Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

AMA/S T AEnduro Series, Round 4 ER (Left) Franklin Ramey III won the AMAISETRA Orange State Enduro in Florida. (Above) As hley Brewer was the runner-up. By Ken neth Ki ng B ROOKSVlLLE, FL, OCT. 5 TM ' s Fr a nkli n Ram e y III clai med his second overa ll o f the season by w i nning t he Ora ng e Sta te En duro . The MSR-sponsored Ramey would claim the win o f what was hi s closest fini sh to d at e. He w as involved in a three-wa y tie w ith fe llo w KTM ri d er Allen Gra vi tt a nd Tea m G reen ri der Ashle y Brewer when all w as sa id a nd d one with a ll three riders d ropping five points each, but it was Ramey co m ing ou t on top after po sting the better tie-breaker score. Brewer would take th e se cond ove rall and fir st AA , follo w ed by Gravi tt in third ove ra ll. . "I had a good ride, a few sma ll problems here and ther e, but nothi ng rea lly m a jor," Ram ey s a id of hi s w in n ing ride." The Suncoast Trail Riders pu t on the event, which has to be one of the most d iverse end u res in Florid a, and what so m e co n si de r to b e th e be s t. Th e e nd u ro i s held o n land adjace n t t o Croomes O RV Pa rk. There is plen ty of sa n d to satisfy th e hard core Flo rida g uys, plus roots , rocks a nd hill s fo r those non-sa nd rid ers, The course runs throu gh a n ol d limesto ne q ua rry, one that na tu re ha s all but reclaimed . Th e tr ail twists a nd tu rns up a nd d own through the quarry creati ng qu ite a few sm all hill s to climb , some even a little tric ky, es pecially for th ose no t acc ustomed to them. The tra il was rich loam y d irt in these a reas o f th e course, giVjng th e rid ers a break f ro m the sa nd a nd those relentless wh oops that see med to be ever y w he re. Man y fe lt t h e trai l through the qu arry the mo st fun of the enduro . It rained ea rlie r in th e week, but as most of th e co u rse is sa nd the little rain they go t was soaked up immediately a n d thin gs w ould be a littl e dusty . The club laid o u t 67 mile s of actua l trail, no roads a nd just a few res ets, for w hat would be one tough end u ro. As a result, there were a few DNFs . Th e sa n dy w hoops, palmetto roots and heat took its toll on many rid ers . Inste a d o f th e typ ic al checkin /check-o u t forma t, the cl ub u sed a more rand om check placem ent and only a few sma ll resets, which only the fastest rid ers w ere able to take fu ll ad va ntage of. The end uro started at 9 a.m. an d ride rs immedia tely w ent in to the w oods. The trail was fairly tig ht and wh ooped, a nd at th e 7.2-mile mark, rid ers were g ree te d with th e fir st check. Al m ost eve ryo ne was able to ze ro th is che ck. For the next five miles, the trail became a little tou gh er and on ly the AA riders an d a few of the A riders were able to m aintain th e 24-mph speed avera ge . Chec k three, at 12.4 miles, was the first tie breaker, and Ram ey would have the bes t time, zeroing the section and coming in a t 27 seco nds in to h is minute . Gravit t was next, with a 0:44, follow ed by Brew er w it h a 0:47. There was a small reset at 18 miles and then it was 10 more miles of sandy trail. Check four, at 28.4 miles, came after the quarry section and had all the fast guys staying o n the ir min ute. There was a gas available at 28.45 miles. This was und er time wi th no reset, and so me rid er s who stopped for gas had this cost them valua ble time going into the woods. Ram ey was one of these. He hasn't had enough time on his new bike to know the fue l ra nge, so when he stop ped it cos t him precious seconds in the upcom ing section. Check five , at 34 m iles, had a ll the AAs and most of th e A rid er droppi ng a point. Ramey felt he would have zeroed the secti on ha d he not los t time at the gas s to p . G ra vi tt too fe lt he wou ld have zeroed the sectio n; he almost did , coming in tw o seconds into the next minute. "I had a lot of trouble getting around riders today," Gravitt said. "They just wo uld n' t move, [ don ' t know if everyon e else had th e sa me pro blem, but I fee l that cos t me a po int at check five , and the enduro," Gravitt said . Th is chec k seemed to brighten th e day o f m ost r id e rs . It was called the "b iki ni chec k," a s the ch eckers w ore bikini top s. They definitely go t the best dressed chec k-crew award . The gas stop came at 39.2 miles and the club gav e everyone a mu ch- needed break befo re the second loop. The first