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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128368
AMA FMF Racing National Enduro Series lOCAL BOY BillY RUSSEll WINS STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARK KARIYA ots of enduro enthusiasts spent untold hours glued to their L computer monitors or on the phone to wring any bit of information from the race hotlines in the days - and even hours - leading up to the 33rd annual Quicksilver National Enduro, put on by the Salinas Ramblers Motorcycle Club at the Clear Creek OHV Recreation Area. Scheduled to be round one of the AMNFMF Racing National Enduro Series, the big question was whether the storms that had pounded California and forced the BLM to close part of the riding area to the north of the race site would also shut the race down to avoid extreme environ- mental damage in the extremely muddy conditions. In the end, a motorcycle-friendly BLM ranger pushed for holding the race as planned, though without the usual rugged third loop. In addition, the Ramblers moved the start time back an hour. But that didn't change the character of the race, which tends to be affected by either rain or snow most years. "For as much as it rained, it was actually good conditions; it's not super bad," local fast guy Billy Russell claimed. After spending last year follOWing the series around the country, it might not be entirely accurate to call him a local fast guy any more, especially since he broke through and rode to a clear-cut win at the Quicksilver in his first-ever National victory. On his way to the win, the Maxima/Maxxis/Fox-sponsored KTM 2S0 EXC racer dropped just 20 points on the first loop. Matt Stavish claimed second with 24 points on his Larson Cycles/Checkpoint Machine/Moosebacked CRF250X, while KTM's David Lykke rounded out the podium on his Moto-Pro Suspension/Moose 250 EXC with 25 points. Fun Mart Cycies/Maxxis/SoCal racer Tim Taber actually got off to one of the 40 MARCH 9, 2005 • better starts of the day, riding a KTM 250 EXC instead of the 200 he normally uses. He zeroed the first two checks, then dropped three at the third, giving him a decent margin over guys such as Steve Hatch, who went 0-1-7, or Mike Lafferty, who zeroed the first two but dropped nine at the third. Russell went O-I-S to trail Stavish's 0-1-4 and put him even with Lykke's 0-0-6. Midway through the first loop, the competitors found themselves facing a huge mud pit that swallowed bikes up to the tanks and offered no way around, unless you carried a saw to cut through the thick vegetation. It got more and more crowded as the field came along; local favorite Patrick Garrahan reportedly spent more than half an hour there. Taber hit the follOWing check 12 minutes down, but that was still better than most. Hatch, Lafferty, Lykke and Stavish all dropped IS minutes, while Russell dropped 14. Even losing another point as he finished the first loop meant Taber clung to the unofficial lead with only 16 points. But he lost that less than a mile out on the second loop. After the gas stop, the Ramblers put in 30 minutes of free time, then a reset. After the reset is a hill that's usually a challenge for the AAs and a potential race-ender for Band Criders, espeCially when it's wet. So, it often behooves competitors to get going as soon as they can to avoid losing time should they have problems on the hill. This year, however, the Ramblers also put a check near the top of the hill, and it caught a number of riders early, Taber among them. "I programmed my computer wrong, and I didn't put the free time in there," Taber said. "I put it in, but something happened, it mixed up, so the whole [second] loop my computer didn't work, and it was the first check on the second loop. It showed I was four minutes late, and I was really early." Early to the tune of two minutes, so he dropped seven points right there, putting him out of contention for the overall, CYCLE NEWS