Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Riders traversed sand and snow at the High Desert 250 Dual Sport Ride In the vicinity of Ridgecrest, California. perature had warmed up before the morning was over and snow was a thing of the past. Riders who were expecting the 80mile route to be a walk in the park knew they were in for quite a ride the moment they saw th.e roll chart. "I like a roll chart that's real long because that means there's a lot of corners to power around and that's what we had this weekend - two 16-foot-long roll charts," Woodruff said. The enduro-like trail with its singletracks, canyons so tight the handlebars almost scraped the walls and steep uphills was a sharp contrast to Saturday's easy-going ride, and turns as often as every tenth of a mile kept the riders on their toes all the way to the lunch stop in the historic mining town of Randsburg. "The afternoon was gorgeous and the course had some of the nicest singletrack through places up above Ridgecrest that I'd never been on or even close to," Woods said. "And 50 whoop-dedoos all day was about all there was. You can't beat a day like that" ~ SETRA Enduro series, Round 9 a Smith ~ smokes ~ By Kenneth King 0\ 0\ CHARLESTON, SC, JAN. 12 he skies were clear and the temperature hovered near 30 as the riders prepared for the start of the Swamp Fox Enduro. Recent rains made the trail dust-free, and by midday the mercury rose to the high 50s - great enduro weather. This race marked the 25th. anniITer- T 28 sary of the enduro, held in the Francis Marion National Forest. Throughout that time, the Family Riders have had a reputation for hosting a great enduro. Over 400 riders signed up, coming from as far away as New York. They were not disappointed. Team KTM rider Allen Gravitt was finally off the injured list. He has ridden a few hare scrambles, but this was his first enduro since his broken ankle. He was anxious to show everyone that he hadn't lost any of his speed. Fellow KTM rider and series points leader Franklin Ramey has been on a roll lately, having won several SETRA hare scrambles since the last enduro in November, and he was looking to keep the streak going. Many felt that a Gravitt-Ramey battle was in the making. What occurred was a Smith-GravittRamey war. Steven Smith showed what he could do in the South Carolina sand as he took the overall, his third win this season. The Thor-sponsored Smith has always said that he likes to ride in the sand and whoops, and the Swamp Fox had both. Gravitt and Ramey ended the day in a tie, with Gravitt nudging out Ramey on the tie breaker. Gravitt took first AA and second overall, while Ramey rounded out the top three. For several years, the Family Riders have been promising new trails for the SETRA/FTR co-sanctioned event. Last year the club gave everyone a taste of what they had to oHer with 10 or so miles of great new trail. With the help of the forest service and Ollie Buckles in particular, the club got its permit and roughly 40 miles of new trail and a little over 70 actual ground miles for the race. The enduro started in the ORV park trailhead and ran everyone through a fairly whooped-out 1.l-mile trail to a power line and the first reset. Mileage was adjusted to 2.9, and three tenths later was the first check. The following 10.8 miles proved to be fairly tricky, and very muddy in sections. "I really didn't look at my clock in the first section," Smith said. "J just nailed through the mudholes. Bikes were stuck everywhere." Riding on row 26, he cleaned the section, coming into check two with a 26.31. Gravitt, riding on row 25, also zeroed the section with a 24.32. Ramey, on row 28, didn't see his day start off as well. "[ got stuck in a bad mudhole," he reported. "When J got out, J rode like a maniac, thinking I was really late. I guess J should have paid more attention to my clock. I just had brain fade." Ramey came to check two at 27.04, four seconds shy of being two minutes early and was penalized two points. Smith, Gravitt and Open A rider Mitch McRee were the only riders to zero the first section. Dropping one to three points seemed to be the norm for the faster rid. ers. The ection's mud bogs claimed many victims before the day's end. After the first section, riders were given an ample reset and a chance for gas, if needed. At 27.2 miles there was a restart for check three and 11.6 miles of new trail. The trail started out fa t, but tightened about halfway through. The ground was nice and sandy wi~h no more mud. Smi th and Ramey posted fast times through, each rider losing two points at check four. Gravitt, 250cc A rider Doug Masencup and Senior A rider Mike Gentry had the next-best times through with three-point losses. Again the club gave the racers a nice reset followed by several miles of road to the next section. At 56 miles, all went back into the woods and were greeted with check five, with 6.4 miles of trail to follow. Most of this section was new, much of it running through pines. About 1.3 miles of very tight handlebar-width trail really slowed everyone down. This short section would be the major points-taker of the day. Smith and Ramey once again posted the fast times through, both riders dropping three points each. Gravitt and several top A riders dropped four in this section, with five to seven points being the norm in the A classes. After check six, at 69.88 miles including resets and 41.9 actual miles, was the first gas stop. A generous break was given to