John Martin Wins Black Coal Enduro; Burleson Is Champion

JOHN MARTIN WINS BLACK COAL ENDURO; BURLESON IS CHAMPION

John Martin won the AMA Black Coal National Enduro, held in the surface mining region of southern Indiana. The enduro brought together all the top AA class riders, most manufacturers’ teams, and an enthusiastic group of A and B class competitors from some eight states in the area.

As usual the Indiana-Illinois-Kentucky Enduro Riders Association had laid out a course that would challenge riders at all levels of skill and at all positions on the starting line. There was not much advantage in being on the last row here.

Richard Burleson, Husqvarna’s sixtime-national champion, and Martin, Can-Am’s defending Black Coal champion were two rows apart this year so their challenge would be equal. Over the 100 mi. of trails, they demonstrated dead-even ability in maintaining speed, even over the 75 mi. that were newly-cut through tight woods.

Only one place did Burleson slip up. Unfortunately that was decisive in the final outcome. He came into the first tiebreaker check a few seconds later than Martin. While the total points lost were even at 23, Martin’s score at this check gave him the overall win for a second yeqr.

Burleson actually placed third in the final tally as Suzuki’s Randy Martin, with another 23-point loss, also had a better score over the tiebreaker checks.

Burleson did pad his lead in the national points, and a win the following week at the Baby Burr in Ohio gave him his seventh straight national championship.

Brian and Ann Palormo