Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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By KIT OBSERVArlON CHECK PALMER EnduroCross: Off-Road Concentrate you can tell from our Voices section this week, I wasn't the on ly person who enjoyed the recent Maxxis EnduroCross, me rica's fir st indoo r off roa d-style race . We 've been inundat ed wit h letters from fans who att ended the race at the intimate Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, an d every single o ne of th em , including the many we did not print, raved about the eve nt - saying how ~.xciti ng it was, how much action the re was and how good the racing was. Kind of makes you wo nder why th is hasn't ~een done before. But having an off-road race inside a stadium does seem kind of weird, tho ugh I guess not any mor e we ird than having a motocross race in a stadium - at least that's what peop le thought back in the ea rly 1970s w hen the Los Angeles Mem o rial Coliseum hosted the first "indoor" motocross race. And we all know what has transpired since then. I must admit I was a little skeptical at first about this EnduroCross thi ng. I mean, how good could an indoo r off-road race be, especially one held in such small confines as the Orleans Arena? Pretty darn good, as I would soon find out. Yes, the EnduroCross soared high above my expectation s. Whe n I first saw the track and the obstacles, my jaw hit the fl oor. "How in the heck could anyo ne get aro und it," I thought, "let alone race other guys o n it at the same t ime?" The monste r rock pile looked brutal , and the big tractor tires just plain looked scary the logs, water and mud ... Oh , my! This was going to be interesting. And to make things even mo re interesting, the riders were only allowed to walk the tr ack and then take one lap of practice - mo re of a "sighting" lap, actually - before doing a lap against the clock to determine start picks for the evening's program . After all, this was an off-road race: When was the last time you got to do a practice lap at a hare and hound or an enduro? Surprisingly all of the riders made it , thro ugh practice and timed qualifying quite well, but only a few riders made what I would consider a flawless lap. Desp ite the extr emely techn ical track and the outright difficulty, the racers seemed to enjoy it and were looking fo rward to the evening's program and to get the chance to do what they do best in front of an actual crowd instead of a chipmunk way out in the middle of nowhere. The evening's program consisted of three eight-lap heats , three semis, a lastchance qualifier and a IS-lap main event, and once the racing got under way, it was pure carnage - but good carnage. Everywhere you looked , something excit- A ingwas going o n: riders pushing and shoveven a thought afte r what we had just seen ing ove r the rock pile, or gett ing hung up between the green and checke red flags . on the logs, or getting tangled up in a botAftervvard, in the casinos, I heard nothing t1eneck, or someth ing. Y a lot of hanes, but positive reactio n from those I talked to dlebars were touching the grou nd, but at who had watched from the stands. least no one was getting off at 60 mph or "I've been to a lot of supercross races, casing a 70-foot triple. It was just a lot of but this was far better," one spectator tipping over, falling down, stalling e ngines, told me . "There was just more action, and just plain good entertainment. Even mo re passing, mo re things to watch. I though. you . might.'ve- thought ·that· the - · .caQ't wait for the next one." local emergency wa rd wou ld've been This was a pretty typical co mment, ,-eally. overflowing with customers on this night, However, I did run across one person I didn't hear of one major injury - just a who wasn't thrilled about the EnduroCross. few bumps and a few bruised egos . She was the wife of one of the racers. And not only was there to ns of action "I was just too nervous, I could hardly going on, but the racing was also extreme watch," she said. "I worried myself sick." Iy good , not to mention close. Of the I'd say o nly about halfof the 6000 seats seven qualifiers, not once , I believe, did in the arena were filled, and I do n't think the rider who got the holeshot go on to that this shou ld , be an indicator of win the race , and many of the races were w hether this event was successful or not. decided on the last or second -to-Iast lap. After all, there had never been an indoor In one race, a pass for the win came in the off-ro ad race in America before, so what final turn , just a few feet before the checkcan you expect? Next year, however, ered flag. Ryan Hughes wasn't far off the numbers w ill count, but for now, it mark when he said that he saw probab ly appears that the 3000 or so fans who did 10 lead changes in one race. show up left fee ling that they got their I must admit, though , that the main money 's wort h - at least based on how event was a bit of a letdown compared to many of them I saw standing on their feet the earlier heat races . But the n again, over the course of the evening and what I how could anything short of employees heard afterward . I was told that in from the Glitter Gulch racing in the feaBarcelona, w hich hosted the