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{LetQ Michael GItzzIe took _ehllnc... . . well, got a little Iuc:lc1' llIId finished third overeIl. (Right) Bany Hawk rounded out the top five overall. The third section of the enduro also included three separate checks, but this time a check-in was located right off the road. Everyone zeroed check five except for Robbie Jenks, who somehow got burned and showed two extra points on his card. Checkpoint six, located just 3.2 miles later, was zeroed again by the faster riders. Check seven was the pointstaker of this short section, where Lafferty was the fastest, being the only rider to drop a one with 10 seconds to spare before the card flipped. Jenks, Reed, Hawkins and Lykke all dropped two. At the second gas, with only one test section left, Lafferty was down four points to Reed and Grizzle. This is where Lafferty decided that he had better uncork it if he was going to go for the win. Lafferty rode the fastest through this 20-mile test, dropping only a four and a nine on the final two checks. It was a triumphant effort by the KTM pilot, but it wasn't enough to catch Reed, who had built such a cushion from the earlier second section that all Lafferty could do was match the Suzuki rider. When asked about that second check and why he scored so well at it, Reed said, "Well, I used a Little bit of Enduro knowledge; you know what I'm saying? I looked up towards the blue tent where it looked like the check was, and I saw the riders taking a left before they got to the tent. So common sense tells you that they are not entering that check. At the 26 mph speed average, the possibles were 1.3 miles apart, so I rode into the section three or four minutes hot. I was watching for the next possible and it wasn't there, so I continued in towards the second possible, at which time I was already down a little bit of time. The gamble paid off." Lafferty didn't really know what to say about the so-called "missing" checkpoint. "Well, I normally don't gamble like that; you know, it's hard to say," Lafferty said. "Sometimes check-ins are a little deep into the woods, but that one was a couple miles in. You know, it's just hard to say, it's part of racing, I guess." Grizzle spoke of his run as being lucky. "You know, I watched a couple of riders go in, and I could tell they were not going directly to the check, David Lykke wa. originally credited with fifth, but a el_lookat hie ocorecarel revealed that he had actually finished .ixth. so with the possible being 1.3 miles apart, I went in nine minutes early," Grizzle said. "I don't like to play these kinds of games, but you know I've been beat this way before, so today I guess I was lucky." Rumor had it that there were definitely a number of riders going into that section early. Hawkins, who finished seventh, said of his ride, "I have no excuses. I've been a little sick lately and had been taking some antibiotics, but this event was the least muddiest of all the events I've raced this year." When asked about the controversial checkpoint-two location, Hawkins said, "You know, I was a little surprised. This club has been putting on Nationals for years, and I can see them not putting a check-in on a short section here or a short section there, but a section that can overturn a whole race, well that's kind of a shame. Well, maybe they will learn from their mistakes. You know, it's okay to put a sneaky check-in here or there, but to put in checks that really dictate the outcome of an event, well?" Hawk, who finished fifth, had some interesting moments during the race. He gassed it on one of the wooden bridges and found out just how slippery that wet wood really is, as he crashed off the side of the bridge. Then he changed out his front wheel to try a different tire, but he forgot to put the magnet on the brake, so his computer wasn't picking up mileage for quite some time before he figured it out. Sixth-place Lykke was happy with his ride because he is usually a slow starter, but he zeroed the first check with the best of them. Lykke also experienced less arm pump than usual, but he still crashed big time in the second loop. With all of his tie breakers coming in just under the flip of the cards, you could say it was a lucky day for Lykke. eN Cherokee Netional Enduro 6..ensboro, 6..rgill Results: Men:h 16, 2003 IRound 2 of 10J O/A: 1. Stephen Reed (Suz); 2. Mike Lafferty (KTM); 3. Michael Grizzle (KTM); 4. Robbie Jenks (Yam); 5. Barry Hawk (Yam); 6. David Lykke (Yam); 7. R~lOdy Hewkins (Yllm); 8. Jen Hrehor (Yam); 9. Doug Masencup (KTM); 10. Mett SlllVish (Vor); AMA/FMF NATIONAL ENDURO SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (Afte.r 2 or 10 rounds): J. Mike Lafferty (43); 2. Randy Hawkins (39); 3. (TIE) Russell Pearson (I win)/David lykke (37): 5. Robbie Jenks (32); 6. Barry Hawk (31); 7. Stephen Reed (30/1 win); 8. Matt Slavish (26); 9. Michael Grizzle (21); 10. Richard Lafferty (14). BRIEFLY••• Promoter James Bradford spoke of the Cherokee Enduro as being a mind game just as well as being a game of speed. Bradford said that he would like to see computers done away with in enduros. because he feels it has gotten to the point where the riders are relying too much on computers instead of thinking. He added that sneaking around the possibies is part of the game. and that he's sure that no information about check locations had leaked out before the enduro. Jan Hrehor was wearing borrowed riding gear and riding a borrowed bike at the Cherokee National. The world-ciass off-road rider from Slovakia is on vacation. getting away from the cold weather of his home country. Not wanting to .. disgrace" the rider who loaned him the jersey. he put duct tape over the name on the back of the jersey. Hrehor. who never loses his sense of humor, had fun in Georgia. dropping 65 points and finishing eighth overall. Off-road veteran Matt Stavish showed up at the Cherokee National on a new bike. Stavish rode an Italian-built Vor and did pretty well on it. He thumped his way to 10th overall. Eric Maeraeken. who now hails from Colorado. rode his Yamaha to an impressive 69-point tally to take the 250cc A class victory. auele n e vv 50 • APRIL 2,2003 27