Round 1
OFF-ROAD
Grand N ational Cross Country Series
~ AMA National Hare Scrambles Ser ies
Rodney Smith prevails in four-rider
sprint to the finish
By KIT PALM ER
PHOTOS BY PALMER AND KINNEY JONES
t's not often you see the top t hree
riders in a three-hour off-road race
finish within fo ur secon ds of one
another, but that's exactly what happened at the combined opening
rounds of the Grand Nat ional Cross
Co untry and AMA National Hare Scrambles series in Texas. With just one lap left,
this race was far fro m over, as four riders
had a legitimate shot at the victory, but
when it was allover, former G N C C
champ Rodney Smith proved that he still
has what it takes to win.
With only two seconds to spare, Smith,
on the FMF/Suzuki RM2S0, took the Lone
I
22
FEBRUARY 11 , 2004 •
Star GN CC/ HS win ove r Team Suzuki O ffRoad teammate Mike Kiedrowski, who finished just two seconds ahead of de fending
GNCC champ Barry Hawk . And had
Throttlehead.com/Kawasaki Team Green's
Steve Hatch not lost a battle wit h a pair of
trees less than three miles from the end,
he might've finished somewhere among
the three as well, but the Kawasaki KX2S0
ride r instead finished 30 seconds back in
fourth. You can definitely say this one was
close . And it was close throughout the
three-hour race - not just at the end .
For the first time , GNCC visited the
Lone Star State, and the I I-mile loop
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