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ENDURO AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP REUABIUTY SERIES By Matt Freeman Photos by Kinney Jones IDAHO CITY, ID, MAY 30-31 ontclair Yamaha's Ty Davis sprinted to an early lead and never looked back at the 14th annual Idaho City 100 National ISDE Reliaoility Qualifier, hosted by the Boise Ridge Ridel;S. Competing in the Heavyweight (250cc-plus) Two-Stroke class, Davis won three of the six special tests that were laid out over two days of competition. Team Green's Destry Abbott was the victor in the oth~r three special tests and actually posted better times for day two, but a slower-than-usuaI test time on Saturday put Abbott and KTMmounted Pat Garrahan in a close fight for second overall. In the end, Garrahan's consistency in all six tests netted him second-place honors over Abbott by a mere five seconds. Davis' total score of 3419 was exactly one minute faster than second-placed Garrahan's 3479. "The trails were awesome," said Davis about the loamy Idaho aty soil. "I just tried to ride consistent and be safe." The Boise Ridge Riders scheduled· a 130-mile course for Saturday, which consisted of two terrain tests and a grass track. All three of the special tests on Saturday were evenly spread out on the 130-mile route, with the first terrain test starting just a few miles from the start. Davis, riding toward the back of the Heavyweight Two-Stroke class field, smoked the first pecial test, beating out the 2S0cc KTM of Jason Raines by 14 seconds. Raines' test-one results were M 24 his best all weekend, even though the terrain in test one was the gnarliest of all six tests. Abbott turned in the thirdplace score of 918. 'Ty put 30 seconds on me in the first test," Abbott said. "If it wasn't for that test, I think 1 would have gave him a run for his money early on instead of later in the race." Fourth went to Garrahan with a score of 921. Husaberg 501-mounted Jason Dahners rounded out the top five in test one with a score of 924, good enough for the He.avyweight (SOOcc-plus) FourStroke honors, and Montclair Yamaha's Donnie Book rode his YZ400F to a sixthoverall test time of 931. Book's time' earned him first in the 251-400cc FourStroke class. Erik DuCray bested the Lightweight (0-125cc) Two-Stroke class with a 934, six seconds faster than his nearest competitor. Some riders chose to take it a little bit easier through the first terrain test. "1 kind of took my time and rode the first test slow," said YZ125 rider Russ Piggot. "1 knew it was going to be a long weekend, and I was fresh on the bike. I didn't want. to make a mistake and end my day at the first test. I still was in the hunt afterwards, though." Approximately 80 miles down the trail was where the second special test started. In the form of a grass track, the test led riders up and down the dark soil of Idaho City's rolling hills and around many off-camber turns. Abbott carded a score of 375 to win his first test of the. weekend. Book sped through with the second-fastest time, only two seconds off Abbott's pace. "The grass track was really cool," Book said. 'They spent a lot of time on it clearing away dangerous stuff like stumps, so it was really safe. I had a really good ride through there and just kept it pinned." "I fell down on the grass-track test on Saturday," said Book's teammate Davis. Despite bobbling in the test, Davis still tied with Idaho's Brian Brown for a third-place time of 379. Dahners thundered through with the next-fastest time of 385, followed by Garrahan, who crossed the line at 387. KTM Sportmotorcycle's ick Pearson turned in his best test of the weekend with a 391, just ahead of the first-place 125 of Rod Kreiss, who brought his Suzuki to the end of the test with a time 01393. The third special test - just miles before ·the finish - was another terrain test, and Davis barely edged out Dahners by a mere second with a score of 336 to 337. But more importantly, Davis opened up his lead over Abbott, who ran into problems in the final test of the day. Garrahan's time was good enough for third, only two seconds off the pace of Dahners. Book beat out Cole Marshall with a time of 341 to Marshall's 345. Piggot's slow start on Sa turday did not affect his times later in the day, as he turned in the fastest time of the 125s with a score of 362.. "On test three, I fell down and got up and still won the test for my cla s. That was cool," said Piggot. "Before the test, I crashed pretty hard on the trail. I was messing around in a transfer section with Rod Kreiss, play-riding and stuff. I hit this bank trying to catch some air. 1 was totally pinned and somehow 1 (Above left) Yamaha of Montclair's Ty Davis posted three of the top special-test scores en route to the Idaho City Two-Day Qualifier win. (Left) Husaberg's Jason Dahners took the win in the Heavyweight Four-Stroke class.