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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128339
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- - - - - - -1 Round 7
OFF-ROAD
I
August 8, 2004
AMNFMF National Championship Enduro Series
Lafferty S\Nats Mosquito Classic
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r e sh off a two-point win in
Michigan's Upper Peninsula,
Mike Lafferty crushed a highly
talented Pro field in Michigan's
Lower Peninsula at the Mosquito
Classic National Enduro.
Lafferty had returned to action just
weeks earlier and come Sunday morning
was up against one of the most talented
Enduro fields seen in years. Fifteen of the
17 AMA-assigned AA riders were in
attendance, and the two absent (Raines
and Pearson) were replaced by Yamaha's
Jimmy Jarrett and Throttlehead's Josh
McLevy. Add to that GNCC regulars Blair
Bersano and Chris Gallt, as well as series
newcomers Wally Palmer and Billy
F
My
Russell, and Lafferty knew that he would
have to work for his second National
Enduro win in 2004.
This unique non-timekeeping enduro
started w ith a 9.5-mile section of tight
trails accompanied by an overgrown gravel pit. Lafferty would let everyone know
that he was the man to beat as he went
I 1:5 1; Eight AA riders (Steve Hatch,
12:0 I ; Jimmy Jarrett, 12: 12; Fred Hoess ,
12: 12; Josh McLevy, 12:22; David Lykke ,
12:36; Robbie Jenks, 12:3B, Blair Bersano,
12:39; Michael Keen, 12:55; and Barry
Hawk, 12:58) all kept close w ith , as one
can see, scores in the 12s.
Hawk's 12:58 thrilled him , as he wrestled with a bent rear brake pedal for most
OWN RACE
Rich Lafferty
13th
After a great ride in Marquette, Michigan, the Town and Country/Enduro Engineering!
KTM backed rider Lafferty wasn't thrilled about his performance at the Mosquito Classic.
He saidhe enjoyed the format and trail, but one incident really changed his day."The dust
was really bad today, and at one point I broke out of the dust and alii saw were fence .
posts," he said. "I couldn't stop, and the next thing I knew, the fence wasgone and the bike
was on top of me. It took me a while to wiggle free of my bike; it's quite comical now. Tell
that farmer I am sorry for taking his fence out."
Leonard Keen
10th
The 2003Michigan State Enduro Championhadagreat day. Keen isa memberof the infamous
Keen family that has beenracing since the '60s. His uncles Kenny, Mike and Eldonare former
NationalAA riders, and uncleEddieplaced 22ndoverall at thisyears' event. The Keenfamily
has great ridingskills and "Leroy," as he is known, is no exception. Other thana few minor
crashes, Keen rode exceptionally andis puttinghimselfin position to be AA again in 2005.
42
SEPTEMBER 1,2004 • CYCLE N EW S
of the section.
"I hit something that bent my brake
pedal back to the foot peg. I figured the
section was almost done, so I kept going.
After a few miles of riding with the rear
brake almost consistently on , I realized
the section had to end sooner or later. It
probably cost me a minute, but I was glad
to get in on 58 seconds and save a point. "
Those two seconds would pay huge in
the end .
The second section of the day is one
known to local riders as, quite simply, the
mud section . Th is year the Buzzard
Motorcycle Club did a great jo b of elim inating the mud , which made for 7.5 miles
of awesome Mich igan riding. Seven AA
riders (H aw k, 7: 19; Lafferty, 7:22; Hatch,
7:40; Lykke, 7:45; Jenks, 7:51; Hoess,
7:55; Hawkins, 7:59) and eventual A highpoint w inner Wally Palmer (7:55) all had
excellent scores and kept themselves in
contention for the w in. At the first gas,
Lafferty had a one-point lead, with Hatch
holding second place by just a few seconds over Hoess, Lykke and Jenks.
