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/127796
HARE SCRAMBLE" . N~ Ha~ SCrambles SerieS . Round 8: Belltown Hare Scrambles By Cheri Allx Photos by Jay Chittenden EAST HAMPTON, cr, JULY 28 t was the second running of tl;te Salmon River County Riders' Belltown Hare Scrambles, and the club spent many nights clearing stumps and rocks and cutting back branches. They did a good job of widening the trail, allowing for passing in most areas. But this is N.ew England, where the woods are nothing but rocks and roots. It's just the way it is and everyone's used to it, especially ToddJ.,evesque. The Yamaha rider threaded his way through the trees to record yet another victory, this time over Kenneth Law and Tom Norton. The track was a 5.7-mile loop, all of which was run last year. The traction was perfect after Friday's heavy rain with only one water hole. The course was aU woods, with many tight turns and long straightaways. The Expert/ Amateurs were scheduled to run seven laps with a 1 p.m. start. After only a 15-minute delay, the flag went up. Getting his first holeshot of the y.ear was C-Cycle/Stehley's Patrick Timothy. The course weaved in and out through the brush before heading into the woods. Timothy held the lead going into the woods with GP Racing's P.J. Peculis right behind. As the riders came around at the end of the lap, it was Timothy still out in front with five seconds on PecuIis. Wes Clarke was in third followed by Norton and Levesque. Trying to move up into the top five was Manchester Honda's Josh Mclevy. Mclevy made one of the most spectacular passes of the day at the water hole in an attempt to pass Dave Gunn, whom he had been hounding for most of the lap. Mclevy let it all hang out, going off the side of the trail with the throttle wide open right through the brush. He made the pass and was now I (Above) Eric Rougeau (22) continued his winning ways by topping the Junior class for the third stnIlght time. (Right) Kenny Law overalled the A class. in sixth but down 40 seconds. Out in front, Timothy was holding onto the lead until about two miles into the second lap. '1 was feeling good and the bike was working great, but I got nervous when I heard them coming up behind me," Timothy said. "I took a glance to the side and lost concentration. I then hit something and went down." Luckily, he was able to get back up with only PecuIis sliding by. But by the end of the lap, PecuIis had a 23-second lead .over second-place Timothy, and closing in behind were SCR/Yamaha/ Scott's Norton and Ro~'s Cycle/Factory Connection's Levesque. Clarke, who started out in third, was now back in fifth place after crashing several times. Sixth-place Mclevy closed the gap on Clarke to only six seconds. By the end of the third lap, it looked like Peculis was going to run away with the event, coming around with a 3O-second lead over Norton, who was now in second place. Levesque had moved up to third, down another 10 seconds followed by Mclevy, with Timothy in fifth. Peculis continued to widen the gap until he bent his footpeg on a rock. The incident caused him to drop back into third place, down 40 seconds, as he pulled into the pits in an attempt to . repair his bike. "I knew I could've kept it out front, but with the bent peg, it was just difficult to ride," said Peculis. Once again the lead changed hands. This time it was Norton in front with off his water' pump, putting an end to his day. This allowed Timothy to inherit fourth place. Taking over fifth place was Manchester Honda/Factory Connection's Rick Claxton. Claxton was going for his second Expert overall, but Hoot Owl's Ken Law had the hammer down and was closing in. But as the riders went into their final laps, the lappers began to slow the pace.