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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127939
Ascending through the pack on lap
two were Keegan and Summers, who
rose to the first and second positions,
respectively. Hawk and his Yamaha
four-stroke were on the move as well,
moving up from 10th to fifth while turning in the fastest lap time of the day, a
sub-36-minute circuit. For the second
event in a row, Keegan claimed the lead
on lap two and put in a bid for his first
podium finish of the year, but it was not
to be. Pitting on lap two instead of lap
three (as the other riders did) would
leave Keegan out of gas trailside on the
last lap with a disappointing nonfinish
and no points to show for the day.
Lap two was eventful for Andrews
and threatened to finish his day prematurely when he tangled with a tree.
"I got going and caught up with Scott
(Summers) and then tackled a tree,"
Andrews recounted. "I came out of a
corner in this deep, long ru t and
thought I was in third gear. When I got
on the throttle, (my bike) jumped out
from underneath me. I was holding on
like Superman and clipped a tree. It was
all over quick."
From Summers' vantage point, the
crash was more spectacular than
Andrews let on.
"I thought he was out for the day,"
Summers said. "He took out a tree about
6 inches around and he just ben t the
whole thing over with his torso. It took
his body and threw him back like a
spring, so he passed me, without his
bike, going the other direction. It was
bizarre! Then he got back up and rode a
heck of a race."
Falling backward through the field on
lap two was Hatch, a victim of a crash
and resulting mechanical problems.
"I was following Keegan and S,:,mmers and came into a real fast, waisthigh whoop section and all of a sudden
I hit something and my hands came off
the bars. I got back up and took off and
maybe five guys got by - no big deal and then a quarter-mile later tne bike
started running out of gas. A stick must
have pulled off the gas line and it was
just pouring out. 1 must have kicked it
40 times to get it going again. By that
time I think they were a minute and 45
seconds ahead."
By lap three, Andrews, Smith and
Summers were alone, doing battle up
front, a minute clear of the rest of the
field. The seesaw battle found each
rider taking his turn at the front of the
field. Hoping to repeat his disappearing
act of round two, Summers put his big
XR in the lead and looked to break
away.
_
"When Scott took over the lead and
stepped it up," Smith said of lap three,
"we pretty much held that pace to the
finish. It felt good. It almQst made it easier to ride in the whoops. The slower
you go, the rougher it is on you."
The Hare Scrambles champ would
soon find trouble out on the course in
the form of a lapped rider.
"With two laps to go, I was behind
Summers when a lapper got into our
line and stopped. Scott hit him, then a
tree, and (he) stopped between them,
and ther.e was nothing [ could do but hit
Scott from behind. He went on and the
lapper's bike fell over on ·me, so I had to
pick it up and push it aside. 1 really
thought those guys were gone, but I
caught back up to them by the white
.
fla g. "
With one lap to go, it was Andrews
heading Summers by two seconds and
Smith just three seconds further behind.
Andrews admitted to being just a bit
nervous heading out onto the final circuit.
.
"[ was just wondering if I was going
to throw it away," Andrews said. '1 said
to myself, 'Man, it's pretty easy from
here on out. I've just got a few uphills to
go.' It seemed like Scott had some pretty
good lines on the hills and I could hear
him behind me, so I tried to remember
where he went. I knew he couldn't get
by me if I was in his lines."
Riding a mistake-free final lap,
Andrews held on to the lead for the next
half-hour of racing to score his second
win on the season. Just behind him was
Smith, who had bested Summers on the
last lap for the runner-up position. All
were spent at the finish.
I
"All of us had a good day," Summers
said from the podium. "It was an awesome battle and I don't think a human
. being could go any faster in the woods
than we were going."
Hatch climbed back up to fourth two
minutes off of the lead pace. Hawk followed some 36 seconds later, and
though he looked to have fourth place
locked up with half a lap to go, he settled for fifth after being displaced by
Hatch.
'1 only made one mental mistake all
day," Hawk said. '1 came down (from a
jump) and I leaned left, the bike went
right and I went d