Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Moose Northern California Championship Enduro Series Round By J I L L A SH W O RT H P ATT E RS O N OPPER LAKE, CA, APRIL 15 - or the th ird co nsec u t i v e year. _ Team Gre en' s Bri an Butler utilized his superb riding abilities and coursedeciphering strategies to claim the overall vi ctory at th e Sawmill End uro . The even t, hosted b y the North Bay MC, was round three of the Moose Northern California Cha mp ionship En d uro Series and round two of the Motul Northern Califom ia B/ C Ch am pionship Enduro Series . Scatter ed showers an d a n ight of st ead y ra in t w o d a y s pr i or t o t he eve n t c rea te d th e most su pe r la ti ve riding co nditions possible for t he 233 ride rs wh o set o ut o nto th e 8 2.5-m il e cour se fr om t he sta rt i ng line at th e M idd l e Cr e e k C am p gr ound ne a r Upper Lake, Cal ifornia . Loop on e started wi th a cli m b up Pitney Ridge to che ck one , which was the check -i n for t he first specia l test. A ti g ht, do wnh ill sw itchback section led riders t o a cree k crossin g, and the en suing steep uphi ll ca used b ottlenecks for several rid er s in the A , B and C classes . Set at 24- and 30-mph speed av era g e s, th e t e s t w as 3. 1 miles long an d clai med th e bi ggest po ints loss es of the day . At check tw o , FMF/Faultline Sus pe n s io n/ Sco tt/ Re d Li ne O il -s po n so re d Butl er emerged fro m the test with the fastest time of 4 .24 7 . "I was pr etty m uch sleepy when the test started ," Butler said . "Luckily I was able to hol d the pace. My KX125 was worki ng good and it's easy to control." Wilson's Motorcycles/Cycle Gear/ Smith -supported Matt Wall ace was second quickest with a sco re of 4 .258 , and Suzuk i Off Road's T im J . Sto we was thi rd wit h 4.267 . O the r ride r s all dropped five or m or e poi nts in the te st. A g reat co m bi nation of single -t rac k trails, fi re roads and wooded sec t io ns was nex t , and ride rs went from D eer Valley toward Pog es Peak an d over seve ra l ridges and creek crossi ngs to the rem ot e gas area, where ac counts of the awesome ti re-grippi ng t errain were exchanged. " I remember wondering how far could we keep lean ing and still not slide at all ," Wall ace said. "T here was so much tra ction, we couldn 't do an yt hing wrong. " Wh en scores were c om par ed at the gas stop, Butler had pulled further into the lead w ith a score of 6 .280. Woodland Cycle/ Bennett Ltd '; Sprocket Specialist/Mot ion Pro -sponsored Stowe was sec ond with a 7 .3 03 . Wall ace's 7.3 14 placed him in th ird . and C ycl e Gear -b acked Jon Kin g was in fo urt h with 7.356. A fte r gas, the seco nd lo op followed m o r e si n gl e -t rack t rails and fire roa ds near Little Round Mount ain and up Str eeter Ridge to th e top of Horse Mountain befor e leading rid ers back to the finish through Penn y Pines and dow n Sled Ridg e Trai l. Check eight marked t he begi nning o f t he l a st t est section , w h ic h was 11. 3 m iles lo ng and had spe ed averag es varying f rom 2 4 to 18 t o 27 mph. Stowe, CRE-mounted D av e Wood and M ike Pascarella ( 19 8 9's Super cr os s rook ie of the ye ar, wh o was rid i ng on th e sam e m inu t e a s W o o d ) we re th e o nly A -c lass riders w ho were able to zero th e test section at check nine, w hich was th e finish lin e. Fo x /El f Lubricants/Mach 1 M otor Spo rts / Fac to ry Conn ecti on -sup po rt ed Wood railed through the test, carding a 0.22 , an d Pa s c are ll a wa s right behind him wi th a 0 .23. "Mike was wheel-sucking me the whole day, and our scores wer e really c lose," Wood said . " I pull ed h im in th e ti g ht stuff and he pull ed m e in the fast sec tio ns ." "This was just th e sixth enduro I've eve r rid den ," sa id th e Fox /Bi eff e Hel m et s /FMF /W hit e B r o th e r s - s p o n so re d - Pasca re lla . "Now I'm ge tting more co mfortab le with woods ri d in g and t im e keeping ." Stowe , who m iscalc ulated his rid ing pace before gas an d dro pped two poin ts where some ot her riders o nly 3~:s:a;w;m~il~1:;nd:u~r~o~~=!!!!!!