Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

of the Club riders. Used to seeing Edmondson in the front group along with the Trophy and Junior riders, a spectator would have to wait long and look hard to see him in this Six Days, except for his results. He was finishing consistently at the top of the class and putting serious pressure on Frenchman Fretigne for the class win. DAY THREE One team that so far hadn't presented a big challenge for the win was the Italian Trophy team. Usually well up at the top during the Six Days, they seemed to be stuck in fifth by the third day. We ran into team rider and occasional GNCC competitor Jarno Boano and asked him how they were doing: "Not good! On the first day, the bike of Rubin stopped and lost much time, and then Sala crashed in a special test and lost one minute. And then yesterday the bike of Fausto Scovolo, a Yamaha 125, broke in the morning and now we are five riders. We try to do our best. Today I get second [in class], Sala may be second or third; we did a good day, but I don't think we will improve the position of our team. We have a very good Junior team, and today they are leading, but also we lost one rider and now we are three there. I will try for the class win. Before the race I did not think it was possible, but now I am in second and I think it is possible to do. I will try." Although the third day saw the start of a new loop (to be used in reverse for the fourth day), there was no change in weather and it remained hot and dry. About the dust and torn-up trail, Boano said, "I see what the dust and the tracks look like after one lap of the course, and I tell the team if I had to ride in the back with the Club team riders, please don't call me in the morning!" Trophy Team rider Fred Hoess was setting good times and getting used to his Husky 250cc four-stroke. "There's always a learning curve on a brand-new bike," Hoess said. "Like going into a test, heading for a jump and thinking, 'Well, let's see what happens.' I don't know whether it's going to jump or flip me off the bike or whatever. But it's good, and it's working better as I get used to it. It's electric-start - no kick at all. The guy from Husky was yelling at me in the impound, reminding me I have to unplug the battery. It's for safety it's not supposed to drain, but if something went wrong and the battery drained, I wouldn't be able to start the bike on the line at all. It's a precautionary thing, something else to remember to do. It's light, and it really runs awesome. It's a cool bike." Hoess was staying consistent in 12th place in the 250cc Four-Stroke class. The long course on day three took its toll on the riders, forcing some out of the event. Three River Competition Club rider Anthony Glasso (250cc Four-Stroke) was among the retirees on day three, as was Curt Wilcox, riding in the 400cc Four-Stroke class. Wilcox hit a car in a spectacular fashion, blackening both his eyes and picking up a few bruises. He attempted to keep going but was forced to retire when checkpoint officials discovered one of his fork legs was broken. France traded position with Sweden and took over the Trophy team lead, while Finland swapped places with Italy and moved into fourth. The Aussies were still in third. Finn Juha Salminen bumped teammate Mika Ahola out of the unofficial overall lead in the event, while Merriman was hot on his heels 10 seconds back. Russ Pearson was still the highestplacing American rider, though nearly four minutes back in 48th overall and 15th in the 250cc Two-Stroke class. Day three was by far the dustiest yet, although the heat subsided, with a covering of clouds in the afternoon. About 4:00, the skies finally broke over the parc ferme, and a monster downpour lasted about five minutes and drowned everything. Most of the riders were in, but those who were caught in it were probably ready for an early shower. The American teams held their position, with no radical problems on the course. The U.S. Trophy team was still in ninth, while the Juniors held down 10th spot. DAY FDUR Day four was the reverse of day three, so the riders had a chance to see the back side of all the trees on the second go-around. Rain overnight left the ground soaked and very muddy in places, causing some problems for the riders. The good part of running the special tests in reverse was that all new lines were formed, and aU the ruts from the day before were easily avoided. Generally, the American riders were pleased with the change in weather and enjoyed the day, and the scores reflected it. For the second day in a row, David Pearson was the fastest American rider, moving from 26th to 25th in the 250cc Two-Stroke class, and 67th overall. Russ Pearson had a little bit of trouble with the mud and slid back in the standings a bit but was still hanging tough. Fred Hoess was still holding the highest American class placing, with a 12th in the 250cc Four-Stroke class and 118th overall for the day. "In one of the special tests I know I was only about four seconds off the class leader, and I was only two seconds off in the terrain test," said Hoess, "but I haven't gotten the bike Americans are typically weakest In the grass·track tests, but our riders actually turned In some respectable times this year. Tim Stowe was a member of the competitive Timekeepers Me club team. jetted just right - it's a brand-new bike, you know, and we're still trying to learn about it. I think it may be too rich. I had it quit coming down a hill in one of the tests; it just shut off, but then it started right up again. I found out that if I put a new plug in, it has great power, so I'm just going to put in a new plug as many times as I can. It's going good, though." Close behind at 120th overall was Brian Garrahan, finishing 16th in the 400cc Four-Stroke class for the day. A California District 36 neighbor of the Garrahans, Brian Sperle, was next in the "scratch" results, with a placing of 156th for the day and 44th in the 125cc class. Sperle was part of the TimekeepersMC.com Club team, which included Tim Stowe and Glenn Martinson. They were currently 19th in the Club division, the highest American club being the Merced Dirt Riders team of Kevin Bennett, Ron Schmelzle and Steve Silvestri. The only significant change in team status for day four was the sudden death of the Finnish team. Juha Salminen had moved into the overall lead the day before, and had won two of the special tests and finished seccue •• n ond in the other that morning, and screeched to a halt before reaching the last special test of the day. Just like that, the mighty Finns were out, buried in 15th place with no chance to get back up. DAY FIVE The penultimate day of the Six Days was going to be crunch day for the riders. Though showers had come and gone on the evening of day three, the weather was still relatively clear in the morning. Not on day five, Friday morning. This morning saw torrential rain up in the hills, and while some riders missed riding in the wet stuff, none of them avoided the fresh mud on what would be the toughest trail of the week. Even so, the sections were timed loosely enough that most riders got to the checks on time. The trick was hot getting too impatient in the bottlenecks and crashing yourself out or breaking your bike in the rocks. • _ S • SEPTEMBER 19. 2001 41

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