By Kn PALMIR
PHoTos IY .IONIY EDMUNDS, KlNNIY JONIS
AND 511V1 IuKNIR
or someone who didn't qualify for the main
event, former National Hare & Hound Champion Destry Abbott was pretty excited after
the Maxxis EnduroCross.
F
"Oh my gosh! That was the best racing
I've ever seen," he said in between breaths.
"My voice is hurting because I was cheering
so loud. Man, I'm actually exhausted; my
heart rate was up to 200 - it was maxed out."
Most of that energy was being spent
cheering on his Kawasaki Team Green teammate Ricky Dietrich, the I8-year-old off-road
up-and-comer who was leading the 10-lap
feature, and some of the best off-road racers
in the world, a field that included KTM's
David Knight, the wily 28-year-old off-road
veteran who recently wrapped up the 2005
E3
(Open-class)
World
Enduro
Championship after winning 17 of 18 rounds.
Dietrich also had defending EnduroCross
champ Ryan Hughes on his tail, as well as EI
(125/250cc four-stroke) World Enduro
Champion Ivan Cervantes, seven-time AMA
National Enduro Champion Mike Lafferty
and off-road specialist Ty Davis, among others. It was quite a position to be in for the
rookie Pro.
Unfortunately for Dietrich, as hard as he
tried, he couldn't hold off the man from the
Isle of Man. A slight bobble by Dietrich was
all that Knight needed to make the pass and
hold on for the eventual win in front of a
sold-out and, like Abbott, worn-out crowd,
