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AMAlFMF National Championship Enduro Series Round 7: Boot Hill Endur-o ]~ tur~is called the Bear Creek Trail, was also sandwiched by a well-placed checkin and an emergency check-out. Lykke once again had the quick run here, scoring 182 emergency points, beating Pepper's 183 by just one second. Schmelzle, the local enduro champ, took a 184, beating National riders Lafferty's 195 and Hatch's 202. At this point, the top four riders all held six-point score cards, with Lykke having the best tie brea kers, but there was a lot more racing to come. After a gas stop and a welldeserved rest, racers ripped through some fast trail on the way to check 10, where riders checked into the West Alder Trail again, except this MSR, FMF, Dunlop, Scott, Shoei, and Throttlehead.com. Hatch spent the last few days leading up to the enduro riding with his buddy Miller in Telluride just to get used to the high country and the rocks typically found in this region. That, along with the training Hatch has been doing with Jeff Spencer, helped the Suzuki rider pull off the victory in what was round seven of the National Enduro Series. The Boot Hill Enduro, hosted by Scott Bright and Throttlehead.com, was also a round of the Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit, as well as a round of the Texas State Championship Enduro Circuit. As a result, talent was abundant, as participants, including local hotshoes and "ancient" champions, came to compete with the National regulars. Trail conditions were awesome, as Mother Nature was kind enough to dump a little moisture on the soil Saturday evening. The fastest riders zeroed the first four checks, as racers were led through the Palisades and the Middle Alder trails, but points were taken from everyone as the course went up the West Alder Trail. This rocky route took its toll on even the fastest racers, as Lykke was the quickest at check six with 170 emergency points. Pepper, who lives nearby in Center, Colorado, was next with 175 points. Lafferty rode through at 185 points, and Hatch was the last competitor to score a 3 with 204 points. The next points-robbing section, Bv GEORGE VILLANVI PHOTOS BV BOVD DAMKOEHLER DEL NORTE, CO, JQLY 27 teve Hatch returned to his grass roots - the National Enduro Series and robbed a victory from the series regulars at the Boot Hill Enduro in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Hatch, who now normally follows the GNCC series, rode the Ohio National Enduro a few weeks back, where he brushed the cobwebs off his time-keeping equipment and rode quite well but didn't get the win. But here in the fast Colorado rocks-, he polished his game enough to beat the regulars at their own game. Hatch dropped a 24 for the day, narrowly edging out David Lykke, who carded a 25 to take second-place honors. This was Lykke's best finish this year, as it was also for Kelby Pepper, who took third-place honors with a score of 27, at what was an interesting high-mountain event. Series points leader Michael Lafferty ended up a disappointing-forhim fourth overall, edging out local enduro ace Ron Schmelzle by just one point, with a 28-point card. As could be expected, Hatch sported a huge smile after the enduro, for he came to Colorado for one reason - to win, and that's exactly what he did. Afterward, Hatch was quick to thank his wife and family, his friend Mark Miller, and, of course, all of his sponsors, including Suzuki, S AUGUST 13, 2003' cue • e neVIl's ~ ut roots and wins In time in reverse. Even though it seemed a lot easier going down, the fastest scores were still 3s. Pepper matched Lykke's 180, with Hatch beginning to speed up with a 187. Hawkins also sped up here, as he scored his first 3 of the day, with 200 emergency points. But Lafferty slo~ed, as he went 4, just missing the flip of the card with 214 emergency points. So Lykke, Hatch and Pepper owned the only nine-point cards up to this point. Lafferty had 10 points, followed closely by Schmelzle and Hawkins with 11 s. After the gas stop at the 106.9mile marker, the speed averages were 30 and then 84 mph. This test BRIEFLY••• Off-Road legend Malcolm Smith was in attendance at the Boot Hill National to help out his 17-year-old son Alexander. The Smiths said they were here more for the fun than the results. Elmer Symons, the South African off-road champion. rode on row 21 with Mike Lafferty. Even though he broke hiS foot early in the day. he still rode well enough to place eighth overall. Fritz Kadlec returned to action after 13 years. The rider from Colorado rode a KTM 525. He recently opened up a new shop called Gunnison Motor Sports and said he is very excited about being back around motorcycles again. The competition was fierce for former RMEC Champions Kevin Davis. Johnny Blythe. George Villanyi and Fritz Kadlec. Only three points separated these relics. as they all made it into the top 20 overall. But it was Villanyi edging out Blythe by 27 seconds to claim bragging rights for the day.