Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Moose Northern Califor nia Championship Enduro Series Moose B/C Club Enduro Series Round 6 : Jackhammer Enduro By F. H. L EG HO RN P HO T O S BY JI LL A SHWO RT H PATTERSO N FOUTS SPRINGS, CA, OCT. 19 [l S D E go ld m ed all ist and p ast U .S . L' T ro phy Team m ember Br ian Sp erl e is ha v ing in creasin g p ro bl ems hiding the fa ct that he is actua lly Supe rman , as he appa rentl y pulled X-ray visio n o ut of hi s bag of tr ick s t o see th rough th e du sty c ond itio ns th at p lag ued the J a ckh ammer Enduro. How ever , not all th e new s wa s good for Sp erle , as it app ears tha t 2002 Ch ampi on Bill y Russell is in po ssession of th e Kr yp to nite needed to reel Sp erl e back in. Th e en d u ro started b y going up Potato Hill , with th e fi rst chec k at 4.6 m il es ser vi ng as a c hec k-i n t o t he first test o n th e po pu lar and m od er ate ly fa st t ra il s crisscrossi ng th e top of Pota to Hill. The c heck-out at 8.9 m il es sho wed who had th eir game o n e a rly, a n d En du r o E nginee ri ngbac k ed KTM 250 ri de r Russell too k the ini tia l le ad wi t h a 2 .9 2 . Mach 1 Mo torsports -s ponso red KTM 450 ri der D ave Wood was next , at 2. 10 1. F o x /Fault l i n e Su sp en si o n - b a c k e d KTM 250 pi lot Sp er le was next best a t 2 . 107 , foll ow ed by Cycl e Gea r supported Vet rid er St eve Sh oem ak er , o n his Yamaha , at 2 .145. Suzuki ride r J eff Ba ue r ( 2 . 14 7) c lo se d out th e twos and th e ear ly co ntenders . A fast trail rid e to check three fa ile d to tak e p oin t s f rom m o st o f t h e top c o m pe t i t o r s , al t ho ug h B a u e r d ug himself a hole by dropping a point. A change to 24 mph had rider s on the gas en route to check fo ur, with Suzu k i -mounted J o rd an Bran dt join ing th e excl usive group o f zeroes at th e che ck . Ear ly leade r Russell took himself ou t of co ntention by tak in g a wrong turn at a course spl it , and the 9 . 1 m il es t o c h eck fiv e sta rted to sha ke up the leade rboa rd. Sp erl e put his st am p o n the event with a 2. 118, wh il e Wo od led the pursu er s w ith a 4 .2 31. TSF Cy cle Repair /ACN /After sho cks- backed Ho nda rid er Greg Ruf fo n i began to emerge fro m the pack wi t h a 4 .243 , with B ran d t n e x t at 4. 2 6 2 . V et ri ders Kevin W iley a nd Kev in Greene had th e on ly five s. T he test continued to check six at 42 .3 m iles, w it h Sp er le mai ntai ning h is advantag e w it h t he o n ly "o ne " score. Wood , Ruffoni and Brandt minimized the dam age with twos . H e ad i n g o u t of t h e gas stop , c h ec ks sev en an d ei g ht we re ti me keepe rs and were ea sil y zero ed by most competitors . Che ck nine at 83.6 m iles c hecked ri ders into the las t tes t of the day . Russell again demonst rat ed he has the speed to r i va l anyo ne e lse i n No rth ern Californ ia, as he dr op ped th e only " o ne" at c hec k 10, w ith his 1.6 2 . Spe rle led th e rest o f th e p ack , h is 2. 1 14 a t est a m ent t o h i s spee d ev e n wh en prot ectin g a l a r g e l e ad , f o l lo we d b y t he 2. 