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AMA/Oistrict 37 Enduro Series Round 6: Ghost Rider Enduro (Above) Rick Daniel scored a narrow win at the Training Wheels Motorcycle Club's Ghost Rider Enduro. By accept the possibility of anyone bettering their already exceptionally low seven-point scores, so all anyone could do was wait and let the club's calculators settle the debate. As it turned out, Webb's five-point tally was a little too good to be true, as his scorecard revealed a phantom check. Further investigation revealed that Webb had, unbeknownst to him, missed the 14th check, resulting in an automatic disqualification. Webb, who had left the event before scores could be officially tallied and drove home thinking he had probably won, was informed a couple of days later of his missing check, but after further retrospection, Webb acknowledged that he very well could have missed a check, especially when he was asked about the check at the bottom of the hill. "What check at the bottom of the hill?" was his reply. Case closed. This narrowed down the possibilities as to who had actually won the Ghost Rider Enduro to two riders Daniel and Hengeveld. Both riders had dropped seven points each - that was agreed upon by all - so the KIT PALMER PHOTOS BY GRUMPY RIDGECREST, CA, OCT. 21 om Webb thought he had won. Rick Daniel thought he had won. Steve Hengeveld thought he had won. Paul Krause knew he didn't win. Obviously, there was some question as to who actually did win the Training Wheels Motorcycle Club's Ghost Rider Enduro after the last rider rode through the 15th and final checkpoint. Webb claimed that he had dropped five points, while both Daniel and Hengeveld claimed that they had dropped seven points each. Krause, meanwhile, admitted defeat after making it known that he had dropped 10 points, which included an embarrassing burn in the first loop. (Krause was, of course, quick to point out that his timekeeping equipment had failed early on, but he was most likely still brooding about the speeding ticket he got earlier that morning while driving to the enduro and was caught off guard at the fifth check.) If, in fact, Webb had dropped five points, then he would indeed have won the enduro, but neither Daniel nor Hengeveld could fathom or T 66 NOVEMBER 14,2001 • cue • e n e vv SiS enduro's champion came down to the tie-breaker scores, which, when eventually tallied, favored Daniel, 7.0259 to 7.0293. Daniel, piloting an IMS/Torco/Z Racing-backed KTM 380, also won the A Vet Open class, while Honda's Hengeveld at least came home with the Open A-class number-one trophy. Finishing a full minute. back in third was Hengeveld's brother Joe Hengeveld, who officially carded a very respectable 8.0318 score for second place in the Vet Open A class, while the next three riders finished a full two points back: 250cc A-class winner Erik Mattson (10.0314); third in the Open A class, Krause (10.0314); and second 250cc A rider Luke Dodson (10.0432). Four-Stroke A-class winner Brent Farrel Sr., 250cc A-class winner Kevin Hasten, Michael Tyner (the third 250cc A rider), and Craig Hunter (the second Four-Stroke A • rider) rounded out the top 10 overall. This year's TWMC Ghost Rider Enduro, the sixth and final round of District 37's Enduro Series, was, without dispute, an exceptionally good, tough and challenging contest. The first 40-mile loop (straight 24 mph) tested the nearly 200 competitors' timekeeping skills, while most of the second 40-mile loop, with varying speed averages, tested everyone's off-road-riding skills, as well as stamina (with perhaps more emphasis on the latter). It wasn't until the 13th check that the top A riders dropped their first points. Daniel, Steve and Joe Hengeveld, among many others, got behind schedule when the trail over the desert terrain turned tight, hilly and rocky. (And, of course, there were the occasional sand-wash wheop sections.) The impossible-tomaintain speed averages saw Daniel, both Hengevelds, Mattson, Krause and Webb all drop four points here, though both Webb and Krause had already dropped a few points earlier in the event, having burned a check on the first loop. Daniel, Steve Hengeveld and Krause were the only riders that three'd the next (14th) check, the check at the bottom of the hill that Webb never saw. (Joe Hengeveld, Mattson and Dodson carded the only fours here.) Webb, who hadn't ridden a District 37 enduro in about seven years, later said that he remembers the hill but never saw the check at the bottom. "It was dusty and you couldn't see," Webb said. "I guess I veered off to the left, saw dust trails up ahead in the valley and followed the dust. It's a bummer to work that hard for nothing." A reset after the 14th check got most of the riders, including Daniel, both Hengevelds, Mattson and Krause, back on time, and the leaders thus zeroed the last check. Despite matching minute scores at the end, Daniel squeaked by Steve Hengeveld on the seconds. The top B finisher was 250cc-class winner Nicholas Blais, who finished 32nd overall with a 21-point card. The top C rider, competing on an abbreviated two-loop course, was Vet 250cc-class winner Paul Smith, while the number-one one-loop competitor was Ryan Mcintyre, who was the only rider to zero the course. eN Searles Station Ridgecrest, California Results: October Zl, ZOOl (Round BI O/A: 1. Rick Daniel (KTM) 7.0259: 2. Steve Hengeveld (Hon) 7.0293; 3. Joe Hengeveld (Hon) 8.0318: 4. Erik Mettson (Hon) 10.0314; 5. Paul Krouse (KTM) 10.0318: 6. Luke Dodson (Kaw) 10.0432; 7. Brent Farrell (Hus) 11.0322: 8. Kevin Hasten (Yom) 13.0365; 9. Michael Tyner (Hon) 13.0403; 10. Craig Hunter (Hus) 13.0419.