Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ OFF-ROAD AMA NationalCham~ionship Hare Scrambles Series: Round 8 ~ Jan Hrehor scored his third off-road National victory in as many weeks at the Black Coal National Hare Scrambles. Red Hot Hrehor wins'Black Coal National By Davey Coombs LYNNVILLE, IN, SEPT. TJ or the third week in a row American Suzuki's Czech import Jan Hrehor directed his RMX250 to a National wm, his latest conquest corning at the Black Coal National Hare Scrambles. The 28-year-old Hrehor (pronounced "Ray-hor") emerged from a close fourway battle among title contenders Scott Summers and Scott Plessinger and Swedish pilot Jimmie Eriksson to score his off-road hat trick. In previous weeks Hrehor had won another National hare scrambles in Ohio and a National cross country in West Virginia. "I always felt that I could race with the Americans, but I was hurt in the beginning of the season and was not comfortable with the pace/, said Hrehor. "Now I am better and I know more F 30 about the-racing here. In Europe you only have a short amount of time to win a race; here you have two or three hours to be the leader. I have learned to ride a smart race." Finishing just 10 seconds behind Hrehor in nearly a dead-heat were Honda's Summers and KTM's Plessinger. These two woods rivals are nearing the end of a series-long title bout that Plessinger presently leads by eight points. Plessinger was the 1989 National Champion while Summers has held the nu..-nber one plate the past two years. The Black Coal event, hosted by the Indiana/Illinois/Kentucky Enduro Riders Association, was formerly a National enduro event but has been organized as a hare scrambles event the past four years. Located on the grounds of a Lynnville city park, this year's course measured 7.4 miles per lap in length but was shortened by about onehalf mile after torrential rains on Saturday night made one section impassable. The course was mostly new, tight woods lined with off-cambered trails. Only about one and a half miles of the '91 course were incorporated into the design. "Considering all the rain and bad weather yesterday, I think that the people in charge did a great job of keeping the track together," said Open A class winner Ron Palermo after the run. "Everyone was worried this morning . that the trail would break down, but they (organizers) had it set up just right. It was perfect towards the end." A total of 204 riders entered the event. Lap times for the leaders hovered around theo19-minute mark throughout the nearly three hours-long run, though on the third lap Hrehor put in a browraising lap time of 16:42. The leaders completed a total of nine laps in the course of the race. Joining AA leader Hrehor as class winners were 200cc A group leader Kevin Brandon, Kawasakimounted Shad Ricketts in the 250cc A ranks, Pennsylvania's Palermo in the Open A category, and Four-Stroke A leader Bob Sloan. . From the very start of the race the quartet of Hrehor, Plessinger, Summers and BFiksson began moving away from the rest of the AA field. Because approximately 12 rows were needed to position all of the support class riders - each starting at one minute intervals - the overall front-runners began lapping riders the second time around. The congestion on the trail and in the pits led to an early mishap for the AXO /Bridgestone/Oakley /Sprocket Specialistsbacked Summers. "They had the barrels arranged so that the AA riders had to go to the middle of the track rather than keeping us on the edges where we could avoid the slower traffic," said Summers. "At the end of the second lap I had a guy cut right in front of me as I was trying to get into the middle. I went down but-I only lost about five seconds. Still, it could've been avoided." Later in the race Team Green's Duane Conner, the fifth-place overall finisher, had a similar collision with a lapped rider at the barrels but was able to stay upright while the other rider went down. Making lots of time further back in the field was 250cc A class leader Shad Ricketts, who actually raced into the overall lead on adjusted time although he was physically placed seventh in the field. Ricketts lost momentum later in the race when he wore his rear brake pads down but still claimed the class win ahead of KTM-mounted Leigh Letellier. Another early A class contender hoping to make a dent in the AA lineup was Lynnville's own Jared Green, but the Honda four-stroke pilot missed the start when his carburetor malfunctioned just before race time. Green entered the race a lap down but still managed to gamer a second in the Four-Stroke A class behind fellow Hoosier Bob Sloan. Also suffering bike problems was 200cc A favorite' Chad Froman, who dropped out of the competition on the seventh lap with his second rear flat tire of the day. Class rival Kevin Brandon went pn to win the day. As the front four swapped positions throughout the early stages Eriksson appeared to be doing much of the pace setting. "I felt that everything was working perfectly for me and that I might be able to win after one-half of the race," said Eriksson, who is stationed in Missouri and sponsored by Surdyke Racing, Arai, Smith, Motul, Yoko and Husaberg America. "But when I pitted we had problems with the (quick-fill style) gas can and I lost too much time. Then I had to find the pace again and try to get back into the race." _Eriksson was competing in Indiana aboard a 501 Husaberg. Summers suffered another lapperinduced fall when he collided on a steep hill with a back marker. "I was hoping to pit after four laps before everyone else, but then I caught this other guy going up a hill and rolled back down to the bottom ~ith the bike on top of me," said Sumrp.ers. "I lost about three minutes with the whole

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