Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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~ 0FF·R0AD AMA National Hare Scrambles Series: Round 6 e Having won twice in a row, Scott Plessinger now has a serious shot at the championship. , Jan Hrehor (left) and. Duane Conner (right) battled for second; Conner prevailed. Scott Summers and wrench Fred Bramblett discuss whether or not the defending champ should continue the race due to a painful and still-healing broken wrist. Plessinger perseveres in P Ivania ennsy By Randy Ross Photos by Jim Talkington HOOKSTOWN, PA, SEP. 6 cott Plessinger had a plan. Prior to start of the race, the 1989 Hare Scrambles Champion said that he wanted to ride conservatively and intelligently. He planned to stay within striking dis~ance of the leaders for the majority of the race, then go for it on the final two laps. Plessinger stuck to his strategy, and it proved successful as he outlasted local favorite Duane Connor and Team Suzuki rider Jan Hre.hor on the very difficult course for his secondstraight win in the series. After sitting out the previous round to let a broken wrist heal, defending champion Scott Summers decided to S 24 ride in Pennsylvania in hopes of keeping his points lead intact. The Honda XR600 rider came into the event with a 25-point advantage over Plessinger in the series standings, but Summers' wrist held him back to an uncharacteristic ninth overall. He now leads Plessinger by just seven points, 122-115, with four rounds remaining in the series. The event was held at Beaver Valley Raceway in southwestern Pennsylvania, where track owner Tom Meyers and his crew set up a very technical nine-mile course. Spectators were in for a treat, as the riders descended from the surrounding mountains each lap' to ride on several sections of the motocross track and on a grass track that was set up next to the pits. A driving rain storm two hours before the start of the race turned much of the track into mud and ruts, but the sun was shining before the first wave of riders left the start. Competing in only his second-ever ,National Hare Scramble, Doug Blackwell was first off the line and led the way into the woods. The Kawasaki rider was trailed by multi-time National Cross Country Champion Ed Lojak and KTM/KR W Cycle/MS Racing/MetzelerlArai-backed PIes; singer. Summers was fifth into the woods. By the end of the first lap, Plessinger' and Summers had moved past the leaders to secure first and second respectively. Kawasaki-mounted Conn~>r was riding strong in third place, despite the fact that he was still recovering from cracked ribs. Blackwell followed in fourth, but the top riders were so closely bunched that he was only seconds behind Plessinger. About 20 seconds back from Blackwell, Suzuki teammates Hrehor and Steve Hatch rounded out the top six overall. On the second lap of the six-lap race, things began to get interesting. A mud hole preceding a difficult hill climb had been chewed up on lap one, and several riders started having problems there. The 'section, along with several other mudholes, dramatically affected the top spots over the next several laps. Some riders, including Suzuki fourstroke ace Mark Hyde, became so . hopelessly stuck that they dropped out of the race and spent their free time pulling fellow riders from the mud. At the completion of the second lap, Summers came through with over a one-minute lead on Blackwell, Hrehor and Hatch. Early leader Plessinger and Connor had both become victims of the hill. "I got stuck on the hill with Plessinger," said Connor. "I tried to ride more conservatively after that. It was a tough race. " It took Plessinger three tries to clear the hill. The mudhole troubles did not end with the completion of the second lap. On the very next circuit, both Summers and Blackwell got stuck and 250cc A rider Shad Rickets found himself leading the race after starting from the second row. For the first five laps of the race, virtually every lead change took place . on the killer hill, and lap four was no exception. Disaster struck Summers as he strained his still-healing wrist as he struggled to push his big Honda XR out of the mudhole. "I got stuck so bad that it took three guys to get my bike out," said Summers. "Before the race, I felt fine and thought I could win. I thought my wrist was completely healed, but I guess I got a wake-up call. I didn't even want to ride those last few laps." Summers stopped in the pits to have the wrist re-taped, and after discussing the situation with his mechanic Fred Bramblett, he decided that he would continue the race and try to salvage a top-10 finish and earn some valuable points. Plessinger and Connor showed that perseverence pays off, as they completed lap four in a close battle for the lead after being all but out of the race just two laps earlier. They were followed some distance back by Hre-