Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

By Mark Uth Photo by Jungle Dave INDIAN MILLS, NT, MAR 21 ad Lafferty Jr. made it two in a row, be~ting bridesmaid Kevin Bennett at the Curly Fern Enduro by a score of 17 to 20. The Bromely Suzuki/Cycra/ Enduro Engineering/Motion Pro-sponsored Lafferty leveraged a zero in the infamous Bertino swamp section, a section that helped Lafferty earn the victory; although timekeeping problems experienced by defending champ Fred Hoess served to seal it. Lafferty posted section-best ~cores at most of the checkpoints. "1 was lucky to zero the swamp check, as 1 wasn't really sure what my mileage was at the time," said Lafferty. "The Suzuki is really going good. It has plenty of power for the open stuff yet remains tractable when things get slick. My only motor mods have been to replace the stock reed block with a Boyesen unit, and bolt on a 10-ounce Steahly flywheel weight. It really feels good to be able to compete at the top of my game." Fairway Honda/WER/SRC/XR250mounted Kevin Bennett and Bill Atkinson filled out the podium, taking second and third overall, respectively. Bennett actually led Lafferty by a point prior to the start of the A loop, having picked up the advantage during one of the lengthy afternoon point-taking sections. However, call it iate or luck, Bennett was unable to match Lafferty's score through the A test, finishing with a 20:902 card. "Under the circumstances,. second overall is the best anyone could expect," said Bennett. Atkinson was right on the heels of the lead pair, ha ving rna tched scores with Lafferty through each of the five point-taking checks. However, Atkinson was unable to match their blistering pace through the swamp and ultimately lost any hopes of second place. Atkinson finished with a 21 :852 score to fill the third-overall slot. The South Jersey Enduro Riders laid out approximately 85 ground miles of trail for the two-loop event. Near the end of the afternoon loop, Expert riders split off for the A-only test, while B and C riders negotiated a final short special test before making their way back to the knowt:\ control. Some 250 riders started the ride. The morning loop provided an easy warmup for most. Nearly all experts and a handful of in termedia te riders zeroed the loop that was mostly comprised of smooth, sandy plow lines and sand roads, with several tricky timekeeping pitfalls. More than a few top riders fell prey to the tricks of the trail boss, the most notable being a fourminute burn that earned Fred Hoess 17 points at check number five. Unfortuna tely for Hoess, it was to be only the start of his troubles. Aiter a 25-minute break at the gas, riders transferred over four miles of asphalt to get to a start control to begin the second loop. While many were no doubt looking ahead to the A loop to be run late in the day, SJER unveiled a new afternoon loop that set the stage for what was to follow and thrashed riders in the process. Two lengthy afternoon J trail sections leading up to the A loop were 10 and 13 miles, respectively. Each began with a start control and contained multiple checks within. Lafferty and Bill Atkinson each dropped 17 points through the series of five checkpoints, only to be bested by the 16 score of Bennett. As predicted, the A loop played a pivotal role in the race's outcome, but not for the reasons expected. Slow timekeeping speed averages and good trail conditions had riders timekeeping through possibles early on. A few miles into the loop, however, the trail became more technical, yet with copious exposed roots, as well as water and log crossings. This, combined with an increase in the speed average of 15 mph, served to drive riders off the pace. Riders who either knowingly or unknowingly blew through these early possibles found that they were able to make it into the next check on time. Call it savvy or the smile of Lady Luck, Lafferty did just that, hitting the checkpoint right on time for a seemingly impossible ace of the section, an advantage that proved to be the edge needed to claim the day. Second- and third-overall finishers Bennett and Atkinson carded fours in the A loop, only to be bested by the three count that Fred Hoess scooted in on. Unfortunately for the defending enduro champ, it was a case of (way) too little, too late. Campaigning a filctory Husqvarna, the WR125 pilot had a memorable day in the saddle - for all the wrong reasons. First, he burned an easy morning check to the tune of four minutes, which by itself pretty much ruined his ride. However, in the A loop, computer/ odometer problems led to a confounding series of events. "I sideswiped a tree earlier in the section and ripped the odo pickup right off my bike and lost track of my mileage," explained Hoess. This no doubt proved costly. Not knowing his mileage in a section run at a sedate 15-mph speed average, Hoess astutely"braked to a halt some distance ahead of check 15, at the time being almost a minute early.. He then proceeded to wait four minutes before heading into the checkpoint, checking in a disappointing three minutes late, but still setting the second-best score at the checkpoint. As a result of the difficulties, Hoess finished well down in the standings. KDX220-mounted Jeff Kirchner placed fourth overaLl, dropping 30 points on the day to fill the fourth-overall seed. A-class linemates Mike Beeler and Anthony Tomasello each carded a 32 and ended up duking it out for High Point A honors. YZ250 pilot Beeler edged WR400-mounted TomaseLlo on emergency points to claim the High Point prize and fifth overall. Tomasello slid in behind Beeler at sixth overall, earning the first-pl~ce trophy in the A Senior class for his trouble. Mark Hummel pushed his factory-supported Husky WR250 to seventh overall, finishing with a 33 card to earn top honors in the vaunted A 250cc class. A pair of 35point scores were posted by Jim Gunselman and Brian Russell, who placed eighth and ninth overall, respectively. Gunselman earned a first-place trophy in the A Veteran class, while Russell was runner-up in A 250cc. KTM250- mounted AA pilot Craig Shenigo posted 36 on the day to round out the top 10 overall. In other class action, tight scoring in the Intermediate class saw YZ125 hotshoe Jason Catlett claim the High Point B prize, breaking a string of B-class victories by rival Sean Tompkins. Catlett's 36-point score was sufficient to earn him 13th overall status as well. Runner-ups were Tompkins and Dennis Lynch, who each dropped 37 and took home firstplace trophies in the 200cc B and 250cc B classes. Veteran-class rider Dave Mills rode a KTM 250 to a 51-point finish, winning the High Point C trophy. Kevin Hess carded 65 points on the day and earned the 200 C-class victory. Farrell Lord topped the Masters class with a 47 score, while June Van Driel claimed a well-earned Women's-class victory while posting a 363-point score without houriJ:lg out. CIII Curly Fern Enduro Indian Mills, New Jersey Results: March 21, 1999 (Round 2) AA: 1. Jack Lafferty Jr. (Suz); 2. Kevin Bennett (Hon); 3. Bill Atkinso~ (KTM); 4. jeff Kirchner (I

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