Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

A non-racing injury nearly cost Lafferty the National Enduro Championship. dence comes from experience. You know the places; you know how to do that game. When I compare myself against Randy [Hawkins], Fred [Hoess] and David [Lykke] - I don't think I have that aggression against other people, I just know in my head that maybe I'll have problems, but I'm still going to be ahead. The only thing that gave me concern was that my strengths lie in long, tough sections early on, and I would strive for the best results right away. Whether it was 10 miles off or 20 miles off, I would go as hard and as fast as I could and have everybody else work at catching up for the rest of the day. I had the confidence that I was going to do that, and everybody knew it. So when we'd go to the nationals and there was a 20-mile section right off the bat, I'd beat everyone by one or two minutes, and they would have to catch up the rest of the day. That would deflate them, and if not gain a couple more points, I'd stay the same and still win. I have confidence that I'm a fast starter, and it makes a big difference. I don't think there's room for the 'Tve-got-to-beat-this-guy" attitude or "I've-got-to-psyche-this-guy-out" thing in enduros. I think that works more at the GNCC, because you're racing with that competitor side-by-side. Then came the shoulder break before round six. How hard was it to make the decision to skip the King Philip National in Massachusetts? Ugh. I wanted to go. I wanted to go because I figured whatever happened at King Philip, even if I was just top 10, those 10th-place points would have helped me later on down the road, because you just don't know. Then the other issue was that King Philip is the rockiest place there is. That's the hardest place to ride, so I felt that if it was a place with softer terrain, it wouldn't be so big a decision. But I wasn't ready. I knew I couldn't last, and I would have made myself worse off physically. I had been riding that week prior, because I was going to make that decision on Friday. On Friday I saw the doctor, and he told me that one good hit on it, and I could be put out again. So that was my decision right there to listen to him, and at that point I thought to myself, "Okay, I might lose the championship." When you heard that Hawkins had broken down in that enduro, how did you feel.J Knowing that he was in second [in points], that was good for me. I was kind of relieved. I mean, I don't wish any kind of bad luck on anybody. But I was amazed. Here I go and break my shoulder, Randy has an opportunity to go to the next race and grab a bunch of points, and he DNFs. What kind of luck is that? But then, by the same token, it wasn't a great thing for Freddie to win, because now at the end of the year, he's coming the closest to me. He jumped up to one point off, and at the time of King Philip he was in fourth. He went from fourth to second in one race, and neither Randy or David finished. And then came Delaware, the second-to-Iast round. Did you figure Delaware was yours for the taking, that you'd been there a million times and you were going to go down there and kill everyone? That was my intention. The GNCCs were over, and I was back from the injury. I could go that speed again, and I'm letting these boys know! I hadn't ridden an enduro since August, and here it was the end of October, and I was looking forward to riding an enduro and especially Delaware. What went through your head when you suffered your first breakdown since 1996? The bike was brand new. I had 20 miles on it, and it broke a rocker arm. It happened about 30 miles out. Sitting aside the trail with a dead bike. Could you be reasoned with at that poinP Not at all. There were club members there. I knew where I was, and I wasn't sure about the bike, exactly what happened to it. When you break a rocker arm it shuts off the valves, in this case the exhaust valves, and it wasn't running, but I wasn't sure what was wrong with it. It wouldn't start, but I was checking everything out, checking spark, checking gas, and I knew where I was, and I was thinking, "I'm getting to the check-out regardless of what might have happened." I mean, I needed everything I could get. Even if I'm 15 minutes down, if somebody else might break, a couple more points would help. I felt I needed to give everything I could give. I pushed and pushed and pushed, but I was still about two miles from the check-out, and AI caught up to me, walking backwards on the course, and we figured out there wasn't anything I could do. Right at that point, I couldn't deal with anything. I jumped in my truck and went home. So after all that, what was your plan for the final round in Indiana? After Delaware I got sick. I came down with something, and I was sick Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - just felt like crap. I knew that Freddie was right there behind me, and Randy had a chance, too, and I was wondering about my bike, and I just figured I had to put all that stuff behind me and give it everything I had. So I flew out there on Thursday, to AI's place, he had my bike together. We did some riding, then we went down to Indiana just like it was any other race. I just went there saying, "You know what...?" By then, I had had all these other things happen to me - I had broken my shoulder, I came back from that; I had the lead in the GNCC and lost it; I broke my bike for the first time right in my own backyard - I had all those things happen to me, and I thought, "You know what, the next thing that's going to happen to me is I'm not going to win the championship." It didn't bother me. I knew I could let it go, and I just figured I was going to give it everything I had. Ride like I know how to ride, do what I've got to do, and if the bike breaks, the bike breaks. If something happened during that last race and I burnt a check, didn't go fast as somebody else, then you know what? That will just top off the year, because everything else has happened. It was good though. I actually gained some points on Randy early on. It was a long section, a 30 mile section. I stopped and topped off my gas on the way through to make sure I had enough at a gas available, and Randy got a point back on me. Then I heard that Freddie had run out of gas. I still had Randy behind me, and in the last section he beat me by a minute. I had had three points on him, he'd gotten two back, and I was happy with that. He rode really well, then Freddie missed that check which was easy to see - if you were late it would have been easy to miss that check. It was a good day. I beat Randy fair and square, and even if Fred hadn't missed that check, I still would have beaten him on points. So how do you feel about the way this year turned out? It was a good year. It was a lot of learning, on the bike and off. I learned that it's all in how you deal with it. So are you satisfied with your accomplishments this year? No. When I was training last winter, we were going full bore, and I knew I was in top shape, but I was still skeptical about riding a four-stroke. It was a goal of mine to do well in both the enduros and the GNCC, but then to actually be in contention in both, and then have those problems? And then come away with the enduro win? Man, it's in my reach. I think it is possible to win both; it is doable. What about2003? What are your goals? Win the national enduros and the GNCC in the same year. I'm going to ride the 450 next year, the MXC in the GNCC and the EXC in the enduros. What about the ISDE Qualifiers? We've heard a rumor that you were interested in going to Brazil. It all depends on what's going on. The qualifier on this side lEast Coast] is in between two GNCCs. If it works out, we'll go to the qualifier. And if it works out at the end of the year and I'm healthy and things are all right - I'm not all bent out of shape about losing the championship or something - I'm going to go to Brazil. I want to go to Brazil and have some fun. It's after all the series are over and there're no more races. If we were going for a championship and had to stop and go to Brazil and then come back home for another couple of rounds, that wouldn't be so good. But since it's after all the races, it'll be good. It'll be a fun time. What about your sponsors? Do you have anybody you'd like to thank for this past year? KTM Sportmotorcycle, Big Gun, Moose, Alpinestars, Michelin, Arai, GPR Stabilizers, Scott, Silent Sport, Spectro Oils, Motion Pro, Braking, Tsubaki, Enduro Engineering, Sunstar, Tag, VP Fuels, Twin Air, Boyesen, Pro Clean and CTI 2. I also have to give a big thanks to the two most important people in my life and racing, Al and Melissa. They love racing as much as I do, and it's great to have them a part of my team. eN cue I e n e _ S • JANUARY 22. 2003 35

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