Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127946
Northern California Championship Enduro Series, Round3
By Jill Ashworth Patterson
Photos By Alan Plumbridge
CLEAR CREEK, CA, MAY 17
rian Butler turned in an amazing
score card,. showing only two
points, and captured the Overall
""'TId AA-class first-place awards at the
Wild Boar Enduro. Butler's third-round
win puts him into the Northern CaliforJ;lia Championship Enduro Series lead.
Butler said his victory was inspired
by the confidence he gained the night
before the race, when one of his sponsors, Joe'Mullen of FauJtline Suspension,
helped him set up his bike.
"It made me want to ride fast," Butler said.
Crisp, clear skies and ideal riding
conditions greeted more than 100 riders
at the Timekeepers Me's first Wild Boar
Enduro since 1986. The first loop was
about 35 ground miles, consisting of
moderately easy trails which were set at
reasonable speeds. A few technical sections kept riders alert.
Loop one was the C-class course and
had been laid out in such as way as to
diminish Clear Creek's reputation of
trashing beginner:s so badly that they
would never want to return. (With only
nine of 48 riders not completing the
course, that goal was realized.) .
Dave Froman arrived at the gas stop
a1 the end of the loop one in first place,
having only dropped 18 tie-breaking
seconds. Steve Shoemaker was second,
down only 23 seconds, followed by Butler's 26 and Dave Wood's 30.
Loop two gave riders increased
speed averages and more technical sections. A couple of special tests proved to
be very challenging, and the resets
helped keep many riders on their minutes. A few C riders enjoyed the first
loop so· much that they accepted the
option to ride the second one.
'Butler zeroed three of five checks on
the second loop and came into the second gas stop with a leading score of two
- his final total for the day. In second,
carrying six points, was Wood, also with
his final score for the day. Froman's
total of seven placed him third, ahead of
Jason Howe's 11 and Shoemaker's 13.
All B classes and the A
Seniors/Super Seniors ended their twoloop c'ourse after approximately 80
ground miles. They were also given the
chance to ride one more loop, an "Iron
Man's Option," but no one reporte.d seeing any of them on the third loop.
"Lip's Loop," nicknamed after the
course-design ·crew's leader, Don Matheson, was created just for the AA and A
sportsman riders. It had the most difficult sections and consisted of really
tight, technical, rocky and off-camber
trails. The plan was to tax the faster
rider's skills, but both Butler and Wood
astonished everyone with perfect scores
of zero.
Butler said he really liked the course,
especially the tightest trails.
"One trail was so tight with manzanita, you couldn't fall over," Butler said.
"The stuff was holding you up."
(Left) Brian
Butler used his
"home-field
advantage" to
take the overall
and AA-class
wins at the Wild
Boar Enduro in
Clear Creek,
California.
Butler carded
only two points
during the
entire event.
(Below) Dave
Wood came
ever so close to
burning a check
early in the day,
but salvaged
the faux pas
and carded his
only four points
of the event.
Wood's ride
B
was good
enough for
second overall
and second AA
rider.
The day before the Wild Boar
Enduro, the Timekeepers MC also hosted the Wild Boar Family Enduro, affectionately nicknamed "The Piglet."
This was the first time a District 36
club held this particu1ar combination of
events in the same weekend. The new
concept was succe~sfuJ in attracting several new and beginning riders to Clear
Creek and in exposing them to the experience of riding in an enduro. Some of
the riders had such a good time at the
family event that they stayed the extra
day to ride their first "real" enduro. CN
Wild Boar Enduro
Clear Creek, California
Results: May 17, 1998 (Round 3)
DIA; 1. Brian Butler (Hon); 2. Dave Wood (CRE); 3.
Dave Froma.n (Kaw); 4. Jason Howe (Hon); 5. Steve
Shoemaker (Hon),
AA: 1. Brian Butler (Hon); 2, Dave Wood (eRE); 3.
Dave Froman (K:.:1W).
A COMB: 1. Jason Howe (Hon); 2. Steve Shoemaker
(Hon); 3. Rob Zimmerman (KTM); 4. Michael Behrens
(KTM); 5. Greg Peterson (Kaw).
A SR 8< SIS&: I. Wayne Hatch (KTM); 2. .Richard
Adan (Hon); 3. Scott Reynolds (Hon); 4. Kent Parker
(]