loo p was tough , ev en th ou gh the low scores of the AAs d idn't reflect it. T he ra ce wa s rest arted a t 56 miles an d it was into the woods again. Check se ve n would come at 65 .6 miles after probably the toughest section of trail in th e en d u ro . T here was a lot o f ba rk ban gin g in the handlebar-width trees, it w oul d be the most po ints-taking sectio n of the day. Brew er would po st the fast time through w ith a 4:12, followed by Ramey w ith a 4.17, th en Gra vitt at 4:56. Brewer was riding at his best. "I felt I rod e good, my Kawasa ki was awesom e today, and I really like thi s end uro, it was a true end uro, " Brewer said . "The club did a grea t job. I had a few s m a ll problems durin g the d a y, no thi ng majo r. I did have some troubl e ge tting arou nd some rid ers though." It seemed tha t all the AA riders had their share of passing problems. Ramey had his share of problems in that section also. "I got a v ine ca u g h t in m y b ra ke pedal while I wa s on th e gas," Ram ey said . " It locked up my brakes and threw me over the bars, tha t cost m e so m e time ." Check eigh t ca me a t 76.8 miles and a ll th e fa s t ri d ers ze roed th e check. Chec k nine, at 89.6 m iles, also had all the AAs an d faster rid er s mana ging to stay on their minute. The finish was a kno w n co ntro l at 95.2 miles. From check eight to the finish it was one long 15-mile trail, more open tha n the pr eviou s trail and probably the most fun . The troubl e was, most everyone was to exha us ted to enjoy it. You could see the exhaus ted look on riders as they came into the pits at the finish. Man y felt this year' s enduro was tou gher that last year's. Overall A honors went to 200cc A rider Tommy Veator with a IO-point" loss. Two of those points being hot ones . The High Point B trophy went to FourStro ke rid er Karl Tay lor with a 14. Top hon ors in th e C class went to 250cc rider. Ca rl Brown with a score of 26. Ramey now has a slight lead in the series with to overalls to his cred it, but Brew er and Gra vitt are putting on the pressure, and the season is yo ung. ,~ Orange State Endu ro Brooksville, Flo rida Results: Oct obe r 5, 1997 OIA:. Fra nk.lin IY nry In . AA: 1. Ash ley Brewer ; 2. Allen Gr av itt . orEN A: 1. Mike Martin ; 2. Allen Sco tt; 3. L ITTy Griffin ; 4. Kl.-nny Boyd; 5. Jason Chambers. 250 A: 1. Ja~n Chance y; 2. Dan ny Barrett: 3. Do n Baxley : 4. Doug Masencu p; S. Scott Mi ller . 200 A: 1. Tom m y v ector: 2. Joe Haley: 3. Ro bert Neeley. . VET A: 1. Mitch McRee; 2. Johnny McCo y; 3. Art y Spen cer. SR A: l , Mike Shank; 2. Richard Ed monds. S/SR A: I . Mike' Rl.ynol d s; 2. John Kirby . MSTR A: 1. Emmet Co x; 2. Joe Van Se crers. 4-STRK A:.1. Andy B.lr kll-Y; 2. Craig Borders. OP EN B: 1. 51e ve H...n!'oOn; 2. Da vKJ McAl ldffi. 250 B: 1. John n y Ca m be ll; 2. Scott Byrd ; 3 .Tim Wekr; 4. Anthony Whire ; 5. Mike johnso n , . 200 B: 1. Jo h n N u tt ; 2. Mark Th om p son : 3. Jo hn Nod ine; 4. Robert Robinson. 125 B: I. jason Blen to n; 2. CI\.'g johnsen. V ET B: 1. Ric hard Mor a bit o; 2. Cli ff Rogers ; 3. Sta nley C ha ntt; 4. Robl-rt Tanner, SR B: 1. Edd ie Ro ya ls; 2. P hil Ellis; 3 . David No rma n. S/SR 8 : l . Do ug ClX'h rd n; 2. jo hn Willis ; 3. L int> Shepherd . MSTR B: 1. Di ck Argb right ; 2. Ho wa rd Smi th; 3. john GI"t"'t"r1; 4. Steve Chancey . 4· STRK B: 1. Karl Ta yl or; 2. Ma rk Borders: 3. Mich.:ieJ Sh irley. OP EN C: 'I. Tl>d Lentz; 2. Joh n Fisher: 3. Herman Sto hl. 250 C: 1. Ca rl Brown; 2. Rusty Eastl'r; 3. D. Boyd ; 4. Barrett Becker. 5. Dave Edwa rds. 200 C: 1. Ed Ellsworth; 2, Ja5On Ca ntt; 3. And rew . Roshons; 4. Dame Smi th. 125 C: 1. James Yo rta nd: 2 . lenni La m b; 3. Scott Weldon. VET C: 1. Tim HlI'"kl·y; 2. Bill Wy rllu gh; 3. Jo llll Pa rker ; 4. M el Smi th. SR C: I. Mik e H ampton: 2. John Da y; 3. Steve n Mad do x; 5. Dan Sc rren to. S/SR C: 1. Cate Pclic n tic r: 2. Brad Mi n nix ; 3. s William Thom pson; 4. Barry Cole. MSTR C: 1. Ed Wei ~ t : 2. Mi ke Leac h ; 3. Bud dy Ca ilard; 4. Max Co le. ' 4-STK K C: 1. Ni ck jo hnso n; 2. Kl.';th Bowman ; 3. Darren Grov"'f!II. .-:- GLDN MSTR: 1. JOt H.11 'Y 2. r .m l RiC"h.-tnl<;tm; 3. ' .. ; Dave Henry . WMN: 1. Elaine Nobl~; 2. Kim St>al ~. SPRTSMN; 1. jamo KutzJer. 2. john Freeman. SPRTSMN OP EN : 1. Michae l Sl y ; 2. Jo n Richardson; 3. Tan Hoga n. VINT: 1. Kevin Hod ge; 2. Chuck Miller; 3. Larry Wa lls. . r-, 0\ 0\ ...... 0\ N .... CJ .o o .... u o 41

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