1 17 of Ruffon i, whil e no o ne e lse co u l d mana g e bett er tha n a three . Brandt saw h is da y ma rr ed by a fla t tire, dropping seven at check 10. No break in the sch ed ul e had rid er s hard on th e gas o ut of c h eck ] 0 , a lt houg h m o st were a b le to get b ack on t im e a nd zero check 11 at the fin ish . Th e f inal ta ll y a ft e r 94 g rou nd m iles showed Sperle with a cr us hing o ve ra ll a n d 25 0cc A -cla ss v ic t o ry with a score of o nly 7.339, alt hough Russell's fa st ti mes demonstrate that he isn't fi nis hed yet. Stonyfo rd Exp ert W o od s ho w ed tha t h e r em a in s a th reat at t he fr on t, hi s 10.478 good enough fo r sec o nd o ve ra ll and fi rst AA ri d er . Ruffo n i 's 11.51 3 g ot him third overa ll and fir st O pe n A rider , w h ile Bran dt ' s 16. 8 5 5 sti ll go t h im fourth, despite his fla t. Vet -cla ss win ner Kevin Wi ley's 17.660 nett ed him fifth ov era ll o n the day, a test a m en t to solid and co nsist ent ri din g. In t he B c l a s se s, t h e 25 .85 4 of KT M -mounted M ik e Car son won the overall and B Four -Stro k e class, with te st times j ust sl ightly off thos e of th e A -c l a ss l ea d e r s. B Vet w inner L o u Hig gin s p il ot ed his Suzuk i to second B overall w i th a 30 .9 42 . H o n d a m ounted B O pen wi nner Jim Sta nley round ed o ut the to p thr ee B overa ll w ith his 31 .10 77 . H o w e v e r , an y r i d ers wh o think th ey ha ve a shot at w inning in the fo reseeab le future shou ld be looking over th eir sho ul ders at th e fro nt of the C c lass . F ift e en - y e ar · o l d K ev in Mi h ovi ch r od e hi s Su zuk i RM ] 2 5 t o th e lo w C sc o re of 2 4 .79 2 , and ] ] -ye ar -o ld J oey Pascarell a rod e his BBR -TTR 125 to third wit h a 33 .] 040, wh il e 25 0cc C winner Shannon Cre son sp lit those t wo , his 29 .964 good fo r second ove rall C rider. (Left) With visibility r e stricted due to dust, Brian Sperle apparently used h i s X-ray v ision to negotiate h is way to the overall win at the Jackhammer Enduro. (Below) Dave Wood drops down the last portion of Lett's Ridge about half a mile before the final c h eck en route to a runner-up fin ish at round six of t he Moose Northern California Championship En d u ro Series. Fo r th e c ham p io nshi p , Sp erle 's pe rfec t re co rd o f w inn ing t h e rounds he atte nds puts him in the le ad , at 12 0 . Wood bro k e his tie w ith Br an dt to m ov e into sec ond, with 1 12 t o Brandt' s 10 5 . With j ust th ree rounds to go , the heat is o n fo r th o se hoping t o prevent Sperle from being the fi rst to win both the Moo se Northern Ca llfo rn i a C ross Coun try and End u ro Cha mp io ns hi ps i n t h e sa me yea r. eN Jack hammer Enduro Fouts Sprin gs, Californi a Results: October 19, 2003 IRound 6] O / A : 1. Bria n Sp erle ( KTM) ; 2 . Dav e Wood ( KT M) ; 3 . Gr eg Ruffon i ( Hon) ; 4 . Jordan Brandt (Suz) : 5 . Kevin Wi ley (Yam ). AA: 1. Dave Wood (Hon) ; 2 . Bill y Russell ( KTM) . A 20 0 : I. Ryan Gouldthread (KTM); 2. Dave Peel ( K T M): 3 . Ro be rt M ih ov ic h (SUl ) ; 4 . Dav id Boltz (KTM): 5 . Dan Melvin (KTM ). A 250: l. Bri an Spe rle (KT M ) : 2 . Jordan Brandt (Suz): 3 . Jeff Bau er ( Suz); 4 . Brian Jelich (Yam ) : 5 . Sco tt Puckett (Yam ). A O PEN : 1. Greg Ruffoni ( Ha n) : 2. Eric T y le r ( Han) : 3 . A ndres Rugg ier o (Yam) : 4 . Chris Han sen ( KTM); 5. M ike Simmons (K TM). A 4·ST R K : I. Ron Wigingt on ( Ha n): 2 . Brody Borqoq no (KTM). A VET : I. Kevin Wil ey (Yam) ; 2 . Kevin Ruffoni ( Ka w); 3. S t ev e Shoemak er ( Han): 4 . J a mes Ptarcin ski ( Ho n); 5 . Kevin Gre ene ( KTM) . A SR : I. J ohn Well s ( Han): 2. Chris Von Kleist (Ka w): 3 . Pete Hanse n; 4 . Ja ck Le nt o ( Han): 5 . Ka rl Goetz (Yam). A S /SR : J . Ri chard A dan ( Hon); 2 . Pet er Prich ard ( KTM); 3 . John Cooper. A GENT : I. Bm Creiq (KTM) . A WMN : J. Barba ra Mi hovich ( KT M). B O /A : J. M ike Carson ( KTM): 2. Lou Higg ins {S ua}: 3. Jim Sta nley ( Ha n ) : 4 . Gr aha m Hin sda le (KTM ); 5. C,.ig Hill (Hon) . B 2 0 0: I. Dav id Fre dericks on (KTM) ; 2 . A aron Ca jon (Ya m) . B 2 5 0 : 1. Robert Sum ner (KTM ) ; 2 . Brad Johnson ( SUl); 3 . A lan Hannum ( Ha n); 4 . Ro nald Hoyt ( KTM) ; 5 . J oh n Pontes (Yam ). B OPEN : 1. J im Sta n ley ( Ho n): 2 . Cr a ig Hill ( Ha n) ; 3 . Shy lo St eint ha l ( K TM) ; 4 . J o sh Go ld en (GG); 5 . T im Sim mons ( KT M) . B 4 -STRK ; 1. M ike Cars on ( KT M) ; 2 . Gra ha m Hinsda le ( KTM ); 3 . Randy M itch ell (S uz) ; 4 . Steven Poo r ( Han) ; 5 . Dou g Man sfiel d (Ya m ) . c ue I e n B VET : 1. LDu Higgins (S uz); 2. Phil Ritt enm eyer ( KT M ); 3 . Ja son Clement (KTM) ; 4 . Eric Elv in (Ha n) ; 5. Jeff Mendes (KTM) . B SR : I . D an B reit b a c h ( Y a m) ; 2 . K e v in Anderson (KTM ); 3 . Ma rti n Markha m ( Hon ); 4 . Craig Dug an ( Han); 5 . Bru ce A rgyle (H an ). B S /SR : I . Hug o Z wet sl o o t ( H o n) ; 2 . J im Pea cock ( K T M): 3 . J onathan Sp il ker ( K T M); 4 . Do nald Cha se ( Han) . B GENT: 1. Hayden Rit ely ; 2 . Don A sk (Suz ). e O / A : I. K evin Mi ho v ich (S uz); 2. Sh annon C reson ( Ho n); 3. J oe y Pa sc arell a ( B B R); 4 . Dan Blum (Hus); 5 . Stev e Co well (Ha n) . 2 0 0 : l . K ev in M ih ov i c h ( Su z); 2 . J o e y Pascarella (K TM ) ; 3 . Ja son Kei ter [ Kaw }: 4 . Scott Co x; 5. Co dy Tripp (Yam). 250: J. Shann on C reson ( Ho n): 2. Steve Co well ( Ha n) : 3 . Chris Darma n ( Ka w): 4 . Ha rlan C. Teetsel ( Ho n); 5. Tyler Flo yd ( Han) . e O PEN : I. Dan B lu m ( Hus): 2. Gary Schroed er; 3. J ohn Casey (Han) . 4 -S TR K: I . Jason Kaba ti n ( Ho n): 2 . Andy Rewlnk le : 3. Ra ndy Ja ckson ( Yam): 4 . J oh n Cary (SUI ) : 5. Ke nny T ay lor ( SUI) . VET: J. Ken Kell ey (Yam ): 2. A lex Wa g ner Ja mregg ( Hon): 3 . Jo hn O 'D on og hue ( Yom) : 4 . Karl Weis s; 5 . Ron Men igoz ( Ho n). SR : 1. A nt ho ny G o nzalez ( KT M ) : 2 . J oh n F itz patr ick (Yam ): 3 . T im M alsen ( Ka w) ; 4 . Darrell Hu gh es; 5 . Geo rge Low ery (KTM ) . C S/SR : I. Sco tt Riechers (KTM): 2. Dav e Roc ha (GG); 3 . Rick Rink s (S ua) : 4 . Norman Sperle ( KTM ) : 5 . Ron Zibu lka ( Han) . GENT: 1. Daniel Pari s (Yam) ; 2 . Charles Ca rey (KTM ). C WMN : I. Julie Wern ey ( Ke w) . e e e e c e e vv s NOVEMBER 19, 2003 39

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