Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

AMALNATC Observed TrIals ChamlllonshlR Series: Round 7 Comer controls New York By Dave Sarn ow sk i RIPLEY, NY, SEPT. 4 Montesa backed Curt Comer took his Cora 200 to the best score in the Budweiser Lake Erie National round in New York. Some members of the lay -out crew wondered if the run wo u ld be difficu lt enough to ch allenge Championship class riders, bu t rain three days before the event settled th a t question. Section one wa s to be an easy introduction to New Yor k rocks and mud, but when a rock ste p was dislodged a precise lin e was required. Section two's off-camber dirt banks were still under the in fluence of the rain, and some wild rides and crashes occurred there. Championship secti o n three , another off-camber, saw only one rider post a clean-Fantic rider Jack Stites, who took an eventual second overall. Sections 2, 3 4 and 5 were all located in a slippery ravine. Many riders enjoyed the do uble waterfalls and shale ledges of sec tions 1 and 8 more than the ravine sections. A trip up a shale creek to sections 16, 17 and 18 offered even more variety. Stites and Stan Bakgaard, on a Montesa, posted th e on ly cleans in section 20, an uphill rock section which called for a full thro ttle blast from the smaller bikes. It looks as if Steve McNeal has arrived. He fin ish ed th ird overall on his Fantic wi th 47 marks lost. After the ru n Comer said, " T he even t was perfect. I was ch all en ged by the sect ions, but I didn' t trash my bike or my body. What more cou ld you ask for ?" O th er riders sa id th e event was great, while yet another segment replied "no comment." The wide range of reactio ns to the even t may mean that a split sectio n format in some sections m ay be the wa y to go in the future. Trials, Inc., Bu dweiser and M.S. would like to thank everyon e who supported the event. • Result s CHAM PIONSHIP: 1. Cun Comer (Mon) 42 ; 2. Jack Stites (Fan) 43 ; 3. Steve McNeal (Fan) 47. HIGH SCHOOL: 1. Mike West (Fan) 51; 2. Dave Thomas . Jr. (Mon) 52; 3 . Freddy Steel e (Fan) 53 . SR: 1. Guy Bodin (SWM) 70 ; 2. Wiltz Wagner (Mon) 81 ; 3. J im Watson (SWM) 86 . SUPER SR: 1. Bill Thompson (Bul) 86; 2. Donald Wilcox (SWM) 99 ; 3. Gene Tuck (SWM) 105. SPORTSM AN : 1. David Hess (SW M) 4 5; 2. Roben Roosen (SWM) 48 ; 3. Nils Mantzoros (Fan) 60 . AMALNATC Observed Trials ChamllionshiR Serles:Final r ound Stites fights for Tennessee • win By Tom M uell er PIGEON FORGE; T N, SEPT. 6 Fantic sponsored Jack Stites overcame a first loop setback and eventually dropped 59.6 marks to take overall honors at the Expo National Observed Trials, the final round of the AMAIN ATC Championship Series. Stites, a Championship class rider, got behind a cl uster of Sportsman class riders early on loop one and had to fight his way back on schedule. His score included 5.6 marks for being late to sections. Stan Bakgaard, the '81 Canadian Trials Champion, put in hi s best U.S . performance to date and took second overall on a Mon tesa , followed by Morgan Kavanaugh , a Bultaco rider. Bakgaard edged Kavanaugh by a scant six tenths of a point, 62.4 to 62.8. Montesa sponsored Curt Comer was in contention for overall until the third and final loop, wh en a freak accident relegated Comer to fourth overall. A bee flew into Comer's throat a nd stung him , leaving him o ff the pace for th e remainder of the da y. Comer tallied 70.4 marks. The eve n t was sponsored by the Volu nt eer Riders M.C . and the Southeastern Trials Riders Association, and was a quality run from start to finish. The two organizations decided to host the event only six months prior, and most of the responsibility fell on the shoulders of Volunteer Riders club member Dan Faulkner. A nine mile loop, cut into some of the same rocky and hilly sections used for the Tellico Plains One-Day ISDE Qualifier , was run three times. Twenty observed sections were posted, with sections 5, 7,ll, 16,I7and20marked for Championship class riders only. Some sections made quite a reputation for themselves. Section four was routed up a stream bed , where riders had to fight oncoming water and jump up two steep steps, all the while working their way over boulders and around sink holes. Section 16 was called " Every which wa y but loose" an d many riders got lo ose in tha t area. Section 18 was " Mo ntan a' s revenge" where 24 club members spent six hours moving rocks a n d boulders to crea te ch all en ging obs tacl es. The sponsoring groups hosted a Na tional