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AMA National Championship Hare Scrambles Series Round 1 : Hollister Hills SVRA (Above) The early leader, Shane Watts, dropped back to let his competitors take the point but was u,nable to regain it at the end. (Right) Paul Edmondson kicked off the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series with a win, running his record to two for two since he switched to Team Green. (Left) Three-time ISDE racer John Haaker won Saturday's Senior race overall for the second year in a row. By MARK KARIYA ormer World Enduro Champion Paul Edmondson of Great Britain has but a brief tenure as a member of Team Green, yet he's made the most of it with a perfect score so far: two races and two victories. Edmondson's latest conquest came at the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series opener, hosted by P & J Promotions at Hollister Hills SVRA, as he edged another former World Enduro Champion, Shane Wat~s of Australia. Former AMA Grand National Cross Country Series Champion Fred Andrews rounded out the top three. Unlike the past few years, perfect F 32 FEBRUARY 23, 2000' "" U "" racing conditions greeted the seventh annual Heart On Classic. A brief shower during Saturday afternoon's C race combined with rains earlier in the week ensured dust would not be a factor, while giving the park enough . chance to soak up much of the precipitation without turning to slop. "I had heaps good time and give full credit to the guys who put the race on," Watts said later of only his second visit to Hollister's OHV facility. "Mother Nature was on their side this time, and it's a real fun place to ride here.,t This year's field numbered 18~ Jor Sunday's three-hour ~ bA', .' and B race, over a course approxi~':lt~ly}3 .-e n s miles long following two separate minibike races, which drew a total of 35 kids for 30 minutes over a loop about a mile long. Saturday saw 101 riders take to an eight-mile course for the two-hour Senior/Super Senior/ Gents/Formula 100 race, followed by a C race of similar length. SATURDAY Three-time U.S. ISDE team member John Haaker won the first race of the weekend. In his first race aboar-d his new YZ426F. H'aaker-t~o the lead..~botJth·a fway through the first ap and led the rest of the way to win the Senior division for the second year in a row. On the final lap, though, a hard-charging Eric Von Urff, on a CR250R, nearly caught Haaker, who was surprised by his sudden appearance. Haaker said, "I didn't know, but all of a sudden he was behind me, and I heard a bike and thought, 'You've got to be kidding me.' The last lap, this guy's all over me. I look back and see Eric, and I go, 'Oh man! I've got to click it up now. I can't let him beat me; I just have to (beat him].' So I made some smart moves on my passes and planned ahead, and it worked out for me." "I haven't raced since last February, so it was a matter of trying to hold on," Von Urff claimed. "We were