Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.CRosse NTRY MA~· country Championship Series Round11: High Point Raceway "I pulled in the pits to change the wheel and 1 had my dad spin the tire to make sure that it was the rotor, but, sure enough, it wasn't bent.! decided then to just go ahead and ride without a front brake. 1 was' in second at that point and while we were in the pits, Duane Conner passed me. I knew that if 1 went out there and stayed in third. or even fourth (with Hatch now out of the picture) 1 would win the championship, so ! just went out there and did the best that 1 could." After snatching second spot from the pitted Summers, Pennsylvania's Conner continued his steady ride to nail down the runner-up spot at the finish. Afterward, Conner spoke casually of his bestto-date season finish. "During the first lap, ! fell down two times, but nothing serious, ! just fell over after hitting some wet roots or something. ! got a little bit behind; but after the second lap it all came together and 1 just rode my own smooth pace, and 1 seemed to be able to pick the other guys off. I'd rather it be muddy every race, it seems to suit me and ! can relax in this stuff." Not immune to the lap-after-Iap grinding, Connel" s brakes also went south. "The rear brakes only lasted about half of the race. ! was using the metal part (of the pads) at the end to By Jim Talkington 42 - MT. MORRIS, PA, SEPT. 28 earn Honda's Scott Summers slogged through the quagmire which was once the High Point GNCC race course to clinch his eighth AMA National off-road title. Entering round 10 of the Grand National Cross Country Series needing a third or better to clinch, Summers took the podium's "show" position, doing what had to be done under a torrent of rain which fell without pause from raceday's dawn till beyond the checkered flag's fall. Scott Plessinger, KTM's defending GNCC National Champion, arrived at Mt. Morris with no logistical chance of retaining the title but had every intention of topping the field in conditions to which he is well suited. Acknowledged as the rider "most likely to succeed" in such conditions by many of his competitors, Plessinger was relaxed and ready to go at it from the moment he rolled to the starting line. From holeshot to finish, Plessinger was not once headed, winning in convincing fashion. "Everything went perfect," Plessinger said. "I got the holeshot and just wanted to make sure that! didn't make any mistakes on the first lap and let anyone around. It was time to go for it after that (the first lap). It was raining SO hard that you couldn't see that well, but once! took my goggles off ! could ride a lot better. ! wanted to keep them on that first lap, just in case 1did get passed." The first circuit took just over 30 minutes while the competitors felt out the approximately eight-mile course, which included a generous portion of the famed High Point Raceway National MX course. Entering the barrels behind Plessinger was Summers, just two seconds down. On his tail was fellow-title contender, Team Suzuki's Steve Hatch, followed by SCR Yamaha's Duane Con- (Above) Scott Plessinger (1) grabbed the holeshot and never looked back, winning the High Point GNCC round with ease. But It wasn't enough to prevent Scott Summers from winning the championship. (Right) Summers splashes througll the brake-pad-destroylng mud to finish third and officially clinch his fifth GNCC title. ner, Hatch's teammate Randy Hawkins and Yamaha riders Doug Blackwell, Brian Keegan and Robert Bennett. Former champion Fred Andrews lay in 12th after one lap but would eventually find his way to fourth at the finish. . Hawkins applied his National End uro experience to the nasty terrain and picked off three riders on the next lap, moving past Summers to claim second position, but the South Carolina native would not break the top five on this day, despite his ability to excel in such conditions. Requiring a pit to change both sets of brake pads (which had been eaten away by the silty mudgrinding comp01tnd) knocked Hawkins down the field and, eventually, just out of the top five. A disappointing day overall for Team Suzuki, the likable title contender from New York, Steve Hatch would ..retire after drowning out on lap four and see his title hopes go down also. Former AMA National Hare Scrambles Champion Rodney Smith's Suzuki sat silent in the pits after he chose not to make the start, opting to rest injured ribs in prepara tion for his run a t the final National Hare Scrambles rounds (which he currently leads). The top competitors all found them: selves encountering brake problems due to the conditions, save for Plessinger, who was in a zone of his own this day. The now four-time National GNCC Champion, Summers, despite his multitude of National race starts, had never seen anything like it. "That was the most abrasive race on brake pads that 1've ever raced in my life," he said·. "After 45 minutes, my front brake pads were gone and so was my rear brake. We!ve got a great, proven brake setup, so that fact tha.t mine went away really says how gritty it was out there. On lap three 1 got back around Randy (Hawkins)...! think his brakes went away right before mine did. Never in a GNCC have! worn out a pair of brake pads, so in my mind that wasn't even a possibility. stop so I just didn't use the brakes much at all. ! just stayed in the groove and kept rolling." . After two and a hall' hours of racing, Plessinger crossed the finish unchallenged, just over two minutes allead of Conner, who had put an equal amount of time on Summers in third. Andrews Racing's Fred Andrews put together a steady ride for fourth with fellow Yamaha rider Doug Blackwell climbing the order lap by lap to round out the top five. Hawkins, KTM rider Jason Dahners, and the Pennsylvania-native trio of

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