Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eENDURO National Championship_Re_lia_bi----'lityL....-En_d_mo_Se_ri_es:_R_OUD_d_6 ~ Rodney Smith rode well enough on day two to clinch the overall win. Smith tops Trask Mountain Two-Day By Mike Thuleen YAMHILL, OR, JUNE 27·28 n the dusty woods of Oregon, Team Suzuki's Rodney Smith railed the second day of the Trask Mountain M.e. ISDE Qualifier to vault himself from fourth to first overall. Smith topped two special tests and the final motocross on day two to win the event by 30 seconds over Suzuki's DR350mounted Jan Hrehor. Because there were only two very short special tests and the course was fairly wide open, the top 10 riders were all within 25 seconds of each other at the end of the first day. The 55-mile-long course, which was run twice each day, proved to be very similar to those used in the past, utilizing quick twisty trails connected by fast logging roads. Day one featured a grass-track test course that took approximately two minutes to navigate, and which, like the entire course, was run in the opposite direction on day two. The terrain test averaged about three minutes in length on the first day, but in light of close scoring and comments from the riders, the event organizers decided to make it longer for day two, which made for scores just under six minutes for the faster riders. As usual, the event proved to be immensely popular among local riders, and over 400 competitors participated. The Letter-of-Intent class fielded approximately 70 riders. Trask is always significant" in that it is the final opportunity for riders to qualify for the U.S." ISDE team. In the past, some of the top riders who were already assured of a spot on the team would bypass the event. Now, however, the incentive to do well in the AMA National Reliability Enduro Series has motivated more top riders to participate, as evidenced by the fact that Team Kawasaki and Team Suzuki were both in full attendance. Immediately after the "start of ~y I 34 one, the riders entered the first grass track test, which caught many unprepared. "I rode like a slug," joked Senior class rider David Bowers. "It takes a long time for me to warm up in the mornings! But just two special tests isn't enough." That sentiment was echoed by several other riders, including Kawasaki's Kurt Hough. Smith turned in the fa~test time, with Randy Hawkins and Husabergpilot Jimmie Eriksson one and two seconds behind, respectively. Two 35Occ" Four-Stroke class riders, Jan Hrehor and David Rhodes came next, while Larry Roeseler, Jason Dahners, I25cc riders Scott McLaughlin and Jeff Odom, Hough, Keith Cayton, National Hare Be Hound Champion Danny Hamel, Steve Hatch, and Senior class rider Bruce Rust all completed the test within five seconds of one another. Kawasaki's Jimmy Lewis bailed heavily in the grass track test, and sported a badly bruised forearm and scratched helmet at the end of the day. "I don't know what happened," said Lewis. Lewis, a member of last year's triumphant ISDE Junior World Trophy Team, finished the day 14th in the 125cc class, and retired to his van to recuperate. Practically none of the top riders dropped route points during the two days of competition, although several did drop out with mechanical problems. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be," said Husqvama's Dan Neilson, who was one such rider. "Right out of the impound, my clutch cable broke in half and another one broke while I was putting it on. I just didn't feel like riding the whole weekend without a dutch like I did in Washington." Eriksson dropped out just prior to the second terrain test, explaining, "This race is really dusty! I stopped my bike before the special test to wipe Kawasaki's Larry Roeseler finished fourth overall and third in the 250cc class. my goggles and it didn't start. The ignition went out." A relieved Curt Wilcox sighed and said, "It looks like I may win one of these - my main competition is out!" Wilcox inherited the big-bore FourStroke class lead and went on to win the class by posting consistently strong test times and a blazing final-moto score. Dwain Taylor, winner of the Senior class in the previous event in Washington, was also the victim of mechanical woes. "My bike broke on the second loop. It only runs on the bottom and in the midrange of the powerband, and you can't compete like that." The second terrain test featured brief trail sections and fast fire roads. Hrehor took over the lead of the event with the quickest time. Hawkins and Roeseler moved into second and third, respectively, while Smith dropped to fourth as a result of crashes. "I guess I should've backed off through the trees," said