Hawk Soars Again

Kit Palmer | May 12, 2003

Barry Hawk Jr. (pictured) captured his third win of the Grand National Cross Country Series when the Yamaha rider won the Rausch Creek GNCC in Tremont, Pennsylvania, May 11. It was also Hawk’s second win in a row.

Hawk came from behind, passing Yamaha’s Jason Raines and KTM’s Mike Lafferty late in the race to take the win. Hawk made things interesting right at the end when he dropped his bike, but he still had enough cushion to take the win, crossing the finish line some 30 seconds ahead of Raines. Lafferty, who ran second for a while, ended up third.

Fourth place went to FMF Suzuki’s Steve Hatch, while former National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins rounded out the top five overall.. Kawasaki rider Chuck Woodford finished sixth, ahead of Yamaha’s Robbie Jenks, Suzuki’s Mike Kiedrowski, and Kawasaki’s Fred Andrews.

Defending champ Rodney Smith suffered his second DNF in a row after his chain snapped while running up front.

After six of 13 rounds, Hawk leads Raines in the series points chase, 156-125. Lafferty is third with 110, and Jenks is fourth with 93.

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.