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of times, but no big crashes this year,
thankful!y."
Third-placed Crawford, winner last
year and in 1990, had a much more
exciting day.
"I repaired three punctures before
the second petrol check (of six) and had
another later in the day:' he said. "And
the throttle kept sticking. I passed Jarvis
once with my Beta revving its nuts off - 1
bet that surprised him.·Then I had a big
get-off that made me feel physically
sick. 1 settled down a bit after that."
Steve Saunders, former World Trials
Championship number two and 10-time
British champ, has never won the Scott.
"I don't expect I will, either:' he said
with'a grin. "I just go steady now,
although I had a big moment when I
threw my Gas Gas down a 30-foot drop.
I was mad because I had just had the
chain off and was going too quick."
Mike Morris (2) got
the heleshot and
Doug Blackwell (1)
led early on, but
Robert Patterson
was the winner at
round two of the
Mid-South Winter
Hare Scrambles
series In
Mannington,
Kentucky.
Scott Time and Observation Classic
Yorkshire, England
Results: October 19, 1996
OIA, 1. G,aham Jams (Sco); 2. Steve Colley (G-G);
3. Robert Crawfo,d (Bet); 4. PhUip Alde.,.,n (Yam); 5.
Wayne Braybrook (Mon); 6. Adam orris (Yam); 7.
Martin Crossw";te (G-G); S., Andy Huddleston (Yam); 9.
Steve Saund.... (G-G); 10. ROS" Williams (Yam).
Mid-South Winter Hare Scrambles Series,
Round 2
Patterson
'prevails
By Paul Michels
MANNINGTON, KY, NOV. 3
arge's Cycles' Robert Patterson put
it together when it counted in the
last tenth of a mile to take home
the lion's share of the payback in AA
action at round two of the Mid-South
Winter Hare Scrambles on a sunny but
cool day in western Kentucky.
Round-one runner-up Mike Morris of
Team Green made his presence known
as he rocketed into an early lead. Morris
continued in front of the AA freight
train until he overshot a turn. Sport
Cycle Racing's Doug Blackwell was
there to take the lead. Patterson also got
by, but Morris shot back into the front
position about a mile later and led the
tight bunch of pros at the end of the first
of laps on the tight and technical 7.3mile course. Morris continued out front
until about a mile into the second lap
when a mud hole consumed his KX.
"It was just one of those things:' he
said. '1 was out front feeling pretty confident since I got through the first lap
with no real problems, but 1 guess with
nearly 300 bikes going through that rut,
it doesn't take long for them to become
nearly bottomless. When I lunged into
it, even at speed, 1 just stuck and went
over the bars. After that, 1 just played
catch-up all day to eventually finish
fifth, after a screwup on the last lap that
dropped me yet another place."
With Morris out of the picture, Blackwell took over the position and continued in the lead to check in first at the
end of lap two. Patterson stayed close,
as did Team Green's Mike Sampson.
Mike Cornett was fourth and John
Maschino fifth.
Blackwell continued out front until
. Patterson saw an opening in a tum and
shot past. Sampson followed and moved
Blackwell from first to third in a matter
of seconds.
"It was pretty tight out there:' Blackwell said. "Nobody was going to get
away today unless there was a major
S
screwup at one of the small mud holes
where a bunch of people were and one
of us got through and the others didn't
right away."
Patterson completed the fourth lap in
the lead, followed closely by Sampson,
Blackwell, Morris and Cornett.
Patterson appeared to be a shoo-in
for the overall win until he bobbled at
about the two-mile mark while trying to
pass a lapped rider and had to stop
while another rider was blocking the
trail. Blackwell shot past both Patterson
and Sampson and was sprinting toward
the finish line when they realized what
had happened.
"1 didn't think Blackwell was that
dose, and all of a sudden here he came
shooting past us:' Patterson said.
Patterson was able to return the
favor, to Blackwell's dismay.
"It was pretty much what 1 did to
him:' Blackwell said. "There were three
ruts with riders in front of me, and I followed a slower rider through and Patterson got through allead of me when
the trail came back together."
Blackwell pulled alongside Patterson
as they slid around the last tum into the
scoring tent, but Patterson got the nod
as he had about half a wheel length on
Blackwell when they passed the checkered flag.
Sampson was just a few bike lengths
back in third. Cornett finished fourth in
the AA class as he passed Morris in the
closing stages of the final lap.
CGR Racing-backed former ational
Hare Scrambles Champion Tony Hendon moved from the Vet A class, which
he has won for several years, to race the
more-competitive 250cc A class with
much younger riders. Hendon got off to
a slow start and had to hammer all race
long until the fourth lap when he took
over the lead to post the win as he also
did in round one.
Mid-South Winter Hare Scrambles
MannJngton, Kentucky
Results: November 3, 1996 (Round 2 of 11)
01 A, 1. Robert Patte.son (Suz); 2. Doug Blackwell
(Yam); 3. Mike Sampson (Kaw); 4. Tony Hendon (5uz);
5. Mike Cornett (KTM); 6. Mike Sanders (Kaw); 7.
Steven Cordon (Kaw); 8. Marty Stinnett (Kaw); 9.
Harvey Whitaker (Hon); 10. Kevin Foley (Yam); 11.
Scott Martin (J