Smith. Odom again railed on his 125, turning in the third-quickest specialtest time behind Hawkins and held fifth overall. "It was dusty and hot, and the second loop was like riding stairs," he said. With 400 riders on the course, many dust pockets and ruts had formed on the second loop, with an ever-increasing amount of dust in the air. Local rider Keith Cayton held sixth, with Hough, Hatch, Hamel, and 125cc Suzuki rider Jon King rounding out the top 10 positions. Relaxing in the pits afterwaTds, Hough, who won the last three events at Trask, said, "It's dusty, dry, hardpack and slick. I 'slipped down' three times; I wasn't going fast enough to fall down. It's so dusty!" Kawasaki rider Hamel didn't agree, as he looked over and laughingly said, "You wimp! You need to come to a desert race and see real dust!" Emphasizing his point, the National Hare Be Hound Champion said, ''I'd rather ride in the dust than the mud any day. Trask is a good change from the mud of Washington, and it was a pretty kick-back" day." The skies clouded up overnight, but the threat of rain did not materialize. Instead, a light mist covered the area, layering the riders and bikes with a pasty film of dust. In the hi-gher elevations, the moisture contributed to the fast logging roads becoming extremely slick and slimy. Times were speeded up by the club, but the riders still had three to four minutes to spare at the checks. _ Smith regained the lead by besting Hrehor by 13 seconds in the terrain test. The test had been changed from the previous day and was now run almost entirely on a fire road section. Hawkins turned in the third fastest time a few seconds behind Hrehor, with Hough just one second behind him. "That terrain test was just hairball - just wide-open!" said Hough. Odom agreed, "It was insane! It was just roads with ruts in corners. I was going sideways with a wheel in each rut, with my bike completely pinned. I was really glad when (the ruts) came together!" Husaberg-pilot Rhodes commented further, "I have six gears on my bike and that still wasn't enough!" Hatch, who endoed in day one's grass track, fell victim to the high speeds of the terrain test, as well. Hatch's teammate Hawkins, said, "When I was at the next check, Steve (Hatch) came riding up and he was covered with leaves and mud with his visor bent up and his eyes all glassy. I said, 'Steve, are you alright?' and he just kind of sat there." Hatch said, "I was coming down this muddy hill to a comer with a big old berm on that road in the terrain test and I waited until the last second to hit the brakes. It was too late! I went 'Oh, no!' and cartwheeled over the bank!" While Hatch was unhurt in the crash, it effectively cost him about 30 seconds and five places in the overall finishing order. Leading the Senior class, Rust said, "I was sure glad we didn't have to use that road as a special test the second time we went around the course!" The subsequent grass track test, on a slick track, did not affect the ou tcome of the race, so the last motocross became the battleground to decide the final results. The 125cc category was one for which this was particularly true. At the end of the first day, Odom, King and Scott McLaughlin were within 17 seconds of each other, and the two special tests of day two had not separated them much more. Despite a severely twisted ankle, McLaughlin pulled the first 125cc moto holeshot, with David Lykke, Odom, McLaughlin and Mark Kerling in the' top slots. Lykke, Odom and McLaughlin all crashed early on in the race, doing spectacular uphill cartwheels as they crossed a nasty ditch in the grass track. They all remounted, but it was King who took the moto and class win away from Odom. Kerling and McLaughlin also benefitted from the fipal seven-lap motocross to finish second and third in the class. The second 125cc moto further impacted the final results, as Lewis and Ron Lawson WTeaked havoc on the field. Lewis' terrible first day had left him almost dead last in the class. Lewis and early moto leader Lawson pulled away to leave Darren Rivers and Rob Riley to battle over third. With the help of a strong terrain test, Lewis' determined moto effort boosted him from 14th in class to fifth as he shredded the field.. Smith devastated the first 250cc class moto, holeshotting and easily pulling " away, leaving Hough and Roeseler to fight over second. Local rider Rick Bozarth rubbed knobbies behind RoeseIer until a flat front tire put him back behind a battling Hawkins and Hatch. Though Hawkins' arms pumped up, Hatch' was unable to get by and finished fifth ahead of Bozarth and Clayton. Due to the decisive nature of Smith's victory, it seemed that only

• Cover