RELIABILITY ENDURO
AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
RELIABILITY ENDURO SERIES
Final Round: Lorretta Lynn's Dude Ranch
By Steve Berkner
(Left) Rodney Smith
rode a 125cc Suzuki to
the overall win in the
Reliablity Enduro
Series round at
Lorretla Lynn 's Dude
Ranch . Smith hadn 't
raced in the series for
two years~
(Below) Mike Lafferty
rode his KTM to
second place overall,
cla im ing the
Heavyweight TwoStroke Nationa l
Champ ionship in the
process.
B
B
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10
HURRICANE M
ILLS, TN, JUNE 2(}.21
fter nearl y a two-yea r absence
from competing in the National Reliab ility Enduro Series,
fo ur- time ser ies c ha m pion
Rodn ey Smi th proved he's still the man
to beat. The Suzuki factory rid er se t the
fastest times in all 10 of the two-d ay
qualifier' s special tests.
Smi th, who was un able to defend his
fou r th conse cu tive Reli ab ilitv Enduro
Series C h ampio n s h ip in 1997 when
Tea m O ff-Road Su zu ki began concen tr ating on the Na tio na l GN CC series,
tallied a ll 1-second lead over seco nd place finisher Mike Lafferty to win the
eve nt at Lorretta Lynn's Dude Ran ch.
"This is like a win-win d eal for m e,"
Sm ith sai d. "I ca me here to get so me
exp erience on a 125. I'll be rid ing a 125
at Six Days this year, so I figured I better
prove tha t I can win (an ISDE-race format ) on one. I' ve always raced 250s (offroad ) a nd ba si call y ha ve n o off-ro ad
ex perie nce on one. I'll ha ve to admit
coming here I was second-g uessi ng my
cha nces at win ning the ove rall on a 125.
I thou gh t, 'Maybe I should be rid ing a
250 here a n d co ncen tra te o n th e 125
later.' I still motocross 125s occasio nally,
. but I've never raced one off-road.
"Wha t bo thered me th e most was,
Co ul d I ada p t to th e s ma lle r bike ?"
ad ded Smith, th e fo rme r Gra nd Prix
motocrosser and two- time Brazilia n 125
and 250cc Na tional Motocross Champi on. "Even walking the tests on Frida y, I
thoug ht for sure the bigger bikes had too
much of an advantage. With all the hills,
I was almos t convinced that an overall
was out of the question. I guess I didn't
disappoint anybody, especia lly myself."