The th ird section was a short five-mile
piece of tight trail that included a
motocross track near the restart. Huge
numbers of spectators could be found
around the track as well as near other
sections of trai l on the day. Many ride rs
spoke of the sheer number of people
seen on the trail watching the event.
" T he whole event, from spectators on
the course watching to the club parking
the AA riders together in the pits so kids
cou ld get autographs, gave the event a
family-type atmosphere," Town and
Country/Enduro Engineering/KTM's Rich
Lafferty said.
Lafferty gained another point on the
rest of the field in the third section , and it
was becoming increasingly difficult for the
competitors to catch the champ.
" I approached Mike at one of the
restarts, and I found out that he was up on
me by two points ," Hawk said. " I put the
hammer down and tried to catch him."
Putting the hamme r down did work in
the next section, as both Hawk and Hoess
used the choppy fields of Clare County to
their advantage, dropping three and gaining back one minute on Lafferty.
" Mi ke and I both went four in that last
section ," Lykke said. "There was no way
I wanted to go any faster in some of
those fields."
In the 11.5-mile section following the
second gas, Lafferty once again led the
way with a 9: 14. Only Hawk (9:23),
Hawkins (9:29), Lykke (9:53) and Hoess
(9:57) could stay close. Yet, with the
shorter sections, Lafferty still led Hawk
and Hoess by only one point. That's when
Lafferty turned up the heat .
Lafferty and Hawkins were the only ones
to score four in the next test section, and by
Hawk's own admission, Lafferty had the
other contenders scrambling to catch up.
40th A nniv er s a r y
"I was trying so hard to make up that one
point that I made some critical errors in the
sixth section and fell another point behind,"
Hawkins said. " Mike rode great today. I
could only match him in two sections."
Lafferty pulled another point on the
field in the last test sect ion , as he just
made two minutes and everyone else
went three by a few seconds. In the end,
Lafferty's 43 points put him ahead of
Hawk's and Hoess' 46 points. Hawk beat
Hoess for second overall by 31 seconds in
the three tiebreaker sections. Lykke beat
Hawkins by 16 seconds to claim fourth
and with it ret akes the lead in the series
points standings, 161 -160 .
With Lafferty back in full form, and the
level of competition attending, the series
could come down to 16 seconds, and a
fourth or fifth place could decide the
championship.
eN
HEBER RANCH
HARRISON, MICHIGAN
RESULTS: AUGUST 8, 2004
(AFTER 7 OF 9 ROUNDS)
a lA : I. I. Mike Laffeny (KTM) <3. 16 17; 2.1lMy Haw k
(Yam) 16. 1691; 3. Fred Hoe ss (Hus) 16 .1122; 1. David
Lykke (KTM) 47 .172 4; 5. Randy Haw kin, (Y
am) 47 .174 0; 6.
Steve Hatch (Kaw) 48.112 1: 7. Robbie Jenks (Yam)18.1740 ;
8. John Barber (GG) 48.1842 ; 9. Josh MeleV)' (Kaw)
49.I73S; 10. l eon ard Keen (KTMJ 49. 181 7; II. Wally
Palmer (Suz) 50. 1861: 12. Jimmy Jarrett (Yam)52.185 5; 13.
Rieh lafferty (KTM) 52.1960 ; 14 . Matt Stavish (Ho n)
53.1896; IS. Stephen Reed (GG) 53. 1970; 16. Chris Gallt
(Kaw) 54.1987; 17. Billy Russell 55.2086 : 18 . Mike Mahaliek
(Hon) 57.2095 ; 19. Jeff Fredette (Kaw) 58.2087; 20. Jeff
And"""" (50,) 58.2093.
AMAlFMF RACING NATIONAL ENDURO SERIES
POINTS STANDINGS (After 7 of 9 rounds): I. David
l ykke (16 1/1 win); 2. Randy Ha-McirlS (16011 wm); 3. Steve
Hatch (137/2 wins) ; 4. FredHoes , (94); 5. Billy Ru