Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128109
AMA N ational C h a m p io n sh ip IS DE Q ualif ie r S eries F ina l Round : B oi se R idge Rid ers urday night, Pearson was breath ing down his neck (David , that is ), an d Nick was not far behind. STORY AND PHOT OS BY D OUG KAR CHER IDAHO CITY, ID, JUNE 2·3 ro vin g o nce again that he 's not "jus t a de s ert guy ," Destry Abbo tt won both da ys of thi s two -day event to ta ke th e ove rall win . O ve rco m ing a c ha llengi ng course a nd weathe r con d itions as well as some tough co m petitio n , Abbo tt re cla ime d his title a nd took home two trophies . After ta k ing th e o ve rall win here in 199 9 , Abbo tt ha d m e ch a ni c al problems c on tribute to a disa pp ointing s ixth-pl a ce finish la st year. Com ing to Idaho th is ye ar, he wanted th e win m or e tha n e ve r. It wa s ' no wal k in th e wo ods , t h ou gh . La st yea r' s d e fe n d ing event ch amp Russ Pe a rso n was ba ck , bringing a lo n g his cous in David and brother Nick , who is b a c k after a troublesome colla rbone fracture . Paul Krause (riding a KTM 125 this ye ar ) , Pat an d Brian Gar r ah an , Luca Trussa rdi and a number of other ta lente d riders all p os e d via ble th re ats . By the end of th e first da y, Abbott was ahe ad, bu t on ly by 14 s e conds not much of a cu shion aft e r s ix hours in the wood s . Though the day 's scores weren 't yet tall ied or posted when they im po unded the b ikes Sat- P 34 JUNE 20. 2001 • cue I e CA Y 1 Dry co nditions le a d ing up to the event ha d most riders expecting the inevita ble dusty conditions , and that was exactly what they got on Saturd a y , whic h da wned wit h overcas t sk ies an d temperatu res in the mid 70s - down considerably from the 90s of a day earl ier . The first LOI (Letter of Intent, or thos e who were attempting to qualify for the ISDE ) riders left the start line at 9:0 1 a .m ., and 11 5 miles and six hours late r, th ey sta rted clearing the final ch ec k. With just 15 m inu te s to wo rk on t h e b ik es , s om e c hose to m oun t a new re a r tire . Krause had the old tire off and the new o ne on , cha nged his oil and still had five mi nutes to spare . Truss a rd i also c ha nged the rear, but had trouble getting the heat-swell ed foam insert back in and - running out of time - opted to use a p ne um a t ic tub e . Abbott e x pe ri e nced si mila r trouble with his inse rt, a nd strug g ling a bit too long , was forced to bolt the bare rim back on the bik e s o that he woul dn 't be late to impound (he com ple ted the job dur ing th e next morn ing's br ief wor k peri od ). n e vv s (Top) After 12 hours and 130 m iles of riding over the weekend in Idaho , it was clear that the top ri der was Destry Abbott, who won both of the Qualifier' s days and the overall. (Above) Brian Garrahan, show n here wearing a rain coat for Sunday's snow and ha ll , fi nished fourth on day one, then Im proved on day two for the runner-up pos ition overall.