Hatch Wins Enduro Protest

Kit Palmer | July 16, 2004

Throttlehead.com/Kawasaki Team Green’s Steve Hatch has won his protest that he and other riders filed after the third round of the FMF/AMA National Enduro Series in Georgia in March. The decision is an important one, since it changes the official winner of the enduro and tightens up the points race as the series resumes with round six this weekend in Marquette, Michigan.

Following the George National Enduro, KTM’s David Lykke was declared the winner, but that was put on hold when Hatch and several other riders filed an official scoring protest with the AMA regarding a reported “short cut” in the course taken by a few riders, according to a release from Throttlehead.com. The promoters confirmed that a section of trail wasn’t clearly marked and several riders gained an unfair advantage by taking a substantially shorter route through one of the test sections. The scores indicated an unusually fast time through the section for several riders, and other riders who were interviewed also reported that riders from rows behind them were checking out of the section ahead of them, but had not passed them on the course.

After further review, the AMA has decided that the check in question will become an observation check and that all classes are to be re-scored by the Cherokee Cycle Club. Although all of the results have yet to be recalculated, it appears that Hatch will be the new winner of the Georgia National Enduro (his second win of the series). Randy Hawkins will be officially credited with second and Lykke third.

Heading into the Michigan round, Lykke still leads but by only three points over Hawkins, 122-119, while Hatch is third with 115 points

Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor

Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.