Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

The fact that Rodney Smith had already clinched the championship in the GNCC Ser ies didn't stop him from taking the overa ll win at the final round , Here, Smith (4) leads Steve Hatch (2), Fred Andrews (3), Barry HawkJ r. (12) and Jim Jarrell (11). By Davey Coombs Photos by C.J. Coombs-Russell CRAWFORDSVILLE, lN, OCT. 25 od ney Smith w a s a lrea dy in the record books as th e fi rs t Su zuki rider to wi n an AMA Grand N ational Cross Co u n try Seri es Champion ship, and as the firs t Californian eve r to wi n the prestigious off-roa d se ries, weeks before th e season en d ed on the last wee kend of October in Crawfords ville, Ind iana . But the former pro fessional motocrosser wanted to put an excla ma tion point on his GNCC Cha mp ion ship season w ith one last victory, so Sm it h a ttacked the lronman GNCC in Crawfordsville as if the cha m pio ns hi p w ere on the line. The result was Smith's seventh overall win in the 13-race tour. "It's been just a fantas tic year for me ' and Suzuki, and I'm really prou d to win the title in the top off-road series in the world," sa id Smit h in the winner' s circle in Ind iana after the d ay' s fast, close race. The wi n also marked Sm ith's third straight overall at the popular Ironman GNCC. "I re all y wa nt to th an k ev eryone from Suzuki, p lus Moose Racin g, who broug h t the w ho le crew ou t fo r thi s . event," Smith said. "I also wa nt to thank my tea m m echanic, Ma rk H yde; my boss, Mike Webb; and every one of my sponsors for hel ping me to th is titl e. I also want to thank my girlfriend , Mary actually , my fian cee now. It 's been a grea t yea r and I'm really happy that it turned out th e wa y it did for me and Suzuki." Smith was followed across the Ironman finish line by Suzuki tea mmates St eve Hatch of New York and Paul Edmondso n of Great Britain . T ha t sweep of the podiu m marked the fourth time the Suz uki trio had swept the pod ium - this after years of playing seco nd fid d le in the series rankings to the likes of Honda's Scott Sum mers, KTM's Scott Plessinger, Yamaha- tu rn ed-Team Green rid er Fred And re ws , and cross country great Ed Lojak of th e old Husqvarna and Yamaha marques. For the race, former GNCC number one Andrews wa s fourth, while recently cr o w ne d 199 8 AMA National Hare Scrambles Champion Doug Blackwell was fifth on a Yamaha. "I knew with a cou ple of laps to go that it w as going to be a sprin t at the end because so man y of us were running so tight,: said Hatch, who rides a Sh an e Nalley-wrenched Suz uki RM25O. "It was going to come down to who could push the hard est on the last lap. Luckily for me, Freddy (An drews) made a little mistake, and once he d id that I just gra bbed some gears and got away from him, bu t Rodn ey still had a little more than me at the end . I' m stoked to finish second in the series again, because you never wa nt to go down in numbers." Suzuki was only ab le to cap tu re the fir st tw o spots o n th e cha m pionship p od ium , as Smith' s 178 p o ints were good for the title and Hatch's 170 poin ts (and two 'race wins) acco unted for seco n d . Ka wa sa ki -mounted Ohio p il ot An drews finis he d t hi rd in th e fina l ra n kings w ith 167 p o ints, w hil e t he o fte n-i nj u re d Su m mers fe ll fro m th e number-on e rankin g last year to fou rth this year wit h 148 total points. Edmond so n , w ho suffere d h is own s hare of injuries this season, was fifth in the final standi ngs . The G N CC Series was vis iti ng the Ironrnan course for the fourth time. The eve nt is nam ed for former GNCC qua dcycle legend Bob "The lro nm an" Sloan, w ho passed away in 1994. A co ld morning cleared up in to a perfect day for the nearly 