Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128331
teep hills, t ire -eating rocks, dust , and 90 -plus-degree temperatures didn't faze Kawasaki ride r Nathan Knight. No r did the large turnout of enduro riders who participated at the Arkansas Dirt Riders' tri -sanctioned Train Robber's Enduro, held in the mountains of Arkansas . After a long, tough day in the saddle, Knight pe rsevered, topping some of the best enduro riders from not one but three major endu ro seri es: the Southern Enduro Riders Association (SERA), Texas State Championship Enduro Ch ampionship (TSCEC) and Black Jack Enduro Championship (BJEC) series. But the win was close. After 12 checks, Knight edged fellow SERA Series regular and points leader and defending champ Stephen Reed by one po int, 12-13 . "I had a great day!" Knight said. "I rea lly like this type of te rrain." Most of the talk afterward revolved around a hill that caused proble ms for many of the riders, even Knight. 'At the en d of the first test section, I got caught up on a hill wh e re a lot of riders where spread ou t. and it co st me about a minute trying to get up and aro und every body," Knight said. "I think I could have had a one in that section, but I dropped a three instead. But all in all I can't com - plain; I think I had a great ride." Seven-time BJEC winner and Missouri State Champion Steve Leivan, who finished th ird with a 14 on his scorecard, said that his ride was determined there. "I had a pretty good ride , but I lost a couple minutes on the hill, and that pretty much cost me my day," Leivan said. There were actually two Knights who finished in the top five; the other was Nolan's younger brother Nathan, who finished fourth overall with 15 po ints dropped. Nathan also had his problems on "The Hill." "I got off in some off-camber stuff and killed about two minutes," he said. "I th ink I could have don e better," Still, Nathan held a two-point cushion over the fifth -place finishe r, KTM-mo unted Malt Lane, wh o finished just one po int ahead of Open A winne r Steve Nicholas, who is also leading the BJEC se ries points stand ings. Nicholas tied Glen Myalt at 18, but Nicholas edged out the Husqvarna rider on the tie-breake rs. Jeff Parke , a SERA member who rides in the 200cc A class, broke into the top 10 for the sec o nd time this year with an eighth-place finish. He came out on to p of a five-way tie with four other riders who dropped 19 po ints. One of those rid40th Anniv.. rc; ers was fellow 200cc -c1ass rider Taylor Reynolds, who ended up ninth , right beh ind Parke, 41 seconds back on the tie-bre ake rs . Parke, w ho is now rac ing a new T M, said he had a good day except for one cras h in the last te st sectio n where he be nt up so me stuff o n his bike. Taking the 2S0cc A-class win was SEMs Bryan Petty, w ho finished o ut the day in 10t h overall. Petty adm itt ed that he got a little overhe ated near the end . "l tho ught I was go ing to be sick in the last tes t section, but I was all right 'til I got back to the truc k," he said. When asked about "The Hill," Petty said, "I didn't even know