first indoor ture top the qualifiers? I think that by the off-road race six years ago, that their time the main event came around, many inaugural event also barely filled half the of the riders were so exhausted that they stad ium, but the following year, attenwere just happy to be in the feature and dance grew significantly and by the third , didn't rea lly care too much abo ut what year, the event was sold out and has place they ended up in. They just wanted entertained capacity crowds eve r since. to get around the track without getting There was some talk abo ut how cool it stuck or fall ing over. wou ld be to host an indoor off-road race After all was said and done , five of the in the larger stadiums; however, I have my top six riders had all qualified for the feaconcerns . Expansive stadiums certain ly ture via their first heat race . So you might works for supercross, because you can sit say that fatigue was a big part of the far away from the action and still apprecievening, and that became appar ent after ate the speeds at which they 're going and the three eight-lap heat races. The riders how far they're jumping. But to really were so whipped that sympathetic race appreciate what the off-ro ad guys are offic ials reduced the laps in the semis and do ing, I think you need to be up close and LCQ, and cut the main event fro m 15 laps personal. Watching riders getting stuck on to eight. In Europe, they do just four-lap a mound of boulders from 10th-row back main events, but the once-a-year indoor on the upper deck of Anaheim Stadium race, held in Barcelo na, takes place on a just might not have the same impact or slightly longer track . Still, the eight-lap appea l as it did at the cozy Orlea ns Arena . final had its moments: Winner Hughes But we won't know for sure until it's been was pressu red the whole way and was. tried , so I'll be open -minded until, o r if, even passed at one point, and there were that day ever comes . a few riders that made forward progress As for the unique racecourse, track through the pack. builder Rich Winkler said that building the So, was the EnduroCross a success? I EnduroCross track really wasn't any more certainly think so . Afterward , no one difficult to construct than a regular superseemed to care that there was no "halfcros s track , and that it cost about the time" entertainment between races, or same to build, too - though he did say that that the opening ceremonies had no a larger track wo uld pro bably prove to be exploding rocket s or loud bomb s going off more costly. but instead featured just a basic introd ucO ne thing that I particularly enjoyed at tion of the riders. No , these things weren't the EnduroCross was see ing the variety of www.cyclenews.com motorcycles that competed. The re were many manufacturers rep resent ed : KTM, Husqvarna, Gas Gas and the usual Big Four. Homologation? What homologation? Plus, since there isn't really any kind of engine-size restr ictions in off-road racing, at least in the Pro ranks, you could ride anything you want . Surprisingly, despite the tiny and tech nical course, many riders comp eted aboard big-bore 4S0cc fourstrokes, though others chose lighter 2S0cc two-strokes. Ty Davis rode a 2S0cc WR four-stroke with an electr ic start , and at least one rider rode a 200cc two -stroke. And many of the favo red-to-win European riders that came over certainly gave the race that International flair, and even though most of them were veterans of indoor off-road racing, none of the foreign riders showed up with inflated egos or "we 're-better-th an-you" at titudes . They were gracious guests, extremely friendly, and were willi ng to hand out advise to the American rookies. To Knight, Ahola, Eriksson, Edmondson and all our guests fro m abroad, I'm sure I speak for everyone in the stands when I say that I hope you all return next year. But perhaps best of all, the riders seemed to enjoy themse lves, and they were certainlyexcited abo ut the prospects of an indoor off-road series, or even just a special, one-off, once-a-year deal. After all, they're starving for attention . David Pearso n, Ty Davis, Destry Abbott and those guys usually do their best and most exciting work whe re nobody can see them , but now they have a chance to display the ir talents for all to witness, and that's not only good for the ir egos but for their sponsors as well - and that could go a long way towa rd assuring an enduring and healthy future for off-road racing. Yes, the EnduroCross was cool. Real coo l. Tim Clark and Eric Pero nnard, the eve nt's promoters, should be applauded for being the first ones to bite the bullet and take a risky shot. I believe they have a two- or three-year dea l with the Orleans Arena , so we 'll for sure get another chance to witness EnduroCross again next year and perha ps see Ryan Hughes come back and defe nd his EnduroCross Champions hip. Who knows, maybe this year was just a fluke, a st roke of luck, or whatever - but I doubt it. Next year, however, w ill be the true indicator if indoor off-road racing is something American motorcycle fans rea lly wa nt to see, now that we 've gotten a taste of it. But as far as I know, I ce rtainly got a taste - and I want more . C Y CLE NEWS • DECEMBER 15,2004 95