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Fred Hoess, who was on the lone Suzuki and was sliding and pinning his way through the AA riders. On the next minute were AA riders Richard Lafferty (Mike's brother), Chris Smith, and A 250cc front-runners Mike Arenda ky and Bill Atkin on. By the second lap, Lafferty had opened up a two-minute lead and looked to be the race favorite, but an uncharacteristically slow third lap allowed Blackwell to come through on the same minute. After the race, Lafferty explained what happened. "1 wa~ out front all alone," Lafferty said, "and it was hard to know what pace to keep. I backed off a bit, but the guys behind me were pushing each other and this moved them up. It would have been better to have someone to race against." Blackwell gave his view on the chase. "After I broke away from the (second-placed) pack," Blackwell said, "I kept charging, and all of a sudden there was Mike (Lafferty)." How hard was Blackwell running to catch Lafferty? "On lap three," I}lackwell continued, "I entered the lower section where the pines and mudholes were, hit a rock, flipped and landed face-down in the water." Despite the mud bath, Blackwell was on Lafferty's rear tire by the end of lap four. Only one econd eparated them at the beginning of the last lap. Blackwel1 didn't know it, but he was about to be given a gift from the moto gods. just past the scoring barrels were the pits, and Blackwell couldn't believe his luck when Lafferty pulled in for fuel. Blackwell's Yamaha didn't require a second pit stop. "I couldn't believe my eyes," Blackwell said. "I knew this was my chance to put an insurmountable lead between Mike and me, so I pinned it." Blackwell's good fortune didn't last long, however. "I figured I could make a quick stop for fuel," Lafferty said, "and still catch Doug if J floored it." Lafferty was right. The enduro champ went into overdrive on the grass-track portion, wildly spewing loam from his roosting rear tire. He looked like a Unadilla GP star going for the checkered flag. Hardly touching ground as he flew acros the ridge top, his orange and black KTM was about to become a trick-or-treat sur. prise for Blackwell. He.showed that riders can get leads on him, but not insurmountable leads. Before Blackwell could reach the lower section of the course, he heard the braap-braap-braap of an angry KTM. Through The jungle, Lafferty passed Blackwell, then Blackwell passed Lafferty, then Lafferty passed Blackwell again. Where two trail options met, they almost collided, and Lafferty's rear tire slid when he touched his brake to avoid hitting Blackwell. Blackwell shot ahead and, when the trail opened onto the gras track, he put a lapper between himself and Lafferty. Lafferty never got by the backmarkers and could only watch as Blackwell pulled a 31-second lead. Hearing cheers from the West Virginia faithful, Blackwell pulled major air across the starting-area jump as his arms pumped skyward. At the finish line, Blackwell greeted Lafferty with a handshake, and Lafferty returned the gesture with a pat on Blackwell's back. TIle two gave photogra phers a thumbs-up and spectators a race they would long remember. What did RORR president, event referee, and AA scorer Robbie Mohn think of the day's racing? "It was hard to believe 240 riders would show up in this weather," Molm said. "I never thought the race would be so close." Ten minutes after the race, a stillsmliing Blackwell talked about his race with Lafferty. "I figured he would catch me," Blackwell said. "We were both goin' for it. He passed me, 1 passed him, he passed me again. I knew my only chance was to get through there (The jungle) ahead of Mike." At the KTM truck, the atmosphere was different. A slightly stunned lafferty said: "I was disappointed to lose the race at the last moment after leading for over three hours. I'm a good starter and that's what 1 wanted to do today - get out in front with the mud and all. "Doug's not only a great guy, he's a great rider," Lafferty concludec;j. "It's not over yet. There'll be more chances to win. It's a long season." Fred Hoess was the top A 250cc rider, placing seventh overall. He looked fast and he never let up, desp'ite crashes which broke the rear subframe and smashed the front number plate of his Suzuki. Other A 250cc riders in the top 20 were Bill Atkinson, John Bermett, Mike Arendasky, James Ott and Curtis Bardonner. Ron Palermo, competing in the A Open class, motored his way to 13th overall. The B riders fought the nasty weather and worsening-by-the-minute conditions all day. Some of them were still struggling on the course after the top AA riders finished. The unrelenting rain and the coal muck turned the B riders into faceless, goggleless men in black, unrecognizable as humans except for the whites of their eyes. What did these riders - toughened by bottomless Pennsylvania mudholes, tire-swallowing New jersey sand whoops and tube-eating New England rock runs - have to say after their three laps were over? "ti you're not an expert," said one rider, "you've got no business being out here today." RORR made it a point to thank Ron Lickman of B&M Coal Mining Company for allowing the event to be held on company property. A portion of the entry fees from this event benefi ted the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which provides services to chronically and terminaily ill children. £x (Above left) Brian Garrahan charged through the slop to finish third. (Above) Garrahan (5) takes the early lead ahead of Blackwell (20), BrianOs brother Patrick Garrahan (6) and the rest-of the AA pack. (Below) TMOs Mike Sampson finished eighth overall. Bear Valley National Hare Scrambles Good Springs, Pennsylvania Results: April 19, 1998 (Round 4 of 9) O/A: Doug Blackwell (Yam); 2. Mike Lafferty (KTM); 3. Brian Garrahan (KTM); 4. Duane Conner (GG); S. Patric.k Timothy (Kaw); 6. Patric.k Garrahan (KTM); 7. Fred Hoess (Su.); 8. Mike Samson (TM); 9. Bill Atkinson (KTM); 10. Blair Bersano (Kaw); 11. Scott Rich (Kaw); 12. John Bennett (Yam); 13. Ron Palermo (KTM); 14. Mike Arendasky (Kaw); 15. James Ott (Yam); 16. Nathan Kanney (Suz); 17. Luke McNeil (Yam); 18. Riek Claxton (CRE); 19. Kevin Bennett (Hon); 20. Curtis Bardonner (Yam). AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HARE SCRAMBLES SERlES POINT STANDINGS (Aller 4 of 9 rounds); ,. Doug Blackwell (85/2 wins); 2. MichaeJ Lafferty (79); 3. Brian Garrahan (76/1); 4:. Patrick Garrahan (SO); 5. Josh McLevy (35); 6. Luca Trussaroi (32); 7. Fred. Andrews (30/1); B. Randy Hawkins (29); 9. Rodney Smith (25); 10. Mike Sampson (24).