Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) Franklin Ramey III won the Battlefield Enduro, locking up his second consecutive SETRA Enduro Championship in the process. (Above) Mike Shank won the Senior A class. SETRA Championship Enduro series, Round 17 Ramey defentls title By Kenneth King 34 OLUSTEE, FL, MAY 3 . The race for the SETRA Enduro Championship came down to two KTM riders, defending 1997 champion Franklin Ramey III and multi-tillie series champion Allen Gravitt. Round 17 of the SETRA Championship Enduro Series is aptly named the "Battlefield Enduro," and if Ramey won, the championship was his, but if Gravitt won, the championship would be decided at the next round. When the scores were tallied at the end of the run, it was Ramey taking the overall win and, most importantly, the series championship. '1 knew this was an important race and I wanted to win the championship here," Ramey said. '1 rode as hard as I could and it paid off." Gravitt's hopes were dashed when he ran into some bad luck by burning a check by six minutes, which cost him 27 points and any chance of the win or the championship. "The check placement favored riders who rode hot, and I never do," a frustrated Gravitt said. "Jill (his wife) said to me at the gas stop, 'Why don't you ride early? Everybody else does.' I did, and, well, you see what happened." Gravitt protested the check and there was some controversy on the interpretation of the AMA rules. "I could see the check through the woods," Gravitt explained. "1 turned around and waited until my minute, then rode into the check. No one saw me maybe a glimpse of my helmet, but not the front of my bike. When I was checked, they checked me early. The AMA rules state you have to see a rider's number. The checkers never saw my number." Team Green KDX200 rider Tommy Veator rode to second overall and fi.rst in the 200cc A class, while fellow Team Greenster Ashley Brewer and Kawasakimounted Lee Stephens tied for the thirdoverall position. The race, put on by River City Dirt Riders, is ar.guably one of the toughest events on the SETRA calendar. The trails can be extremely tight and long, and when you add in sand whoops, palmetto roots and high temperatures, things get interesting fast. This year, the race was on the tough side and the scores were low, but had the checks been placed differently, the scores could have been much higher. The first section came shortly after the start and used new, tight, crossplanted pines trails and a few jeep roads. The check was right at the 3.2mile mark and caught a few riders early. There were a lot of roads used, along with a few trails to get to check number two at 6.8 miles. Once again, many were caught off guard and burned the check. The first good points-taking section came at 10 miles. The trail was more than 20 miles long, with an observation check in the middle. The trail consisted of planted pine trails mixed with old trails and jeep roads. Ramey posted the fastest time with a 1:11; Gravitt dropped 2:00 and Veator carded a 2:01. Brewer crashed and was fighting brake problems on his way· to a 2:02, while Stephens dropped a 2:17. "Franklin (Ramey) beat me by a minute in the first section," Gravitt said. "I was a little mad at myself. I eased off a bit when I shouldn't have." After the gas stop and a small break, there was a section of tight woods for a mile and then a jeep road. This is where check number five was loca ted - the check that Gravitt burned badly. The trail after this was easy and almost everyone had to watch the clock. The last two miles were tight and caught many off guard. Gravitt, Ramey, Veator and Stephens all dropped a point, while Brewer dropped two. "I crashed pretty good in tha t section and my footpeg jammed into my knee," said the MSR-backed Ramey. "I knew I was going to have to pick up the pace for the rest of the race." Check number seven was zeroed by most of the faster riders. The trail sections after that were some of the toughest of the race, consisting of ruts, whoops and gnarly jeep trails. Moosesponsored Veator posted the fast time through the section with a 1:52;Rarney was next with a 1:53; Gravitt followed with a 2:00, 'and Stephens carded 2: 48. Brewer was riding the best he could with brake problems and an injured knee, and he dropped a 3:05. The last section of trail was also tight, with jeep roads connecting it all together. Ramey and Gravitt were the only riders to zero the section, while Brewer, Veator and Stephens all dropped a single point. When the scores were tallied at the end of the race, Ramey dropped three, Veator a five, and Stephens and Brewer (first AA rider) lost eight. Gravitt was left holding the bag with a 32, with 27 of those points being hot" points at check five. His protest was heard, but the ruling went to the checkers, and he finished the season in second overall, first AA. Ramey has had a good run ince his ankle injury earlier in the season, and he has won six out of the last eight enduros. "Winning the SETRA Enduro Championship means a lot to me," Ramey said. "It feels really good to win after an injury. My KTM always ran great and I just had a good season." The next round will be the Straight Arrow Enduro in Richloam, Florida. Ramey is still in a tight battle with Brewer for the Florida Trail Rid ers Enduro Series Championship, and he wants to defend his title there, as well. ("N Battlefield Enduro Olustee, Florida .Results: May 3,1998 (Round 17) O/A: .Franklin Ramey ro. AA: 1. Ashley Brewer; 2. Allen Gravitt A 200: 1. Tommy Veator; 2. Lee Stephens; 3. Joe Haley. A 250: 1. Don BaXley; 2. nanny Barrett; 3. Nick George. A OPEN: 1. Mike Grizzle; 2. Steven HardemaJ;l; 3. Mike Martin. 8 200: 1. Brian Crist; 2. Greg Johnston; 3. Michael Thomas. 8 250: 1. Terrell Holloway; 2. ScoH Byrd; 3. Mike Johnson. 8 OPEN: 1. David McAdam. C 125, 1. Richard Berard; 2. Tad Rosen. e 200: 1. Mathew Gilliard; 2. Gregg Darnell; 3. Andrew Roshong. C 2SO: 1. Stephen Black; 2. Steward Baylor; 3. Rusty Easter. COPEN,!. Ted Lentz; 2. Scott Presnell; 3. ChriS Doran. 4-STRK A; 1. Craig Borders; 2. Geoff Poole; 3. Steven Prevatt II 4-STRK 8, 1. David Kuka; 2. Cary Crumbacker; 3. So Mclntosh. 4-STRK C: 1. Keith Bowman; 2. Creed Hashe; 3. Wade Walker. MSTRk 1. Joseph vanSee'er.;; 2. Skip Wyman. MSTR B: 1. Fred Hammond; 2. Jimmy Dubose; 3. Richard Nj;abrighl. MSTR C: 1. Paul McDonald; 2~ Ed Wiest; 3. Sam Shaw. CLDN MS= 1. Joe Haley; 2. Terry Dishroon. SR A:. 1. Mike Shank; 2. Richard Edmonds; 3. Ed Schulenberg. SR 8: 1. Eddie Royals; 2. David Norman; 3. Tom Russell. SR C: 1. Greg Luther; 2. Sam Mento; 3. Jolm West. SISR A: 1. Rick Pino; 2. David Kuka; 3. Terry Enyart. SISR 8: 1. John Watts; 2. Doug Cochran; 3. Lane Shephard. S/SR C: 1. Gates Pelletier; 2. David Keath; 3. William Thompson. VET A: 1. Mitch McRee; 2. Richard Morabito; 3. Ricky Jeffords. VET B: 1. Cary Hunt; 2. Jerry Caudle; 3. Robert Tanner. . VET C: 1. Tom Farmer; 2. Chris Ingle; 3. Tim Huskey. VINT: 1: Kevin Hodge; 2. Tim Brown. WMN: 1. Debra Brodrick; 2. Sue Heath 8M 0-200: 1. Hank Schwall; 2. Jamcs Kutzlcr. SM 20I-OPEN: 1. Patrick Jones; 2. Tim Hogan; 3. Dan McKune.

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