300 rid ers who tu rned ou t for th e final round o f the se ries . The fairly fas t Ironman cou rse called for seven tota l laps of approximately n ine miles eac h time a rou nd . Lap times h o v e r e d around the 26minute mark. As usual, a Suzuki was ou t front wh en the dead-engine starting line was greenflagged into the first tum as Smith led a throng consisting of Hatch, An drews, Edmondson and Barry Hawk Jr. At the end of the first lap, Andrews led the 14-rider Pro class by just tw o seconds over Hatch and then Smith, who was attached to his teammate's fend er . West Virginia's Blackwell and former Wo rld End uro Champion Edmondson were next, bo th within eight seconds of the leader. "I got a really good sta rt and was riding w ell until I sta lled it an d let Steve and Freddy around me," Smith said. . On the second lap , Smith started having so me problem s, and he slipped from third back to sixth in the tight formation of lead rid ers. ' 'Then I got stuck in a mudhole and it see med like all I could do was go backwards on the first couple of laps. I was making some mistakes and ge tting fru str at ed , and I just had to settle d own , relax and kind of start over," Smith sai d. "Th e pace was kind of slow at first, and 1 think we w ere all a littl e out of rh ythm, but then the pace started to pick up on the th ird la p or so and 1 was ab le to catch back up to the lead pack." Hatch , w ho was d icing wi th And rews for the lead and the runner-up spo t in the series, made a mistake of his own a few laps into the seven-lap race, which las ted just over two hou rs, 45 min utes . : "O n a little, mudd y, slippery d ownhill I wen t over on my head , and Pau l and Doug Blackw ell go t by me," Hatch said. "They w ere both riding really well and 1 just could n' t ge t back by them , but the n 1 saw Fre d dy having so me p roblems, too . It was like nei ther Fred dy nor 1 wan ted to take it today - we were both battling for th e number-tw o p la te but little things kept coming u p." Everyone watched Ha w k come from way behind in the midd le of the race to catch the leaders, only to fall out of conten tion . The race was s haping up as a battle for th e win bet w een Smith and Edmondson . Smit h was n't doing himse lf any favo rs : He crashed in the new woods section just before the white flag. " A tr ee w e nt between my b rak e pedal and my clu tch cover, and 1 had to kick it back ou t and get it going aga in," Smith said . "I made a lot of little mista k es becau se the track was re al demanding, but all around, it was still on e of the most perfect tracks we had all year. There was a little bit of mud, a littl e bit o f du st - ju st p erfec t traction eve ry w here else. It was really fun ou t there." "I was really trying to win today, but it didn' t tum ou t in the end," Edmondso n sa id. "I was battling with Rodney because he 's been b reaking awa y a ll yea r and I really wanted to keep onto him this time. The lead pace is getting so n arrow th at if you get a little bit fati gued or make a mistake, you're out of there." Team Green / Axo / Re nt ha l /Silkolene-backed Andrews also called it one of the bes t tracks of the series. " It w as just perfec t out t he re, a nd that's why I'm discouraged abo u t no t wi nni ng , o r even beati ng H atch ," And rews sa id. "W hen tho s e guys (Smith and Hatch) always ge t the starts, it ki n d of sets th e to n e fo r .th e d a y . That's definitely somethi ng I'm go ing to wo rk on during the wi nter. And I would like to co ngra tu la te Rodney and his team on the title." Smith ended up leading Hatch across th e fi nis h li ne by 19 se co n d s, w h ile Edmon dson was a no the r 25 seco nds back in th ird . Andrews clocke d in a minut e and a half behind the race win- ner, while Blackw ell came through one mi n u te , 44 seco n ds b ehind Sm it h. Ed mo ndson d esperately wa nted to win fo r hi s tea m and to gain m om entum goi ng into next year, which will be his third in the GNCC Series . " My m e ch a n ic, Tom Ca rson , h a s been kee ping me wo rking , an d we we re read y to win, es pecially with m y wife her e for the firs t time to see me race in about two vears," Edmondson said . 