Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

rest of the pack tried to recover from the first-turn melee. Raines crashed again and started having cooling problems, while Smith, Hatch and Woodford went on the charge to the front. I Woodford, a multitime winner of the treacherous Moose Run, is no stranger to the muddy, rutted conditions, and he floored his KX250 and moved, amazingly, from 10th at the end of lap one to the lead on the next go around. "I felt good," Woodford said. "There were two ruts out there in every corner, and if you picked the right one and someone got stuck in the other one, you could make up time. But it was very demanding. You could spend a lot of energy just trying to fight your way through it." Woodford hooked up with Andrews, while Smith smashed his chain guide on the fourth lap and was out. Hawk also had problems with his bike overheating and had to pit to get more water. Even though all the bikes were overed in thick mud, it was looking like a green day out front. But Hawk was determined and pushed his way back to the front. "I was surprised to see him up there," Woodford said. "They were telling me where everyone was, and I thought we had a good lead." The lead three put on a great race, even though most of the spectators couldn't tell since their bikes were covered in mud. The wooded portions of the course were covered in ruts, but when it opened into a field section, the riders would pin it looking for fresh lines and a way around. Hawk's bid for a third straight win ended when he tagged a lap per before the white flag waved. "I never got tired, but a lapper pulled out in front of me a few miles before the white flag," Hawk said. "No offense to him; he was out there racing, too. After that I tried to charge and catch back up, but it seemed like nothing was going right. It was a snowball effect." On the last lap, the Kawasaki duo was left to duel, and they went at it hard. "If he didn't make a mistake, I was going to take second," Andrews said. "I saw him hit a root and stand the bike on its nose. His feet were up in the air, and I thought, 'Well, he's giving it to me.' So instead of passing him, I just watched him to see the crash. But next thing I knew, he saved it and cut back in front of me. I wasn't looking forward; I guess I just wanted to see him fall." Woodford then got around a lapper that Andrews didn't, and that was all it took. "This one was tough," Woodford said. "There were just two ruts everywhere, and things happen in a hurry. I wasn't thinking about Freddy being behind me. I've lost a lot of races late in the race, so I just tried to stay smart and ride hard until the finish." Behind them, Hatch and Lafferty battled for fourth until Lafferty crashed on the last lap and dropped to sixth, with 250cc A rider Nathan Kanney claiming fifth overall on adjusted time. eN Sunday Creek MX Parll Millfield, Ohio Results: June 1, Z003 [Round 7 of 131 O/A: 1. Chuck Woodford (Kaw); 2. Fred Andrews (Kaw); 3. Barry Hawk (Yam); 4. Steve Hatch (Suz); 5. Nathan Kanney (Yam); 6. Mike Lafferty (KTM); 7. Randy Hawkins (Yam); 8. Doug Blackwell (Hon); 9. Andy Shea (KTM); 10. Robb;e Jenks (Yam). AMA GRAND NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 7 of 13 rounds): 1. Barry Hawk Jr. (177/3 wins); 2. Jason Raines (131); 3. Michael Lafferty (I25/1 win); 4. Fred Andrews (111/1 win); 5. Robbie Jenks (104); 6. Randy Hawkins (95); 7. Steve Hatch (89); 8. Rodney Sm;th (72/1 win): 9. (TIE) Chuck Woodford (55/1 win)/Mike Kiedrowski (55). (Below) Mike Lafferty was running up front before crashing. He ended up sixth. (Right) Steve Hatch was Team Suzuki's only bright spot. Hatch finished fourth, while Rodney Smith and Mike Kiedrowski both DNFed. (Below) Barry Hawk managed to extended his series lead despite finishing third. BRIEFLy•••• As usual. the John Penton race was affected by the weather. although th;s year the comb;nation was mud ;nstead of dust. Massive storms on Saturday led to a supermuddy ATV race. but the sun came out to make things a Httle dryer for Sunday's bike event. The course developed deep ruts, and finding traction was difficult. but some riders where impressed that the course came out as well as it d;d. "They d;d an excellent job." sa;d privateer Josh McLevy. -Jeff Russell and the whole GNCC crew. Racer Product;ons. With all the ra;n we had. the course was unbelievable. " Wh;le the season-opening GNCC in Flor;da will go down ;n h;story as one of the muddiest races ever. some riders felt this race was worse. "Here, the mud was so thick." Jason Raines said. "If you were stuck ;n a rut. you couldn't go anywhere. In Florida it was really soft. and you could go wherever you wanted." Ohio mud has a habit of st;cking to bikes and making them heav;er. so most riders took measures to prevent ;t. Many ran oversized hand guards. filled cavities with foam and sprayed WD40 liberally on their machines. Fred Andrews even ran an oversized jersey over his chest protector to keep the mud from packing. The John Penton was run at Sunday Creek MX Park. and the motocross track offered welcome relief to the r;ders who had been battling ruts and mud all day. "It was the only place where you could rest.·· Hawk said. But not everyone felt that way. "The motocross track actually became blue-grooved'" said rook;e Pro Andy Shea, "1 hit a hard spot on the first lap and h;gh· sided bad," Shane Watts was at the John Penton hop;ng to race. but once he saw the mud and ruts. he knew his injured leg wouldn't hold up. Unfortunately. he had taken great pains to even get to the event. "I left Flor;da on Friday, and the fan belt went.·· the Aussie said. "1 tore a hole in the transmission line. So I slept in the parking lot of a junk yard until they found a place with the part. I rented a car and drove back to Jacksonville just to get the part. I didn't get to Ohio until about 4 a,m, last night.·· Wattsy wasn't the only Australian at the race, Glenn Kearny. a top cross country rider in AustraHa. ventured to Ohio to try racing in Amer;ca. PiWng with Team Am Pro Yamaha, Keamy seemed to struggle in the mud and flnished 13th in the Pro class. eye I e n e _ S • JUNE 11, 2003 39

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