Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

HARE SCRAMBLES Round 2: Wilseyville AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HARE SCRAMBLES SERIES (Left) After a disappointing start at the National Hare Scrambles Series opener, WQrld Enduro Champion Paul Edmondson came back at round two in Wilseyville, California, to score his first major win in the. United States. (Right) Defending Hare Scrambles Champion Rodney Smith maintained his series points lead with a runnerup performance. mon son storms oc By Davey Coombs WILSEYVILLE, CA, FEB. 23 t only took two tries for World Enduro .Champion Paul Edmondson , to make his presence felt on the American off-road scene. The 27-yearold American Suzuki import bettered teammates Rodney Smith and Steve Hatch at the second round of the 1997 AMA National Hare Scrambles Championship Series in Northern California. The win came just after a U.S. debut in which Edmondson didn't exactly set the world on fire, finishing fourth at the series opener. So, the multi-time World champ set his sights on round two. ''It was really important for me to win this race and in the last few weeks 1 put a lot of pressure on myself to get the job done," Edmondson said. "This whole thing is 9 personal goal - why I'm here - and it was big for me and Suzuki and everyone. No one knows how badly I want to win here. To have it all happen in the second race is really great." The Wilseyville race was located in Northern California in the middle of the Sierra Nevada, about an hour's drive from Lake Tahoe. The organizing clubTwo Plus Two (2+2) MC - put together a diverse track of 10.5 miles, the riders completing a total. of seven laps at an average of about 26 minutes per lap for the overall winner, Edmondson. With basically moist conditions, the track rutted up in spots and was very . technical in some areas. The course also included a few fast runs through the big, widely spaced trees. A very small motocross section was built as a nod to the fans who attended, but the highlight of the run was the knee-deep Mokulmne River crossings that the riders had to negotiate. "It was a mostly natural track with a bit of everything," Edmondson said." The ground was soft and loamy and we had to walk the bikes across the river twice a lap. I guess you could say it was as much a thinking race as a fast, full-on, three-hour ride. It was very interesting." About 200 entries made the trip to the remote race site, where the weather was cold in the morning, but mild in the afternoon. When the race started, it was former world-class motocrosser Smith who snatched the early lead, followed by local"heroes-done-well Patrick and Brian Garrahan. Teammates Edmondson and Hatch were next. 'Steve actually got the holeshot but after a quarter-mile of the race 1 was in the lead," said Smith, who lives about two hours from the race site. "At the first wa ter crossing, Brian Garrahan passed me - he was going pretty fast. But once 1 got back by him before the second water crossing it was pretty much me and Paul out front." "After Hollister 1 taught myself how to start because I did so poorly to begin with," said Edmondson, who finished fourth in his first American outing a fortnight earlier. "1 felt like 1 had the pace, but the early part of the race hurt my chances, so getting a good start - at least in the top five - would make my job easier." While his Suzuki teammates Smith and Edmondson were rolling away with the win, Hatch was having an off day. "I just couldn't get into the zone," the former National Enduro Champion said after the run. '1 just didn't feel right on the bike aI!.d I couldn't put anything together." Hatch mostly rode between his teammates and the Garrahan brothers during the Wilseyville race and ended up third. "Rodney was leading the whole first hour and the Garrahan brothers kept popping up," Edmondson said. "Steve dropped back straightaway, so I figured it would be Rodney and myself. It took a quarter of a lap to catch him, and once I hooked on I just followed. I was going to do two pit stops - Rodney was set to only do one - so I followed until my first gas stop, which took about 10 or 15 seconds. Then I went real hard and caught him in a couple of miles. We hooked up again and I followed his lines, swapping places and all. "When Rodney made his pit and I didn't have to, 1 decided to make a break," Edmondson said. "That was with two laps to go. Then on the next lap 1 came in for a top off and they told me I had over a minute lead, so I got going again after my fuel and there was really not much to it after that." "Paul caught right back up to me after he gassed the first time, then I caught right back up to him when 1 stopped for gas," Smith said. "But I got kind of stuck in the second water cross'ing that lap and Paul got away from me. That was really the end of the race for the win. '1 felt really good, 1 was never tired, and 1 felt strong and comfortable," Edmondson said. "Once I got with Rodney, I could stay with him quite easily, and that helped my confidence a lot." 1f '1 was surprised that Paul was able to win this early in the year because at Hollister I didn't get to ride with him that much and 1 don't know how he did," Smith said of his teammate. "This week I was really surprised at how he walked the course before the race, picked out some good lines and stuff - 1 thought it would take him longer to pick up on that knowledge. The first time he passed me, it was a great line where he carved a nice path through the trees and passed me. Paul was impressive." l~ Wilseyville Hare Scrambles Wilseyville, California Results: February 23, 1997 (Round 2 of 8) O/A: 1. Paul Edmondson (Suz); 2. Rodney Smith (Suz): 3. Steve Hatch (5u,): 4. P.trkk Garrahan (J

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