Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ECEA Enduro Series, Round 3 (Left) Fred Hoess darts his Husqvama through the trees at the Greenbriar Enduro in Belle Plain, New Jersey. (Above) Bill Atkinson rips his way through the grass track on his way to second overall. By Mark Uth BELLE PLAIN, ), MAR. 28 aking advantage of early series points leader Jack Lafferty's day off working trail, defending series champion Fred Hoess campaigned his factory Husqvarna WRI25 to his first victory of this fledgling 1999 season. In a surprising shift from the grueling contests recently hosted by the Tri-County Sportsmen, this year's course proved completely conqu~abJe. Hoess dropped two points en route to the win, besting the three-point cards posted by runnersup Bill Atkinson and Kevin Bennett. "1 felt that the course was truly 'zeroable:" said Hoess after the race. '1n each section tha t I picked up a point, I had trouble with overtaking riders that probably cost me. In one instance, I literally had to get off my bike and help a downed rider who was blocking a stretch of single-line trail." A handful of three-point scores vied for second-overall honors. Matto KTM 250 pilot Bill Atkinson rose to the top of the emergency-points heap, dropping 3:231 to earn his best finish of the season thus far. Other three-point finishers included AA riders Bennett and Mike T Moore, who filled the third- and fourthoverall seeds, respectively, with more lost seconds than Atkinson. Craig Shenigo filled out the top five with a fourpoint card. Cool and damp, the morning dawned with temperatures in the high 30s and saw little warming throughout race day. Clouds threatened rain throughout the duration but failed to deliver until late in the contest. Most riders beat any seriou drenching. The club laid out a short 6O-plus-mile ride, a welcome change from the usual thrashing laid out by the Tri-County Sportsmen. Most sections were fairly long, in the 5- to lo-mile range. Those run at 24 mph typically took points, while 18mph sections gave faster A and B riders a chance at a zero. All checks were emergency checks, which seriously confounded race strategy. Some sections were true points takers, while others were "zeroable" by top riders. The question "Should I enter at the top of my minute or at a perfect 30?" played constant tricks on riders who guessed wrong, and weighed heavily in tiebreaker tallies afterward. Perhaps the highlight of the course was a ribboned grass-track section laid out in a field using stout metal stakes. There was no cutting corners here. ISDE veterans Hoess and Bennett were seen neatly carving their way through, while most others floundered: early rows around slick, flat turns; later rows in the deep, sandy ruts that formed. No doubt it was a section that craved horsepower. On the flip side, the day's '10wlight" for many a rider might well have been the crossing of a mammoth pallet bridge a tenth of a mile out from the known control. Growing mold and mildew on the year-old structure combined with a light rain made it slicker than fresh snow on ice. There was much carnage and plenty of spectacular crashes in front of throngs of jeering spectators. After speeding around the grass track and avoiding disaster on the bridge, Fred Hoess earned the unique, carved-wood Greenbriar Grand Championship Trophy, his first for Husqvarna this year. Regarding his new Husky steed, Hoess expounded, "This Husky rips." A KX250-mounted Marc Gross claimed High Point A honors, finishing five points down while filling the sixthoverall slot. AA rider Jeff Kirchner led a handful of six-point scores that filled the seventh- through 10th-overall seeds. Kirchner pushed his KDX220 to a 6:345 score, good for seven th overall, while Yamaha copilots Dan Sharpless and Rob Aldokimov finished eighth and ninth overall, respectively. Honda XR600 stalwart Bob Bennett rounded out the top10 list. In B-class action, Sean Tompkins used his hot hand to earn High Point B honors. The KTM 200 rider finished with a 9:514 card, besting the ll-point scores posted by Steve Guers and Dan Polak. Guers and Polak went home with first-place trophies in the B Open and B Veteran classes, respectively. High Point C honors went to KTM 250 rider Dave Mills, who dropped 19 on the day. Andrew Simboli was runner-up at 24 points down. The Masters-class win went to veteran Farrell Lord, who tallied 19, while Kathi Campbell topped the Women's class with a 32 score. _ Greenbriar Enduro Belle Plain, New Jersey Results: March 28, 1999 (Round 3) AA: 1. Fred Hoess (Hus); 2. Bill Atkinson (KTM); 3. Kevin Bennett (Hon); 4. Michael Moore (Yam); 5. Craig Shenigo (KTM). 125 8: 1. RonaJd Decaro (Yam); 2. 'Frank Luppcrgcr (Yam); 3. Jeff Johns (Hon); 4. Steve Brown (Kaw); 5. Alan Bop (KTMI. 125 A: 1. M. Dean Spencer (Yam); 2. o."m Stoppi Jr. (Yam); 3. Pat Emmons (Yam); 4. Gerry Kitts (TM); 5. Greg Davies (Yam). 200 C: 1. Richard Peters (Yam); 2. Dallas Ray (Yam); 3. Claudio Gouardo (Kaw); 4. William BartiL'SOn (Suz); 5. Kevin Hess (Han). 200 B: 1. Sean Tompkins (KTM); 2. Brian orden [KTM); 3. Charles Bays (Kawl; 4. john Lambert (Kaw); 5. Mario Depalma (JaM). 200 A: 1. Ed Hamilton (Kaw); 2. Eric Corbin (Kaw); 3. Robert Mohn (Kaw); 4. Paul Bitting (Kaw); 5. Tim Shepps (Kawl. 250 C: 1. Andrew Simbol.i (Han); 2. Brian Burt (Kaw) 3. Jarrod Johns CHon); 3. Scott Keller (Suz); 5. RonneU Lockley (Suz). 250 B: 1. Bruce Lowman Jr. (Han); 2. John Hummel [Kaw); 3. Jim Shainline (Yam); 4. jeffrey Brown (Kaw); 5. Jason Campbell (Yam). 250 k 1. Marc Grossman (Kaw); 2. Dan Sharpless (Yam); 3. Brian Russell (Han); 4. Mark Hummell (Hus); 5. Bill Gilbert (Yam). OPEN C: 1. Edwin Schraden Jr. (KTM); 2. Nicholas Angelus (Hon); 3. Michael Rl:>gM (Suz). OPE 8: 1. Steve Guers (KTM); 2. Michael Sharp (KTMJ; 3. Terry Yiengst (KTMJ; 4. Tun GaUagher (Husl; 5. David SWl:>gart (Mai). OPEN k 1. Bob Aldokimov (Yam); 2. AI SWlter (KTM); 3. Mll

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