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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127853
EE
C AEnduroSeries, Round 10
By Mark UlhfTraii Ride r ma gazin e
RAWLINGS, MD, JULY 27
red Hoess rode his Bromley Suz uki-spon sored RM 125 to another
ECEA End u ro victory after postin g
an l 8-point scorecard at the Green
Marble Enduro. Hoess now ow ns a
commanding lead in the ser ies champio ns hip, but there a re still nine ro unds
left in the series.
The invari ably u pbeat Hoess admi tted after the end uro tha t th e ho t a nd
humid weather' conditions. combi ned
with cha llenging trail, made for a day
that "...wasn't fun all the time." Mavbe
the long, needlelike thorns that we re
deepl y imbedded in his forearm had
something to do with this , too .
Rich Laffe rty bolstered the soaring
Lafferty clan honors on the day, pushing
his KTM 250 to a seco nd ove ra ll finish,
three points behind Hoess.
Th e end u ro be gan on a drag strip,
and riders roosted out of the start control and down the well-oiled chute. A
quarter-mile or so later, they disappea red into the woods. Entry into the
woods sig na led the s tar t of the day's
first special test . A tu-mlle section with
back-to-beck checks had many riders
huffing and puffing - and slowing, sudden ly rea lizing how this short 2G-plusmil e loo p would tak e its toll. Bottom lands, a short g rass track, and "the rock"
led to th e first check (and emergency),
loca te d se ve ra l mil es into th e co u rse .
Here, Craig She nigo set the best time, a
1:45, closely follo wed by Hoe ss' 1:50. A
handful of other top rid ers rallied with
two po ints dropped, including Rich lafferty (2:32), Mike Moore (2:10) , j eff
Kir chner (2: 33), a nd Dwayne Shirk
(2:32).
No re spite w a s g ra n te d a ft e r the
check, as th e seco nd check wa s found a
couple of ticks before a reset. Hoess got
his first ed ge on the co mpetit ion, carding the o n ly two a t th at ch eck po in t,
while Rich ard La fferty po sted a three
and Moore, Shirk and jack Lafferty posted fou rs .
Chall en ging hi ll top con nec to rs
throu gh heavy timberland d ivided by
steep ravines eventually brought rid ers
b ack to th e so u th end of the s tarting
area for a lengthy rese t. Shortly thereafter, a s ho r t p oin ts-taking se ct io n
ens ued, sandwiched by a chec k-in and
an eme rgency check-out. Th is secti on
incl ud ed some cha llenging, rocky hillclimbs, and made use of a piece of tight
technical trail hewn into stands of low
th orn -bearing trees that su rro unded the
ORV park. Rich La ff erty tested be st
herein, putting up a 1:14 to Hoess' 1:21,
jack Lafferty jr: s 1:45, Shirk's 1:46 and
Moore's 1:59. This check-out represented the end of the first loop, p roviding
riders a need ed break. This had been a
productive first loop for Hoess; he had
(Above) Fred Hoes s
. to ok top ho nors at
the Green Marble
Enduro in Maryland.
(Left)J ohn Ross
rode to victory in
the Vet B division.
co m pe ted aboard a KTM 620 in the C
class, and was a member of the Ridge
Riders MC
He will be missed.
"
Green Marble Enduro
Rawlings, Maryland
Results: JUly 27, 1997
OIA: Fred HOl."SS