'Til be back next yea r and read y to ge t after these guys aga in." I~ Ironman GNCC Crawfordsv ille, Indiana Resu lts: Octobe r 25,1998 (Round 13) OIA:. 1. Rodne y Smith (Suz); 2. Steve Hatch (Sud; 3. Paul Ed mo ndson (Su z) : 4. Fred Andrews (Kaw); 5. Dou g Blackwell (Yam) . 200 A: 1. John Bennet t (Yam); 2. Ioe y Amb ros ini (Ka w) : 3. Colt." Ca lkins (J(.lW); 4. Syd Loveda y (V.l m) ; 5. Thom as Asher (Suz). 200 B: 1. Todd Nic klas (KTM); 2. Ryan Bar re tt (K.1W); 3. joshua Knapp (K. W); 4. Kris Aldrid ge (Kaw): 1 5. Greg Bradl ey {Kaw}. 25 0 A: 1. C huc k Woodfo rd (Ka w) : 2. Ro n n ie Burn field (Su z): 3. Robbi e Jenks (Yam): 4. Jona tha n Wendell (Suz): 5. Aaron Kar l" 250 H: 1: Matt Beatty (Yam): 2. Mkh;\l,1 Fau lk (5u z); 3. Jeff Mr-lik (Yam); 4. Ryan wuebbeling (Yam); 5. Wl'S Etter (Kaw). 4-ST RK A : 1. Da r -ius Lattca (Yol m ); 2. Don Bohn (KTM); 3. Perry Peters (Hen): 4. Th om as Evans (He n ): 5. Rick Kinke1aar (Vam). 4· ST RK B: 1. jon a th a n Skinner (Yam ); 2. Marty Mich els (Han); 3. je ff Co rra (Ha n); 4. David Rea gan (Suz); 5. Shane M unger (Suz). O PEN A: 1. Mar k Ad kins (Sua) : 2. Ca rl Enn is (KTM); 3. Scott Phillips (Yam); 4. [ef f C regg (Yam). OPEN B: t . Troy Wertz (Ka w ): 2. Chris Turrin (Kaw): 3. Jeffrey Claborn IKaw ): 4. Bu zz Went z (KTM ); 5. Ma rvin Ramsev (Ha n). PRO: 1. Rodn ey Sm ith (Suz); 2. Steve Ha tch (5uz); 3. Pau l Edmondson (5uz ); 4. Fred Andrews (Kaw): 5. Doug Blackwell (Yam). SR A 40+: 1. Jeff Fredette (Ka w) ; 2. Kdth Rodgl'f'S (Ka w): 3. Dona ld Bigley ( Kl'M); 4. R.. nd y Masti n (He n): a 5. Rick Th o m pson (K.aw). SR B 40+ : 1. James Vic heck (Ya m ): 2. Mi chael Schwartz (Suz ): 3. John Bradle y (Ka w ): 4. Lawrence Black (Ha n); 5. DavidFiola.(Suz). VET A 30+ : 1. Ro be rt Kir chner (Suz ); 2. Troy Schlereth (Han); 3. Da n Scales IKaw ): 4. Todd Mou nt (Yam) . VET B 30+: 1. Sco tt Fon ta ine (Ka w ): 2. Dan iel Kend ra (Ya rn): 3. Albe rt Ems (Ka w); 4. Ron Rehmert (Suz): 5. Kerry U1lon (Ya m). 125/200 C 1. jerod Dea hl (Yam); 2. Thoma s Grogg (Yam); 3. Jus tin Maxwell (Kaw ); 4. Scott Watki ns (Ka w): 5. T. Reese Jones (Yam). 2S010PEN C: 1. Sea n Clay to n (Ya m ): 2. C ha d Ha yw ood (Ya m) : 3. Sa m uel All en (Ka w ): 4. Mark Brooks (Kaw); 5. Doug Wri gh t (Yam). 4-STRK C: 1. Ji.UOO C ra ws (Hon): 2. Aar on Snyd er (Hon): 3. Ken neth Stevens (Han); 4. Michael BritJa nti (Hc nh S. Michael Read (Yam ). O/A : I. Mar k Hyde (Suz); 2. Alan Randt (KTM); 3. Wayn e Beatty (Vam); 4. Scan Cla yton (Yam ); 5. Ha rry Greenlee (Yam). S R 40+ C: 1. Pierce Ferriter (H a n); 2. Nic holas Herrin g (Suz): 3 . Mar ty T ha c ker (Knw) : 4. Mike Hu fnagel (KTM); 5. Joe Kirklin (Kaw). SPTSMN: 1. Mark H yde ISu z) : 2. Alan Randt (KTM); 3. Gary Gibbs (Suz); 4. [eff Ha rt IKaw). S/SR : 1. Wayne Beatty (Ya m): 2. Harry Gree nlee (Ya m); 3. Frank Erbe (Yam); 4. John Ga llagher (KT M ); 5. Terry Aynn (He n) . AM A G R A N D N AT ION AL C ROSS C OU NT RY SER IES ANAL POINT STANDINGS (Afte , 13 of 13 rounds): 1. Rod ne v Smith (178/7 wins ); 2. Steve Hatch (170 /2); 3. Fred Andrew s (167 /2); 4. Scott Summ ers (148/2); 5. Paul Edmondson (137); 6. Ba rry Ha wk J' . (132); 7. Jim Ja rre tt (122);' 8. Rand y Ha w kins (118); 9. ' Michael Lafferty (104); 10. Robbi e jenks (93). 00 0\ 0\ ,..... trl C'J 1-0 Q) .c 8 Q) ;> o z 21

• Cover