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AMA FMF National Championship Endur'O Sel"'ies Final Round: Oelawal"'e 8ndul"'o Ridel"'s By MICHAEL DEMAREE PHOTOS BY MICHAEL DEMAREE AND JERRY GRIBBLE DELAWARE CITY, DE, OCT. 28 lS'il hough he'd wrapped up the title U long ago, the 2001 Enduro Series finale was the perfect setting for Michael Lafferty to prove a point to his competition going into next year. The KTM rider is definitely the enduro king, but he wanted to use this closeto-home event to unveil his new race strategy: "I know I can win the races," he said after doing just that - again in Delaware. "Now I'm competing against the courses, and I want to put as many points as possible between myself and second place." The 500-plus entrants where treated to an awesome event that started (Right) Eight for nine: With National Enduro wins now being a virtual certainty for Mike Lafferty, he is now trying to win by as many points as possible. At the season finale in Delaware, that margin was 19 points! (Below) Despite several problems early in the event, Fred Hoess scored second overall and secured the same position In the final points standings. with a motocross-type section and that didn't seem worried was Lafferty, then went right into the infamous "sluice" - a tight, rocky, water-filled trail that is always a spectator who played it conservative by riding on his minute. Of course this was also in keeping with his new strategy, favorite. Most of the top racers that since such moves tend to demoralize one's competitors. Despite playing it safe, Lafferty started off in the lead and continued to gain time on the rest of the field throughout the day. are familiar with the event gambled by riding into the section early, figuring they'd lose time getting caught in a bottleneck. The only competitor With the title already decided, most assumed that the final round would be somewhat of a sleeper, but there turned out to be somewhat of a controversy surrounding Fred Hoess. A few of the course workers noticed that the bike on which Hoess finished the event looked substantially different from that on which he had started, leading some to wonder if he had switched steeds during the race. Among the items transformed were hand guards (switching from white to blue). side plates (losing his national number seven), seat (switching from yellow to blue). and pipe (switching from chrome to black). Not only that, but Hoess lost five points in the first section, which most of the other riders zeroed. Had the Husqvarna rider broken in section one and switched bikes - illegal under AMA rules - before starting the second section? Hoess' explanation for the changes was quite simple: He had got wire wrapped up in his rear wheel and subframe, ruining his side panels and seat. The wire finally stopped the bike and threw Hoess to the ground, bending his handlebar in the process. Hoess said that he then had to replace the whole subframe (including side panels and seat) and handlebar (including handguards), and he also claimed to have performed a clutch change during the day (which could account for the different pipe). One course official stated that there was no proof that Hoess had switched bikes, and added that unless a rider were to file a protest, the club would not pursue the matter further. He also stated that Hoess is a very talented rider, pointing for proof to the fact that he finished second overall after basically spotting everyone five points in the morning. Another top national rider, who spoke under condition of ano'J)'mity, opined that no matter what the truth eally was, most of the top national riders have been in similar situations before, which may explain why no one was eager to cast the first stone. Even if Hoess had been disqualified, he still would have finished second overall in the series, thanks in part to Randy Hawkins' DNF. In fact, the only rider who would have benefited substantially is Matt Stavish, who would have finished third overall in the event and eamed enough points to overtake David Lykke for third in the series. 46 NOVEMBER 14,2001 • cue I ... n e _ s