hen the Maxxis FIM World Enduro Championship headed to the picturesque hills of Hancock, NY, July 21-22, memories came flooding back (pardon the pun) of the near washout in 2006. That year the Delaware River flooded, devastating the town and nearly canceling the event. Drew Smith, an army of volunteers, and the entire town of Hancock pulled together to make last years race the best it could be despite the wretched conditions. Their goal for 2007, nature permitting, was to put on the best round of the series. The 2007 season isn’t over yet, but they may very well have succeeded.
     Parc Ferme, in the center of the dried-out and revitalized town of Hancock, was ground zero for the factory race teams and their exotic hardware. Parts Unlimited, as title sponsor, ensured this area (and the entire course!) looked professional for the omni-present television and media cameras.
     Each loop consisted of 40 miles of trail that wound around the mountain, punctuated by three special tests timed to a100th of a second. This loop was repeated three times each day, with no margin for error. Day one and day two of Maxxis FIM World Enduro Series races are scored as separate races, but use the same course and time schedule. To add insult to injury, at WEC races the exhausted and battered riders must change their own tires at the end of day one.
     The Cross test, basically a high-speed, natural terrain, Euro-style motocross track, was amazing to watch. To be a competitive WEC racer you have to be a pro-level off-road racer, motocrosser, and trials rider. The same riders who picked their way up the waterfall like trials stars were now blasting double jumps and whooped-out top gear straights with a vengeance. The most inspiring riders to watch on the cross test were the EJ (under 23 years of age) and E1 (125cc two-stroke/250cc four-stroke) riders on their 125 two-strokes, which were almost musical sounding compared to the flatulent thunder of the bigger thumpers.
     On day one, America’s shining star was KTM’s Mike Lafferty. In his first ever WEC appearance he finished a very solid fifth place in the E2 (250cc two-stroke/450 four-stroke) class, driving spectators wild and leaving the Euros shaking their heads in disbelief. “I prepped a lot for this, but it’s not like a normal enduro,” Lafferty said. “The tests are different, but it was a lot of fun.” Not only did Lafferty ride well, he loved the race itself. “I like this WEC format. The spectators love it, and the difficulty is very high. I think a lot of other Americans didn’t do it because they were afraid. Local stuff is too easy. We need to make our tracks tougher, at least for the Pros. If we don’t ride that stuff, well then we don’t have a chance. We simply need to make our races closer to this format. It’s good; it has a good following, good setup, and a good layout. It uses less property, and clubs can actually make money from spectators. A win-win situation.”
     Lafferty wasn’t the only American on the gas and stoked about WEC racing after day one, with Steve Leivan getting 11th in E1. Husqvarna’s Nathan Kanney finished seventh and Christini AWD rider Aaron Kopp netted 13th in E2. In the 300cc two-stroke/over 450cc four-stroke E3 class Canadian Jason Schrage rode his 300KTM to 10th, while in EJ David Kamo finished seventh, followed by Russell Bobbitt in eighth, Kyle Redmond in ninth, Wally Palmer in 12th, Cole Kirkpatrick in 14th, Ben Smith in 15th, and Alden Clark in 16th. The photographer and fan favorite of the entire weekend was the wild riding Wally Palmer, who had flash bulbs popping all around the course. Palmer kept his two-wheel drive Christini 250F pinned around the entire track, his aggressive riding leaving spectators stunned and scared at the same time.
     By day two the track had dried somewhat, and speeds crept ever higher. Overall E2 winner, Honda’s Mika Ahola, commented, “Yesterday Johnny Aubert and some of the others had some problems, and I was leading by so much that I didn’t have to go hard. Today I knew they were angry about yesterday, so I had to ride 100% right from the start. It started out really good and I was leading all day. I made one mistake on the last extreme test; I was trying to take it easy, and that’s when you make mistakes. The course was really good, yesterday with the rain the trail was wet, and with the wet stones it wasn’t too easy.”
     Americans did well again on day two. Kyle Neslon took 10th in E1, while Lafferty took seventh in E2, followed by Kanney in 11th, Justin Tucker in 13th, Ryan Brown in 14th, and Dan McCaslin in 15th. On the big bikes in E3, flying Canuck Schrage finished strongly in ninth. The Junior class had another strong domestic showing, with Bobbitt up in fifth, Palmer in 11th, Kamo 12th, Kyle Redmond 13th, Ben Smith 14th, and Alden Clark 15th.
     The 2007 Maxxis FIM World Enduro Championship Aprilia GP turned out to be a showcase, not only for the growth of off-road racing worldwide but also for American riding and promotion talent. A real success story, to which Drew Smith proudly says “We just had an excellent level of cooperation and camaraderie across the board. It was beautiful, and makes me very grateful. I can’t be more pleased. The main and most important thing is that I’m grateful to the Hancock Fire and Rescue, Hancock Village Police, Delaware County Sheriff’s Department, all the Ridge Rider Motorcycle Club members, Bill McQueen, and Dave Stonebreaker who was my chief trail boss and coordinator for all the special tests. I come away with a ton of hope, and a lot of opinions on how to make it better again if we get a chance.”