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/127953
ENDURO Round 8: Rhody Rovers'National ....:- AMAIACERBIS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENDURO SERIES ~ _ score. Third overall, Ch ris Smith, wa one poin t furthe r back, leadi ng a pack ( regional riders wh o finis hed u p wi th 3 points each. The d aystarted wi th excellent wea t er, warm and sunny w ith a d ry breez Th e Rhod v Rover s MC ha d laid ou t cou rse tha't was 149 miles on the ro ut s he et but a tot a l o f 101 grou nd mi le Thi rteen checkpoi nts were set u p ove r tra il tha t was rel at ivel y dry fo r ev England - nea rly miraculou s cond ition consid ering the we t weat her this sp rin Rid ers cou ld easily see the h igh-wate line in so me of the mu d holes tha t wer of littl e concern on th is day . A mont before, however, the sa me spots wou l have been under thr ee feet of water. Th e rid e s ta r te d out with a s ho r warmup on dirt roads, and then came quick little piece of rocky trail as a pIer of what was to make up the bulk the day. This little bit caught some of th "A" and most of the "B" and "C ' rider off gua rd, but th e AA rid ers all eas il zeroed the first check-in . Ten mil e s o f s u p e r- roc ky Rh od Island tra il fo llo wed , a nd the time t beat at the check-o u t wa s fiv e p oint " Lafferty set the pace, but his five-poin score was matched by ISDE rid er Smit w ho was enjoy ing his new XR250 rid from Summers Racing. The section wa By Paul ClipperfTrail Rider Magazine Photos by Jay Chittenden 34 EASTGREENWICH, RI, JULY 12 o m ing in to th e Rh o d e Is lan d Na tiona l Enduro, Micha el Laffer . ty kne w he only had to finish 15th or Detter in orde r to wrap up the AMA Nati on al En d u r o Champi onship for 1998. Man y racers , knowing this, would perhaps have taken the safe rid e to a respe table finish and taken the cha mpic onship wi n to the ba nk with a second or thir d place for the day - but not Lafferty . "I hear wha t you' re say ing," he told one perso n w ho poin ted ou t that anythin g in the top 15 wou ld be go lden . "Bu t I d on't make any money for 14th." Good point. Instead , the KTM/Shell Oil-backed rider bolted ou t of the start like a racehorse and set the time to beat a t e very check at the Rh od y Ro v ers National. By the fourth check he had the points lead, and after that he had built a little mo re cus hio n at eve ry chec kpoi nt, while the res t of the field s truggled to ca tch u p , or a t lea s t to s tay eve n. H is closest co m petit io n was re g iona l AA rider Fred Hoess, on the Bromley Suzuki RM250. Hoess chased furiously, jus t as h e d id at th e ea r lie r G reen b rie r Nationa l, but he could onl y manage to stay within five points of Lafferty's final (Top) KTM's Mike LaHerty breezed to victo ry at the Rhody Rove rs Nati onal Enduro in Rhode Isl and and , with that victory, clin ched the 1998 series ch amp ionship . (Above) Fred Hoess was LaHerty's neares t competitor. Hoess ended up fin ish ing second overa ll.