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(Left) One of SE&TRA's top riders, Stephen Reed, came through at the Alligator Enduro. He finished fourth overall, dropping just 17 points. (Right) Randy Hawkins wasn't quite on top of his game at the Alligator, but he still had fun. The former National Enduro Champion finished fifth. Hawk's teammates Hawkins and Check four was an easy one, but Raines weren't as lucky. Hawkins after check three, things tightened buried his YZ250F - as did Raines, up. Lafferty came out of the second who was keying off his Yamaha team- special test with a two-point score, as did Raines. Hawk carded a three. mate. Hawkins and Raines incorporated the "I'll help you and you help me" method, and they finally got out but arrived at the third checkpoint drop- Reed and Chancey went four, while Hawkins, Pearson and Hodges all ping seven points each. Pearson got dropped five. Going into the final special test, it stuck, too, but he had to extract him- had boiled down to a three-man race self, and he dropped eight points, as did Reed and Hodges. Chancey, involving Lafferty, Raines and Hawk. At this point, Lafferty had the lowest Gravitt and SEE, TRA rider Tommy card with eight, just one point ahead Veator all dropped nines. Scores only got worse from there. of Raines and Hawk, who each carried a nine. Lafferty and Hawk blazed through the palmettos and water, matching each other's scores with a with Raines. Lafferty came out on top with 12 points, followed by Raines four. Raines, however, just missed the check (check seven) and dropped five, putting him out of the running. Only one check (check eight) remained, but it was mostly a timekeeping check, so it would be nearly impossible for Hawk to overtake Lafferty. All Hawk could do was hope that something really bizarre would happen to the KTM rider, though that would be highly unlikely. As it turned out, something bizarre did happen but it happened to Hawk. He surprisingly burned the last check! "I just got ahead of myself, came out of the woods, and there was the check," Hawks said. "I was a little too hot, and there was nothing I could do." with 14 and Hawk with 15. Hawkins could never make up any time after the first special test. He dropped five points in the last special test, as did Reed, Pearson, Hodge, Chancey, Gravitt, Veator and Russell Epley. Hawkins also lost out to Reed on the tie-breakers, dropping him to fifth overall; Reed finished fourth. Pearson ended up sixth ahead of Hodges, Chancey, Gravitt and Veator. eN Tomoka Farms Daytona Beach, Florida Results: March 6, 2002 [Round 11 of 17) O/A: 1. Mike Lafferty (KTM); 2. Jason Raines (Yam); 3. Barry Hawk Jr. (Yam); 4. Stephen Reed (Suz); 5. Randy Hawkins (Yam); 6. Russell Pearson (Yam): 7. Bradley Hodges (Suz); B. Jason Chancey (KTM); 9. Allen Gravitt (KTM); 10. Tommy Yeater (KTM); 11. Russell Epley; 12. Michael Grizzle (KTM); 13. Philip Carlin: 14. Nathan Knight (Kaw): 15. Michael Sigety: 16. Brooks Hamilton: 17. Pat Wim~son; 18. Travis Hayes; 19. Russell Bobbitt (GG); 20. Robert Neeley. That little brain-hiccup cost Hawk second place, as he traded places BRIEFLY••• If it wasn't for bad luck: Jan Hrehor didn't have a great time in Florida. Hrehor. a worldclass off-road rider from Slovakia. is Visiting longtime friend Randy Hawkins and decided to ride the GNCC in Palatka and the Alligator Enduro. In the GNCC. Hrehor only lasted a few turns before his borrowed Y"maha broke. At the Alligator. Hrehor was hoping for some better luck, but as he arrived to the start line. his bike began misfiring and suddenly died. He didn't even make the start. "Florida just hasn't been too good to me,· Hrehor said while still managing to crack a smile. Hrehor will ride the next few rounds of the GNCC Series, as well as a National Enduro round. before returning home. Jason Raines, who finished second. did pretty well for someone who doesn't ride endures. "Yeah. he did pretty good all right," his teammate Randy Hawkins said. "But he had the most expensive time-keeping eqUipment in the world· me!" Hawkins joked. Raines rode on the same minute as Hawkins and keyed off the multitime National Enduro Champion. "One time, it got a little interesting," Hawkins said. "At one point. he got ahead of me. I got going again, and he was ahead of me. and J knew we were running a little hot. I started getting a little worried because he was ahead of me. then we came out of the woods, and there he was, waiting for me. Luckily, there wasn't a check. If there had been, he would've cooked it." Four·stroke rider Lon Buysman was the top B rider of the day. He dropped just 27 points and finished 21 st overall. cue I e n e vv s MARCH 19. 2003 51