las t yea r and one other club tria ls previous to this run, and seem to have caught on to what tr ials riders desire. Most entrants felt the loop offered a wide range of terrain wh ich gave a first hand view of the Sm oky Mountains. Top ra n ked Championship class riders were seeded in th e m iddle of the starting order, surrounded by riders in the remaining Sportsman, High School, Senior and Super Senior classes. Stites' troubles began after the first Championship section. "I stayed there a )ong time, watching everyone's lines," said Stites, " an d I was the last of the bunch to go through . All the Sportsman and other class riders got in front of me, a n d I had to wait in line through the next four or five sections. I had to go as fast as I could on the trails; I just a bo u t wore out sixth gear. " Many of the riders looked smooth through tough sections, but some had it tougher than others. Championship rider Keith Adams was sporting a few broken ribs from a crash at the New York National, which ran two days before the Tennessee round. " I crashed in New York and hit my ch est so hard on the bars that the bars bent," said Adams. " I didn 't get up for a long time after that." Adams piloted his SWM to seventh ove rall with a 80.2 mark loss. Vance Walker made the trip from Oregon to ride the East Coast Nationals, and he had a shot at the High School class championship if he won in Tennessee. A severely sprained left ankle looked to put Walker out of it, . (Top) Ten nessee win ner Jack Stites shapes up a sec t ion . (A bov e) Curt Co mer and Dwaine W alt ers inspect while Stan Bakgaard (right) ri des. but he wouldn 't let that be decided until he handed his score card in at the finish. Walker dropped 62 on his SWM for third overall behind winner Mike West, who dropped 55 on a Fanric, and Dave Thomas who dropped 58 on a Montesa. Wal ker fell short of the class title, but he never fell short on effort. The Sportsman class was won by Vermont's Ron Commo, on a Mon tesa. " I won my class today, and I think I got it (class title) for the year. It was a super loop, the best this year. Sometimes the trees got a little tight, but you just had to slow down," said Commo, who dropped 41 marks. Bultaco riders Bud Mylerberg and Bill Thompson kidded each other after the run as to who was the most tired, but both were true competitors and won the Senior and Super Senior classes, respectively. The pair traveled to the race from Washington state, and said their eastern journey had been worth all the miles. Bernie Schreiber, the 1980 Trials World Champion, decided to ride some of the Nationals this year after a two year absence. He had the Nat ional title neatly sewed up before the New York round, with five wins in the best of five series. Schreiber did n 't a tte nd the New York and Ten nessee r uns due to obligations in Europe and left the points chase for second overall to Stites, Comer and Morgan Kavanaugh. Comer and Stites ran 1-2 at the New York round, and Stites had 51 points (h is four best runs ) to Comer's 44 going into the final. Kavanaugh went in with 39. Stites successfully held his second ove rall slo t, and held no hard feelin gs against the rider who took the title. " I don't feel bad about Bernie running the Nationals this year and winning," said Stites. "He's better than me, and I sure don't feel back running second to him. " • Results CHAMPIONSH IP: 1. Jack Stites (Fan); 2. Stan Bakgaard (Fan); 3. Mo rgan Kavanaugh (Bul); 4. Cun Comer (Mon); 5. Dwa ine Walters (Ita); 6. Steve Mc Neal (Fan); 7. Keith Adasm (SWMI; 8. Matt Pritchard (SW M); 9. Kip Webb (Bul); 10. Gary Wilkerson (SW M). SPORTSMAN: 1. Ron Commo (M on); 2. David Hess (SW M); 3. Roben Roosen (SW M); 4. Nils Ma ntzoros (Fan); 5. Greg Bolt (SW MI (third and down under protest ). HIGH SCHOOL.: 1. Mike West (Fan); 2. Dave Thomnas (Mon); 3. Vance Walker (SW M); 4. Freddy Stee le (Fan); 5. And y Saum (SW M ). SR: 1. Bud My lerbe rg (Bul); 2. Guy Bodin (SW M); 3. Ken Marecak (Bul); 4. Jim Wa tson (SWM); 5. Ron Saum (SWM). SUPER SR: 1. Bill Thompson (Bul); 2. Don Wi lcox (SW M); 3. Gene Tuck (SWM); 4. Tom Cullen (Bul); 5. S. Kavana ugh (Bul). AMA/NATCOBSERVED TRtALS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES FINAL STANDINGS (Unoffici al): 1. Bern ie Schreiber (75 ); 2. Jac k Stite s (66); 3. Curt Comer (52 ); 4 . Morgan Kavana ugh (49); 5. (TIE) Dwa ine Wa lters/Steve McNeal (4 9); 7. Stan Bakgaard (31); 8. Keit h Adams (29). 21

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