Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

CROSS COUNTRY AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CROSS COUNTRY SERIES By Jim Talkington CROSS ANCHOR, S.c., MAR. 23 !! love you guys," Scott Summers told the crowd after overcoming a situation during the race that nearly idelined the Honda XR600 rider to win round three of the Grand ational Cross Country Series in Cross Anchor, South Carolina. With the aid of spectators, Summers was able to get back into the race and capture his fir t victory of the season after running out of gas in the woods near the race's midway point. By salvaging fuel from a nearby quadcycle, spectators and course marshals were able to bring the big XR back to life. Summer would find himself a minute and 50 seconds down on race leader Steve Hatch but would, somehow, overcome that deficit by the end of the. race.. . "If it wasn't for them (the spectators), there's no way that I would've even been in the hunt", a gracious Summers said afterward. "1 was really disappointed (when he ran out of gas), but J felt like my motorcycle was working so good, and I liked the track so much, that J thought, 'well, maybe those guys will have problems like I did and I'd wind up back in the race.' " The top three finishers on this day would mirror the 1996 series' final points standings with the national number-one, -two and ·three bikes finishing in that order. Trailing just a few seconds behind the Honda rider in second place was Team KTM's Scott Plessinger. A spectacular battle with Summers on the final lap and a bit of his own misfortune found Plessinger on the ground just long enough for Summers to break free for the win. Current series points leader Hatch filled out the podium and retained his series points lead with a third place finish. Fourth overall went to British import Paul Edmondson in his best (and only) series finish to date, rebounding from DNFs in the two previous rounds. Team KTM's Jason Dahners completed the top five. Riders that took time to walk the challenging and entertaining course before the event looked forward to the day's race with great anticipation and were not disappointed. Eight miles of virgin trail, grass track and a unique starting area were laid out by Racer Productions' Dave Coombs and Jeff Russell and proved to be a hit with competitors. After two tight turns, the start opened into a nearly half-mile section composed of two long, grassy straightaways designed to thin the pack before entering the woods. Located in western South Carolina near the Georgia line, Cross Anchor shared similari ties wi th the previous Road Atlanta round, an abundance of exposed roots littering the trail and perfectly clear skies and warm temperatures being the order of the day. Absent from the pro pits on this day were top 10 riders Randy Hawkins and Doug Blackwell. The two Yamaha competitors were both away to compete in other series with which they have commitments, Hawkins at the K,algary, Texas, National Enduro and Blackwell at the Cadiz, Kentucky, Mid-South Hare (Above) After running out of gas, spec:tlltors come to Scott Summers' aid by draining fuel out of a quad cycle and Into the winner's XR600. (Left) Scott Plessinger gave Summers a race to the finish but a crash two miles from the end of the race ended his charge. He stili finished a close second. Scrambles. The Grand National Cross Country Series allows a rider to throw out their five lowest scores at season's end, so missing a round at this point does not seriously jeopardize their GNCC Series overall chances. Ironically, this event is almost in Hawkins' back yard, who hails from Traveler's Rest, South Carolina. At the starter flags, Rodney Smith rocketed his Suzuki into the first turn ahead of the pack bu t drifted wide in the slick, grassy left hander, opening the door for teammate Hatch and the rest of the pack. A short straight and a 90-degree right turn later, the track would open up into the first fast straightaway, where competitors would reach speeds estimated above 60 mph. . The race would end here for former National Champion Fred Andrews and his Yamaha, just two turns and a couple of upshifts into the event. With Hatch pulling a clean holeshot and taking over as the new fastest starter in the series, Andrews held a close second before taking a trip over the bars in a spectacular, end-over-end crash while the pack raced around him. With much speculation surrounding the cause of the endo, videotape revealed that Andrews' rear wheel apparently hit a stump that was missed by his front tire, sending him over the bars and out of the race with a sore back. Once past the downed Yamaha, the order was Hatch, Plessinger, Smith, Summers, Edmondson and the rest of the pro field, as they disappeared from view. Road Atlanta winner and reigning National Hare Scrambles champ Rodney Smith would not fare much better than Andrews, losing the front end of his Suzuki before entering the woods for the first time, less than half a mile into the event. "We came out in the big grass field and [ just went by Plessinger and the front end washed out and I went down. My knee was hurting real bad, and my side." Smith would forge onward but decided to call.it quits during the second lap. "1 finished the first lap but starting into the second lap 1 got my bike stuck in the mud and my knee was hurting too bad to go on." Smith finished out the event in a lawn chair, while icing down his injured knee. First to appear from the woods at the

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