Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Events • AMAINETRA Hare Scrambles series Round 1 Crispin • wins Clarkie's Wild Ride By Cheri Alix ASSONET, MA, FEB. 7 hen race leader Dennis Decker planted his bike in a rut less than 200 feet from the finish, Cris .Crispin was right there to take over the lead and grab his first NETRA Hare Scrambles win. Clarkie's Wild Ride in February used to mean subzero temperatures with snow or freezing rain, bu t warmer-thanusual conditions over the past few years has meant a larger-than-usual turnout of riders. Twelve AA riders lined up on the front row for the start of this year's race, many of them having just been promoted to the class, including Chris Panzella, Jess Berthiaume, Dennis Decker and D.J. Lis. There were also some familiar faces: Ken Law, Cris Crispin and Brian Lawson, to name a few. When the flag was dropped, Brian Lawson took the early lead, followed closely by Brian 0' eil, Panzella and Pete Tanner. Panzella, however, soon ran into problems when his rear brake locked up. "It must've been my master cylin-· der," he said. "The brakes were completely locked up. Luckily, it happened not far from where a friend of mine was standing with a tool bag, and I just cut_ the brake line. I must've dropped to 30th place by the time 1 got going again." Pan zelia, however, only made it three laps (out of six) when he flew off the track and crashed into some trees. "There was no bodily injury, so I fig_ured I'd better call it quits before I did do some damage," Panzella said. Lawson, on the other· hand, had it wide open and came around the first lap still in the lead with about 20 seconds over Dennis Decker, who was last off the starting line. "1 had to kick my bike over twice on the line," Decker said. "But through the. second turn, I went wide on the outside and passed just about everyone. I was fourth and got two more riders at the pit. I actually thought I had the lead till I went through the (scoring) barrels and saw number six on the other side of the track out in front of me." Coming around in third place was Jason Cayer, who was down another 20 seconds, followed by Berthiaume. By the end of the second lap, Lawson ran into trouble in the form of large ruts. Decker took advantage of Lawson's misfortune and took over the lead, putting another 25 seconds on second place, which was now being held by Cayer. Lawson was down another five seconds in third place, followed closely by Berthiaume. Cayer closed the gap on Decker, and by the halfway point Decker's lead was down to only 20 seconds. Berthiaume soon took over third place, but Lawson wasn't about to give up. He passed W Berthiaume again just outside the pits. Seemingly from out of nowhere, Crispin had sneaked up and put his bike into fifth place, and he soon had control of third place. Lawson, Berthiaume and Crispin all disappeared into' the woods together, with Lawson leading the way. Lawson, however, hit a rut and went down just before the first water crossing, allowing both Crispin and Berthiaume to get by him. "Crispin was flying around the course," Berthiaume said. "He was definitely the fastest rider on the course. I ju t hung with him and rode at his pace. We .came sailing into the water hole, and I just hit some rocks and my bike came right out from under me. I was fully submerged in the water. I went completely under. My head was frozen for the rest of the race." The incident set Berthiaume back to fourth place, with Cayer running 15 seconds ahead in third. Crispin was now in second place, just 30 seconds behind Decker. The four riders held their positions for the entire fifth lap and most of the sixth - and final-lap. And then Decker hit the deck. "I got tangled up with a lapper not 200 feet from the barrels and slammed right into a rut," Decker ·explained. "I went down and Crispin was right there to take over the lead. I was just getting tired on the last lap and making mistakes, taking lines and hitting ruts that I would have normally avoided." Decker managed to salvage second overall, finishing 25 seconds down on Crispin. Cayer also ran into trouble on the final lap.. "1 pulled out to pass a lapper on the outside," he said. "I had the pass and was out in front when I looked up, only to see a large branch. It slammed into my head and knocked me right off my bike. Berthiaume was right there and took the opportunity." Berthiaume finished third overall, with Cayer taking fourth. Rounding out the top five was Expert 250cc rider Ben Asaff. Robert Simeon took sixth overall and Expert High Point honors. In the Ama teur class, 125cc rider Mark Griffin took the overall win. CN Clarkie's Wild Ride Assonet, Massachusetts Results: February 7, 1999 (Round 1) 01k Chris Crispin (Han). AA: 1. eris Crispin (Hon); 2. ~ Decker (KTM); 3. Jesse Berthiaume (Yam); 4. Jason Cayer (KTM); 5. Rick Claxton (Yam). EX 250, 1. Ben Asaff (](aw); 2. Robert Simeon (Han); 3. Dan Salomone (J

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