and a half miles in a series of fields laid out in the rolling hills south of Blain. The combination of flat corners, short straights, and constant turns kept speeds down, assuring that none would be able to match the section's 24 and 36 mph speed averages. Here, Hoess made his run for the gold, beating the flip of the card by four seconds to post the only 2 through the track.. Michael Lafferty had the second-best time through the section, posting a 3, but only seven seconds behind Hoess' benchmark. A plethora of other riders posted 35, Ross Benson trailing Michael Lafferty by a few ticks, and Spence's time several seconds behind Benson. With that, Michael Lafferty squeaked out the overall win with a 16-404 card, a mere three seconds ahead of Hoess's 16-407. Afterward, Grand Champion Michael Lafferty was more than happy with his ride, saying his factory KTM worked nearly flawlessly (except for a blown fork seal in the morning) and the '1ack of pressure" associated with these familiar local rides really boosted his enjoyment. Regarding the race itself, Mike raved that it was "a national-caliber test that took more points than the recent Rhody National." He continued, "The grass track section was like icing on the cake." Mike saluted Fred Hoess's ride, and his run through that section in particular, saying, "Seven seconds is like an eternity in that type of test." For his trouble, Hoess didn't go home unrewarded, 'earning second-overall honors and the High Point A trophy. Hoess really seems to have gotten his factory-supported RMX dialed and is sure to be a force for the duration of this ECEA season. Manassas Honda CR250-mounted Mark Spence filled the third overall slot, finishing with a 21 card to stay in the thick of the ECEA series points battle. Spence's main competition, the other two Lafferty brothers, Jack Jr. and Richard, filled the fourth and fifth overall slots, respectively, dropping 21 and 22 points on the day. o· 1996 Foggy Mountain Breakdown Enduro Blaln, Pennsylvania Results: July 21, 1996 (Round 10 of 19) O/A; 1. Mil

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