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to-back checks in the sections, with a
single point coming off at the.second of
til checks for those who, were sleeping.
ClUef among them was Matt Stavish,
last year's number-two rider, as well as
Blackwell and Moore.
The next section was the well-known
nd far-from-beloved Otis Fudpucker
Tree Farm section, a 6-mile nightmare of
inch-thick pine saplings growing
between two and six incltes apart, with
a handlebar-width serpentine trail
hacked out of it. Once you enter "Otis·
land," there is literally nowhere to &,0
except·the cheek-out. Once again, lafferty was cooking, clocking out four points
down; but his competition was also
heating up, as Hoess and Bennett also
dropped fours in the section. Richard
Lafferty sCored a five, as did Jason Dahners, who traveled out from Washington to see what an eastern enduro was
like, and who was chasing Mike Lafferty
on the same minute. Hawkins came out
with a six and a cloud of cooking
coolant, and he decided to pack it in at
the following gas available.
The next section would be the final
points-taking contest of the day, a 17mile joyride that was slightly more open
but still much tighter than the 24-mph
average begged for. With two checks
back to back, it was sure to rob some
points, and Lafferty kept his loss to a
minimum, dropping a pace-setting score
of five points at the middle meek. Hoess
was still hot, though, and also clocked
through with a five, although back
another 40 seconds. They both carried
their time into the. second half of the section, and though Lafferty clocked out
with a 10, Hoess' extra seconds pushed
him up to 11, ending any mance to get
closer. One more section remained into
the finish, althc;)Ugh it had been shortened due to mud and wasn't a factor in
the scoring for the AA riders. When the
points were tallied, Lafferty had taken
the overall with a total of 29 points, while
Hoess, representing the local underdogs,
came uncomfortably close with a 31.
"I certainly didn't think it was going
to be as hard as this," Lafferty said afterward. "This is tight, unlike anything else
on the National circuit. The' club did a
great job of cutting trail. In a lot of the
stuff, I had no idea where I was. That
last 17-mile section was the most fun. I
went into it just trying to catch Richard
(Lafferty), just for fun. I didn't catch
fum, but that's okay; I did alI right at the
finish."
Kevin Bennett finished third with 33
points 'to his credit, while Rim Lafferty
closed up with a 36 for fourth overall.
Bill Atkinson, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, was fifth overall on his' KTM, and
Jason Dahners drove his Husaberg into
sixth and the High Point A trophy with
a 42." Stavish was seven th overall with a
46, and finishing out the top 10 were
Bob Bennett (48), Michael Moore (50),
and Doug Blackwell (50).
Craig Gaver, of York Haven, Pennsylvania, was the top finisher in the B
class, dropping 71 points on a KIM 200,
and Jason Catlett of Millville, New Jersey, took the High Point C award with a
great score of 40 on his 125cc Suzuki.
And Kathi Cambell, of Edgewater,
Maryland, a longtime ECEA Women'sclass mamp, finished the C course with
a score of 48, just eight points shy of
tying the High Point.
fN
Greenbrier National Enduro
Greenbrier, New Jersey
Results: March 29, 1998 (Round 2 of 10)
GRAND CHAMPION: Mike Lafferty (KTM).
HIP A: Jason Dabn"" (Hbg).
HIP B: Craig Gaver (KTM).
HIP C: Jason Catletl (Suz).
(Left) Former ECEA champ Kevin Bennett, also from New
Jersey, rode well, posting a third-