Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

NETRA Enduro By Paul ClipperlTrall Rider magazine Photo by Jay Chittenden ASSONET, MA, MAY 25 ETRA enduro riders were given little chance to ease into the racing season at the annual Moose OffRoad-sponsored Monahan Enduro. On a day that started out gray and cool, riders were treated first to a drizzle and then to drenching rain for 80 ground miles (95 for AA and A riders), and a course that could best be described as "punishing" by all but the most sadistic of enduro enthusiasts. It was a nearendless course of narrow trail studded with round granite "boneheads" and the occasional humbling rock garden, with just enough fine 'trail scattered here and there to keep you interested in riding. Had it not been for the cold, pouring rain, it would ha ve been merely difficult. (Welcome to New England!) CRE Import's Kevin Hines found the weather - and the course - very much to his liking, as usual, and proved to the crowd, once again, that he is a merciless competitor when the chip are down. He slashed through the course on his '97 CRE, claiming he rode conservatively to drop 44 points total at the finish, while most riders considered themselves lucky to have 44 points at the first gas stop. NETRA '96 Enduro Champion Jason Cayer, also on a CRE, did his best to keep the pressure on his sponsor (Hines), pushing hard to score 49 points and finish second overall. Third overall went to KTM rider Hans Neff, who checked out with a 59 card. The riders were given little time for warming up, with a tight, bony section right off the start that carried them to the first check-out and reset at 11.3 !I1iles. The giveaway that something nasty was going to happen in this section was the 20-minute reset, which most of the C riders and many of the B riders used up completely after the long section. The fastest riders through were Cayer and Tom Norton, who hammered through only six points down, beating Hines by a full minute. Norton, riding a 125cc KTM, is last year's NETRA Hare Scrambles Champion and a former GNCC rider, this year trying his luck at enduros. Pete Tanner was the nextfastest through, with a nine-point card, while Hans eff and Max Parks dropped 10 each. The score to beat in the B class was 11 points, with KDX rider Tim Dinge and KTM pilot Mark Cufkin tying with 11 each; while the C riders tried to beat the 19 set by Doug Douchette and Rick Sagun. They didn't have a lot of time to rest and savor their ride up to this point, as check two came up about five miles down the course and checked them all into the second section. If 11 miles was too short for you, the second section handed out 12 more miles of fierce punishment, now that the rain was starting to fall in earnest. There was a little more room between the trees this time, however, and the scores showed it. Hines picked up the pace with a two-point score, while Cayer slipped in behind him with a four, tying them up for points so far. Norton and Neff both· did a fOllr in the section, while Tim Dinge stretched his lead in the B class with the (Right) Kevin Hines survived the wet • weather to win the NETRA John Monohan Enduro in Massachusetts. "fastest" nine-point score, only matched by the nines of Bill Riordan and Bob Stadler. Douchette continued his control of the C class, with an eightpoint card. The first gas stop followed, with a 33-minute break that most riders welcomed as a chance to get into some drier clothes and possibly get something to eat while they fueled their bikes. Some had already used up a good bit of time, and it wasn't long before it was time to hit the start control for the second loop. The fir t section of the loop started immediately, using a good bi t of the front half of the club's annual hare scrambles. Fast riding and more bony woods kept everyone warm, and Hines and Cayer continued their pitched battle by both clocking out with fours, as did Norton. Dinge and Douchette continued to con~ trol the Band C classes, dropping six and eight points, respectively. Anyone looking for a break after check five was sorely disappointed, as 'check six went back to back, with no chance to get back any time. Hines showed off his championship training,in this section, pulling through it with another four, while Cayer and Norton could only manage a six each. Everyone other than Hines was caught by surprise in the section, and dropped more points between the two checks, with Douchette losing 13 and Dinge 10. A reset and some tar and woods roads finally gave everyone a breather, and soon riders found themselves back at the start for the second gas, 70.81 miles into the course. Check seven was a check-in that everyone zeroed, with the exception of Douchette, who may have been gambling and carded a burn. Still, two more points did little to even the lead he had on the rest of the C class. The 4-miIe section that followed check seven caught a number of riders off guard and took points from all, with Norton, Hines and Cayer dropping two each. B rider Cufkin dropped a class-best four, while the rest of the top riders, including Dinge, dropped five. Douchette also carded a five, a great score for the C class, no doubt aided by his burn going into the section. Dave Wernersbach carded the second-best C score with a seven. The trip to check nine was another lO-mile section, and with only a 2 Ilr minute !eset going in, there wasn't much relief for the rapidly tiring riders. Douchette was still on a tear, carding an 18 at the check-out - six points better than his closest class competitor, Rick Sagun. Tim Dinge was also still rolling in the B class, with a 13 at the check-out, check nine, followed by Cufkin with a 14 and Riordan with a 15. Check nine was also the finish for all the B- and Cclass riders, much to their relief. Douchette had finished up with a 78 and the High Point C award, which in NETRA is also a ticket to the B class. Dinge took High Point B honors. For the A and AA riders, this finish was just another gas stop and, well before anyone officially finished (la te as they were), Hines came into gas, filled his CRE, and went to work cleaning his goggles. "I've been dogging it

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