Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127836
OFF-ROAD AMA GRAND NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY SERIESIAMA NATIONAL HARE SCRAIIBLES SERIES By Jim Talkington HURRICANE MILLS, TN, APR. 6 aul Edmondson and his Suzuki crew have been saying that it was just a matter of time before the British rider would make his mark on the AMA Grand ational Cross Country Series. At Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch he did just that, taking the overall win for his first-ever GNCC victory and his second career National Hare Scrambles win - a series which he now leads after three rounds. With less-than-stellar finishes east of the Mississippi so far this season, Edmondson would have been considered a long shot by most to win Loretta Lynn's combined GNCC and National Hare Scrambles series event. After winning the Holli ter, Canfomia ational Hare Scrambles, the 27-year-old Brit crashed in the opening G CC round in Ocala, Florida, and has been struggling not only to keep pace, but also just to see the finish line in 50 percent of his season-ta-date GNCC entries. Overcoming the difficulties of dealing with a new country, new competitors and a foreign form of off-road competition, Edmondson put it to the Yanks by bagging the Loretta Lynn's victory, one of the premier off-road racing events on the AMA calendar. Team KTM's Scott Plessinger settled for second after battling Edmondson for the race's entirety, finishing 34 seconds down after three hours and six minutes of racing. A wide margin separated the rest of the pack with Scott Summers, Steve Hatch and Rodney Smith filling 0.- out the top five, each separated by at """ ~ least twa-minute margins. Race morning dawned warm and sunny, a welcome relief from the previ- ..... - 18 (Above left) Britain's Paul Edmondson earned his flrst-ever AMA Grand National Cross Country win as he grabbed the overall In the combination GNCClNatlonal Hare Scrambles round at Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch. (Above) The pack attempts to . ascend a muddy hill. (Left) Scott Plessinger stops for fuel en route to his second-place finish. ous day's downpour which threatened to turn the course into a quagmire. In the Pro pits, riders made precautions in the event that mud became a factor, but the cooperation of mother nature left the course in ideal condi tion by the 'loon start time. Moderate winds and a cloudless sky dried the 11.5-mile course to perfection, the western Tennessee woods and spectator motocross area greeting a 3OO-rider field with the usual mix of challenging Racer Productions obstacles and challenges. Absent from the day's sign-up sheet were two of team Yamaha's top cross country riders, Duane Conner and Fred Andrews. The GNCC national number four and five riders, respectively, were both home with injuries which left them unable to ride. Washington, Pennsylvania's Conner sustained a broken forearm while practicing just days prior to the event when he came up short on a double jump on teammate Randy Hawkins' South Carolina practice track. Andrews, meanwhile, was home in Orno, recuperating from a cracked vertebra he suffered in a spectacular endo at the start of the South Carolina G CC round. Andrews hopes to return to the series by round six while Conner will most likely be out until after the midseason break. Twenty-two pro riders made up the first wave at the starting line with Team Honda's GNCC champ Scott Summers lined up next to ational Hare Scrambles Champion Team Suzuki's Rodney Smith. For the first of two times this season, both riders wore number one on their rides since they w.ould be competing in a race which paid points for both series. Summers has come to regard Loretta Lynn's as something of a "home track" and would be a favorite going into the event. The Dude Ranch typically draws a large number of spectators from his native Kentucky and the XR pilot has notched numerous wins there to bolster his confidence, claiming victory in five of his fast Si'i attempts. Smith had also won here previously when Summers failed to finish in 1994. Still nursing a sore knee from the previous round two weeks ago, Smith would put in a good ride for the day but would not be able to challenge the top positions. Bursting from the dead engine start it was G CC points leader Steve Hatch in the point position. As the field rounded the first left-hand turn and disappeared over the steep hill in spectator view, it was Hatch, Yamaha's Doug Blackwell and Plessinger comprising the lead trio