Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Round 5: Wilderness 100 Photo by Geoff Meyer III !Ii lIii III :i w :iii Q a> ... i:i =- 40 AP 25 TCLARKSBURGS'uzu i'sR.R 0 dn ey Sfilt, t h e .h earn WV'k defending AMA Grand National Cross Coun try Series Champion, finally found the speed and rhythm that carried him to the 1998 title and came away with the win at the Wilderness GNCC in Clarksburg, West Virginia. .The win marked Smith's first victory of the five 1999 series events held thus far. . "I finally had the right bike, the right setup, the right everything," said Smith. "I've been struggling to put it all together, and today was the day it finally happened.. It's funny, because the Wilderness is the same race that I got it all together last year, and I had a great sea- from there on out. Hopefully, I can keep it all going this year, too." Team Green's Fred. Andrews finished. second in West Virginia, 51 seconds behind Smith, though the race was much closer than the final cushion shows. "It was a good race and I was right there the whole time, but Rodney rode smart and strong," said Andrews, "especially at the end. In this kind of racing, you have to ride 100 percent the whole time if you want to w0, and Rodney did that." Smith was forced to battle not only with former series champion Andrews but also with teammates Steve Hatch, who finished tl:rird, and Paul Edmondson. Edmondson was in contention for the win until he tagged. a tree while dicing with Smith in the last hour and was SOD forced to back it down a notch. Edmondson finished. fifth overall, as defending AMA National Hare Scrambles Champion Doug Blackwell finished a seasonbest fourth overall on his Yamaha. "We've all been a little bit under the gun because the pressure is really on," said Hatch. "A lot of things are expected of Team Suzuki this year, and maybe that's been getting to me a little bit. Even today, I was pumped up at the beginning after I made a mistake off the start, but once I settled down, I was really pleased with how I was able to ride. Who knows? With a better start, maybe I would be the guy with the win instead of the one who finished third." Noticeably absent from the West Virginia event was early pace setter Shane Watts, the KTM-mounted Australian upstart who won three of the first fo events and finished second in the .other Watts was forced to skip this round 0 the series in order to fulfill his obliga tions on the FIM World Enduro circuit. The GNCC points structure calls for rider's best nine finishes of the 13 seri rounds to count for the overall championship. With his lightning start, Watts was able to sit out the Clarksburg round without it costing him too much ground in the big picture. Also absent was five-time GNCC champ Scott Summers, who is recovering from a broken leg he suffered last month while practicing. The current points standings now has Hatch in the lead with 80 total points, followed by Watts' score of 79. Watts' KTM teammate Mike Lafferty continues to impress the cross country regulars. The two-time AMA National Enduro Champion was sixth overall in West Virginia and holds down a solid third in the points standings with 77. Smith holds fourth with 73 total points, while Andrews rounds out the top five with his tally of 71. The Wilderness course was set up on the grounds of a popular central West Virginia water park and camping ground. The trail measured just over nine miles and offered a good mix of woods, hills and open riding. Heavy rains the days prior to the race made for a muddy amateur event on Sunday morning, but the weather was clear and the ground tacky for tile start of the three-hour-long main event on Sunday afternoon. Smith found himself at the front of the field just after the dead-engine start, with Team Green! Andrews Racing-, backed Andrews and Jim Jarrett tucked, in behind him. At the end of the 21-rider Pro-class pack rode Hatch, who got an unusually bad start. '1 got a little off balance on my kick and the back end spun out," Hatch later said. "I was dead last, and it took me two laps before I even broke the top 10. I was having a hard time settling down out there." At the end of the first lap, which measured just two seconds less than 29 minutes, the number-one Suzuki of Smith led Andrews' Kawasaki by three seconds. ,Jarrett was right on Andrews' fender, with Suzuki's Edmondson just as close to Jarrett in fourth. Doug Blackwell held down fifth, followed by Lafferty and Ohio's Robbie Jenks. Jarrett would not last long; he had problems on the second lap and dropped. out of the running. The front-runners battled with one another throughout the middle stages of the race, with Smith in control for the most part. However, as the race entered the fourth of six total laps, Smith's Suzuki teammate Edmondson went on a tear, pulling off one of the fastest laps of the day as he rocketed past everyone and into the lead. But it would be short-lived, as Smith fought back, and Edmondson touched. a tree and went down hard. "I just got too close and it threw me' right down," said Edmondson. "I hit SO hard that at first I thought that I had bent the plate that I have in my arm. I was able to ride it in, but it was painful, that's for sure."

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