help everyone recover. Check seven was a restart at 76.8 miles and the beginning of section four. This was a relatively short new trail, sandy and fairly fast - fun was the best way to describe it. Smith made it through to check eight with a 1.43, Gravitt a 1.29, Ramey with 1.J4 and Senior A rider Robert eeley with aLSO. After a reset, there was a restart at 88.8 miles for check nine and the beginning of the last section. This trail was about half new, half old, very fast, very sandy and with a lot of whoops. Smith, Gravitt and Ramey were the only riders to make check 10 on their minute. Most of the A class dropped from one to six points. In the end, Smith claimed victory with a score of six. '1 didn't have any problems all day, things just really clicked," Smith said of his ride. Gravitt dropped eight points for the top spot in the AA class, second overall. Ramey also dropped eight, two of those being early points, and took the third overall position. Masencup took overall A honors on his Yamaha with a 10. Don Baxley on a KTM was the overall B winner with a 17 and Vet C rider William Prosser had the low score in his class with a 22. Results O/A:.l. Steven Smith (Kaw); 2. Allen Gravitt (KTM); 3. Franldin Ram"}' (KlM); 4. Doug Masencup (Yam); S. Robert Neeley (KlM~ O/A: 1. Steven Smith. Ak 1. Allen Cravitt. 2. Franklin Ramey. 8. 250 A: 1. Ooug Massencup; 2. Johnny McCoy; 3. Steve Saunders. SR Ie 1. Robert eeley; 2. Mike Gentry. stSR Ie 1. Chart;" Bridges; 2. Jerry Harris. MSTR A: 1. Joe Van Seeters; 2. Ron Miller; 3. Wayne Beaty. 200 A; 1. Tommy Veator; 2. Martin Pruet; 3. Russell Epley. OPEN Ie 1. Mitch McRee, 2. Richard Lynch. 4-STRK Ie 1. Jimmy Lynch; 2. John Harris. VET A: 1. Kim Watson; 2. Robert Pearson; 3. Damien O'Neill 200 B: 1. Raymond Cotten; 2. Jimmy Myers; 3. Joey West. 250 B: 1. Don Baxley; 2. Chad Coleman; 3. Frank Anello; 4. Brent Mercer. VET B: 1. Dan Jackson; 2. Mike Moore; 3. Richard Morabito; 4. Pooner Powell. SlSR 8: 1. Terry Anaas; 2. Bill Watking. 4-STRK B: 1. David Baldwin; 2. Geoff Poole; 3. John Cues. B OPEN: 1. Johnny Campbell; 2. Ooug Sanden;; 3. Jolin Carver; 4. 8.J. Moretz:. SR 8: 1. Richard Sox; 2. George Noxon; 3. Martin Shipman. MSTRB: 1. Ned Sanders; 2 Bud Hardeman; 3. Don Harless. usc: 1. Reggie Yarborough; 2. Patrick Hughes; 3. Scott Weldon; 4. Jesse Goode. 2S0C: 1JYhillip Sims; 2. Sam Altman; 3. Kevin Sebastian; 4. uavid Holbrook. VET C: 1. William Prosser; 2. Pat Williamson; 3. Frank Erickson; 4. Clint Johnson. SR C: 1. Greg Cowan; 2. Steve Branscomb; 3. Stuart Bradow; 4. Sam Mento. 200C: 1. Chris Venters; 2. William Roof; 3. David Rensel; 4. Mathew Gillard. OPEN C: 1. Scott Mount; 2. Shannon Ham; 3. Charles Richey; 4. Mike Culler. SlSR C: I. Mark Zachary; 2. Kenny Hardee; 3. Ray Cotton; 4. Steve Huggins. 4-STRK C: 1. Wayne Andrews; 2. Brian Dowle!Js; 3. Jammie Oontz; 4. Duane Well#ngton. MSTR C: 1. William Fordham; 2. Art Thomas. DUAL SPT: 1. BryiUl Newton. SPTSMN (O-200): 1. Bradlee Jo Cribbs; 2. Dane Smith. SPTSM UOl-OPENl: 1. Adam Militello, 4 7. WMN: 1. Elaine obles; 2. Kim Seals. GLDN MSTR: 1. Joe Haley; 2. Buddy Cianard. By Clay Light VANCOUVER, WA,IAN.19 AMA Expert Todd Tracy served notice at the championship round of the Clark County Fairgrounds' Indoor Short Track Selies that he and his 750cc Yamaha twin are a force to be reckoned. with in the Pro class in the near future. Tracy put his Trackmaster Yamaha out front of the first highly competitive Open Pro heat race, an event in which the Idaho transplant handily defeated National motocrosser Grayson Hart and GNC Experts Rex Fi her and Ryan Anderson. George Prindiville did likewise in a heal-two win over Lee lensen and john Myers. Pole-sitter Tracy timed the start perfectly, launching into an untouchable lead. Prindiville, though, had his hands full with Hart, who rode a Honda CR25O, and 600cc Rotax riders Anderson and Fisher. Plindiville held under incredible pressure to net second-place money behind Tracy, but ahead of Anderson. Hart overtook Fisher on the final lap for fourth ahead of Fi her, jensen and john Sperry. Another dose battle was waged in the 80cc A main between Oregonians Timmy Ricketts and Sean Light. Ricketts grabbed the lead and seemed to be a runaway winner until Light came from behind to dose in and ultimately catch Ricketts. Light pushed Ridoetts for seven laps, but fell short by a half-wheel length. joey Hazel finished a distant third ahead of Cory Hallen and Tyler Wharton. Yamaha rider Todd Hill fended off Randy Jungwirth's advances throughout the 250cc A main to net what would be the Portland, Oregon, rider's only win of the day after throwing away any chances of an Over 30 250cc win. Phil Scott ran thjrd during the early stages of the main. but crashed. allowing athan Wharton to inherit the position and finish ahead of Honda rider Henry Nelson, who earlier won the Over 30 250cc final in Hill's demise, and Ricketts, the fifth-place finisher. Anderson, who carries the National number· 47 plate, ran away with a win in the Open A main, where he beat motocrosser Mike Corder, a Kawasaki-supported rider, and Pro-Am rider Brian Paul for a long-overdue win. Results OPEN PRO: 1. Todd Tracy (Yam), 2. George Prindjville (Yam); 3. Ryan AndetlOn (W-R); 4. Gl1ly5On Hart (Hon); 5. Rex Fisher (W-R). OPEN A: 1. Ryan Anderson (W-R); 2. MIke Cot'der (Kaw); 3. Brian Paul (W-R). 250 A: 1. Todd Hill (Yam): 2. Randy Jungwirth (Hon); 3. Nathan Wharton (Yam); 4. Henry Nelson (Hon); S. Timmy Rickett:s(Yam).

• Cover