~~ E lAbove) In Upper Lake, Cal ifornia, B rian Butl er ha d fun o n his way t o winning t h e ove rall at the Sawmill Enduro. (L eft) Tim d . Stowe, on the gas a n d on his way t o second overall at the third round of t he Northern California C hampions h ip End uro Se ries. dropped on e, ende d th e test sectio n th ird best wit h 0 .28. " I was d et ermined to make back up tha t point I lost before gas, " Stowe said . A lth o u gh B ut l er d id n ' t zero th e fi nal check , his ea rlie r lead was suff i cient to secu re the v ic to ry w ith a fi na l sc ore of 7 .316. "My goal was j ust to fin ish in th e top five today ," Butler said , " bec ause I hurt my sho ulder last week and I wasn 't sure I' d even be ab le to ride ." St ow e ' s tota l of 7 .331 awa rded him second pla ce, and Wo od finished third w ith 8 .350. Walla ce 's ending sco re of 8.357 was go od for fourth , and Pasc ar ella ach ieved his first top fiv e fi nish with 8 .383 . "Today was so muc h fun! " Bu tl er excla imed. " Dave F rom a n IN BMC 's co u rse coo rd inato r ] did an aweso m e job of setting the sp eed averages at lev els where we co uld ride possibles and just race!" eN Sawmill Endura Upp lake, California er Results: April 15, ZOOO(Rounds 3/Z1 D /A : I . Br ia n Butle r ( Ka w) ; 2 . T im J . Stowe (S uz); 3 . Da ve Wood (eRE) ; 4 . Matt Wallace (Yam) ; 5. Mike Pascarella (KTM). AA : I . Br ia n Bu t ler ( Ka w ) ; 2 . Ti m J . Sto we (SUl) ; 3. Da ve Wood (eRE ); 4 . Russ Pereira (Yam). A 20 0: 1. Ma tt Wa llace (Ya m); 2 . Steve Shoemaker (Yam ): 3 . Robert Wynn ( KTM) ; 4 . Be n Hatch (Han) ; 5. Craig Hoffm an (Han) . A 250: 1. Mike Pascarella (KTM) ; 2. Jason Gerbi ( Ha n); 3 . Jim Matheson ( Ha n) ; 4 . Gre g Ruffo ni (Hon); 5 . Chad Grass (Hon) . A O PEN : I. Brodie DeM artil e ( Han) ; 2. Ja mes Flem m ing (KT M) : 3. Mike Simmons (KTM) ; 4 . Tony Elm ore (Han ); 5. Michael Hayes (Han) . cue I e A 4·STRK: I. Glenn Martinson (Yern) : 2. Jo hn S. Poor ( Han); 3. Ed Dlaz (Suz): 4 . Raym ond Geim er (Yam) : 5. Kerry Simp son. A VET : 1. J on Kin g (Suz) : 2 . J im Boardman ( Ha n): 3 . Kev in Wile y (Y am ) : 4 . Da ve Cle mo n s (Han ); 5. Andr ew Norrish (KTM). A SR : 1. Ro ss Li berty ( Han): 2. Dennis Hiatt (Han) ; 3 . Kent Parker (Kaw) ; 4 , Ken Peschel (Yam): 5. Rick Bowser ( Han ). A S/SR : 1. Ric hard Ada n (Hon ) : 2. Je ff Carr (KTM) : 3. Steve Corco ran (KTM): 4. David Bowen; 5. Peter Prichard (KTM). A GNTLM N: 1. Jerry Krame r, A WMN : 1. Heather Wilson (Kaw). B 0 / A : 1. Rick Deca rty : 2. Dave Tlesso (Sua): 3. M ike Baxter (Yam); 4 . Michael Phair (Yam) ; 5. Kev in Ruffoni (KTM) . B 200: 1. Chad Coo k (TM ) : 2 . Ke n Malpu s (KTM) : 3. Sean Prewett (KTM); 4 . Chris Cart wright ( KTM) : 5 . Daniel Folk (Hon) . B 25 0 : I . M ik e Ba xt er ( Yam ) : 2 . Cha rlie Plumbri dge (KTM) : 3 . Jason Pettinato (Ke w} : 4 . Simo n Phizackerly (Han) ; 5. Mike Christen son (Suz). B OPEN : 1. K ev in Ruffoni ( KTM) ; 2. Ke vin An derson ( KTM): 3 . Jeff Dabak ( KT M) : 4 . M ik e Menni ck ; 5. Mike Jura (Han) . B 4 -STR K : 1. Michael Phai r ( Ya m) : 2 . Tr o y McWil liam s (Han) : 3. Mark Denn y (Yam): 4 . Steven Poor ( Han): 5. John Murphy (Han) . B V ET: t .Deve Ti esso {Suz): 2. Jeff Wold (Yam): 3. Ron Wigingt on (Han); 4. Chris Calkins (KTM ); 5. Kevin Walke r (Kaw). B SR: I. Rd Decady: 2. Jerry Mart in (KTM); 3. Rob Na sh: 4 . Har v e y Schuler (Yam) ; 5 . Alliin Plumbridge (K aw) . B S / S R : 1. Char l ie Stanley (Ka w) ; 2. Jim Peacock (KTM ): 3. Leonard Page: 4 . Russ Greenfield (Han) : 5. Donald Chase (Yam). eO/ A : I. Robert Pascarella (K TM ); 2. Michael Zesiger (Han ): 3. Brian Itterl y (KTM ); 4. Eric Tyler (Hen) : 5. Matthew Workman (Hus). e 200: J. Gary Nored ; 2. Peter Yurfest; 3. Jessy McWilliams ( Han); 4 . J ody McW illiams (Ya m) ; 5. Scott Ald ric h (Han ). e 25 0: J. Eric Ty ler (Hon) ; 2. Matthew Work man (Hus); 3. Zack Portera (Han) ; 4. Gabe Elli s; 5. Jake Mahler (Yam) . e O PEN: 1. Robert Pascarell a (KTM) : 2 . Brian luerty (K TM ): 3 . En Ec hel me ler ( A T K); 4 . Chris Perez; 5 . Ted Enberg. 4 · ST RO KE: 1. Tom Baxter (Yam) : 2. Brian Chase (Ka w): 3. Poe Derek : 4 . J ay Gordon (Yam) ; 5. Brien Tripp (Han). e VET: I . Ja mes Rand ru p: 2. Lawr enc e May s ( Kaw ): 3 . Kelly Vandever: 4. Glen Biggs ( Yam ): 5 . Dana Flem ing . e SR : I . Mic hael Zesige r ( Han) ; 2 . Jack Pederso n (Yam) ; 3. David Lancaster; 4 . Bill Davis; 5. Mark Benedetti (KTM) , C S/SR : 1. Bruce Saxton : 2. Rick Rink s (Han); 3. Ronald Lacy. e n e VV 50 MAY 10. 2 0 0 0 51

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