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AMAlFMF National Enduro Series Round 2: Cherokee National SE&TRA champ Stephen Reed gambled on some checkpoint placements and won. He edged out Mike Lafferty on the tie-breakers. By GEORGE VILLANYI PHOTOS BY KENNETH KING GREENSBORO,GA,MAR.16 f you want to win a National Enduro, sometimes you have to take chances. Kind of like the one Louisiana's Steve Reed took at the Cherokee National Enduro in Georgia. The decision to ride hot and hope - no, pray - that no checkpoint was lurking in one particular section proved to be the right one for the Suzuki RM250 rider who, when all was said and done, edged defending champ Mike Lafferty to win his firstever National Enduro. Both riders checked into the final checkpoint with a 50 on their scorecards, but when the all-important tie-breaker seconds were tallied, Reed had squeaked past Lafferty for the overall win on his Hattis burg Cycles/SRV Cycle Works/ Michelin-back Suzuki. The win puts him seventh in the AMA National Enduro Series standings, and he's on top of the SE&TRA Enduro Series standings (the Cherokee National is also part of the SE&TRA Enduro Series). In what was only his fifth National' Enduro ride, Reed now intends on finishing out this year's National Enduro Series. After all, he's I 26 APRIL 2, 2003' cue • ... just 13 points behind series leader Lafferty, and the next round of the National Series is going to be held in his own backyard in Louisiana. Also putting in a dazzling ride in Georgia was another SE&TRA regular, Mike Grizzle, who dropped 55 points and landed a very respectable third overall. The KTM rider edged out three other riders who tallied 56 points. Fourth overall went to Robbie Jenks, with Barry Hawk and David Lykke rounding out the top six. The actual mileage for the Cherokee National turned out to be 87 miles, with most of those being run through the tight woods of central Georgia. A total of 10 checks were used to score all of the racers in a layout that was made up of four distinct test sections. An early 8:00 a.m. key time greeted riders as they began the first 5.6mile test. The slippery clay took points from everyone except for Lafferty, Jenks, Lykke and Hawk. Randy Hawkins, Reed and Grizzle were among the riders who lost only one point at check one. The second test was a 17 -mile section that would ultimately decide the outcome of the enduro. The section consisted of three checks, and two of them were tiebreakers. It was here at check two that scores varied quite a bit. Grizzle had the only zero of the day at this emergency check, arriving at the green and white flags just 14 seconds into his minute. Reed was next best, coming in after the flip of his card and scoring 59 emergency points. Lafferty dropped 218 emergency points, Jenks 229 and Hawkins 235, giving all these guys fours. With no resets, these minutes were carried into the rider's scores for the next two checks. Here it was Grizzle besting the field with an II, Reed went 12 and Lafferty 13. Finally, at check four, another tie breaker, Reed went 1008 seconds, Grizzle had 1096, and Lafferty 1117. At the gas stop following this section, many riders were discussing the location of check two and whether or not it could really be counted as a "check-in," being located 2.6 miles deep into the trail, but more on that later.