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SETRA/MSR"Enduro Series Round 9: Sumter Enduro Mike Grizzle placed second in theAA class, behind Stephen Edmondson, at the Sumter Enduro " round nine of the SETRA Enduro Series. By zle were on the gas and were the only riders to drop two in the section. Edmondson and Doug Masencup, along with numerous A riders, dropped three. Ashley Brewer, the current FTR enduro champ, had a bit of trouble and dropped four. There was a 10-minute rest before the next section, a 9-miler. Unpredictably, there was no going-in check. The trails started tight and opened a mile or two into the section with fast firebreaks scattered with whoops. The last mile of the trail consisted of supertight pine thickets. The check-out was a tie breaker. Gravitt posted the fast time with a 2: 13, Grizzle was right behind him with a 2:21, and then came Edmondson with 2:52. Brewer was next at 3:27, and Masencup had a 4:09. A few miles of dirt roads led to the next section. Once again riders were fooled, as there was no going-in check. The section was 10 miles of pines and whoops, leading to a c1earcut section. The check-out came at 38.8 miles. All the AAs dropped one except Masencup, who dropped two. Open A rider Mitch McRee was the only A rider to snag a one in the section. There was a reset before the next section, a very fast 9 miles, and once again there was no going-in check, but a check 4.4 miles into the trail caught a lot of riders off guard. All the AA riders watched their clocks and stayed on time on their way to the gas stop. KENNETH KING SOMTER,SC,JAN.30 severe winter storm hit South Carolina just days before round nine of the SETRA Enduro Series, the Sumter Enduro, dumping up to 8 inches of snow on the ground. Some 156 determined riders started the enduro; 131 finished. And the man in the top spot was KTM rider Allen Gravitt, who fought off a hard-charging Michael Grizzle on a 501 Husaberg and Kawasaki jockey Stephen Edmondson from Virginia for the win. Gravitt posted a score of 16 to claim the overall. Grizzle and Edmondson tied with 17; Edmondson claimed second on the tie breaker, giving Grizzle third. "In spite of the weather, I had fun," Gravitt said. "It was cold and rainy, but it wasn't too bad if you were prepared. The wet sand made the trails perfect, and as long as you didn't get off the trail and into the snow, you were okay." The SERMA enduro riders put on the event in the Manchester State Forest, and it is a two-time SETRA "Enduro of the Year" winner. There were close to 300 riders registered for the event, but the icy roads kept most at home. The first section was a short 5.2 miles long - a good warmup trail. The first few rows cleared the snow off the ground, and the rest were greeted with brand-new trail. Gravitt and Griz- 32 MARCH 8, 2000' cue I e n eVIl's Grizzle was having one of his best rides of the year. He matched Gravitt's score check for check; both riders had five. Edmondson had six, McRee seven and Brewer eight. After the gas, it was on to the longest section of the day, 18 miles of trail with a bit of everything in it. Grizzle blew his chances for the win at the start of the section. "I think my caliper stuck and wore my rear pads out - 200 A rider Wesley Miller stopped and gave me some pads, then helped me change them," Grizzle explained. "I was only one row in front of Allen, and he was able to catch me. I think he got me by two point." Gravitt was blistering-fast, with a time of 5:24. Edmondson was exactly one minute slower. Brewer was next with a 7:12, followed by Masencup, with 7:19. McRee came out with 7:45. The last section of the day was a bit shorter - 7.6 miles - and featured the slickest and tightest terrain of the race. There was a lot of clay rather than sand, and all the snow and ice made it very slippery. Gravitt experienced his only problem of the day in this section, and it could have cost him the race. "The trail was a lot slicker than I thought, and I went into a turn a little fast, got sideways and hit a tree," recounted Gravitt. "Then, two-tenths later, I dropped off in a ditch and stalled the bike. Mitch caught me [he and McRee were on the same row]. The check was into the woods a bit, and I dropped a point going in." The check-out was just half a mile from the campground, and Gravitt, Edmondson, Grizzle and Brewer each dropped five. "Allen crashed in the last section, and I got a point back on him, but it just wasn't enough," said Grizzle. "Then I tied Edmondson, but I think he got me by about six seconds on the tie breakers. I had a real good ride, and if it weren't for that brake problem, I believe I could have given Allen a run for his money. Allen rode a great race. I mean, what can you say about him? He never makes mistakes." "If it hadn't been for Michael's brake problems, I believe we would've tied," said Gravitt. "He rode really good all day. He was just one row ahead of me, and the only time I caught him was in the long section when he was putting on his pads. The guys did a great job on the race; they can't do anything about weather. I came prepared to ride in the cold. I had my heated grips on; they are the way to go when it's freezing.' McRee topped the A class with a 24 for 6th overall..and Steward Baylor nabbed the top spot for the B class. Baylor rode a KTM in the 250cc class and dropped 26 points. Open C rider Johnny Coggins, on a Suzuki, dropped 38 points and took the High Point C honors. CN Sumter Enduro Sumter, South Carolina Results: January 3D, 2000 [Haund 9J 0/A: Allen Gravitt. AA: 1. Stephen Edmondson; 2. Mike Grizzle. OPEN A: 1. Mitch McRee; 2. Joey Rowland; 3. Mike Martin. 250 A: 1. Don Baxley: 2. Lee Stephens; 3. Mike Douglas. 200 A: 1. Scott Mount; 2. Aaron Bolinger; 3. Travis Hayes. 4·STRK A: 1. Andy Barkley; 2. Richard Patterson; 3. Donnie Brewer. VET A: I. Kim Watson; 2. Richard Morabito. SR A: 1. Terry Hughes; 2. Danny Morrison; 3. Ricky Dennis. S/SR A: 1. Robert Neeley; 2. Lance Sheppard. MSTR A: I. John Kirby; 2. Lloyd Widener; 3. Jimmy Lynch. OPEN 8: I. Pooner Powell; 2. Mike Bradshaw; 2. Gene Zobel. 250 8: 1. Steward Baylor; 2. Scott Spittle; 2. Ivan Haynes. 200 B: I. Dusty Tindell: 2. Steve Lewis; 3. Michael Cox. 4-STRK B: 1. Phillip Sims; 2. John Harris: 3. Aaron Major. VET B: 1. Mike Culler; 2. Steve Kantarjian; 3. Jim Green. SR B: l. Greg Tindell; 2. Frank Schoenbeck; 3. John Strange. S/SR B: I. Richard Shipner: 2. Douglas Cochnm. MSTR B: 1. Ron Miller; 2. Michael Thompson. OPEN C: 1. Johnny Coggins: 2. Scott Presnell; 3. Paul Girard. 250 c: 1. Adam Haskell; 2. Carter Haskell: 3. Marshall Goode. 200 C: 1. Greg Darnell; 2. Jamie James; 3. Brandon Bolinger. 4-STRK C: 1. Kurt Selkinghaus; 2. Allen Young; 3. Duane Wellington. VET C: 1. John Fisher; 2. John Wilson; 3. Jess Conway. SR C: 1. Jamie Clontz: 2. John West: 3. Donnie Kirby. 5/SR C: 1. Steve Branscomb; 2. Steve Strange. MSTR C: 1. Kenny Hardee: 2. Wayne Meredith: 3. Will Eckhardt. GLDN MSTR: I. Fred Hammond; 2. Paul Richardson; 3. Jim Annitage. WMN: 1. Elaine Nobles; 2. Angie Buysman.