ALLIGATOR ENDURO RACE REPORT by Ed Tobin
The Alligator is back! The Daytona Dirt Riders (DDR) recently welcomed over 340 racers to the Strickland Ranch in Central Florida for the 69 th running of the Alligator Enduro which was co-sponsored by Florida Trail Riders and Southeast Trail Riders. Congratulations to Zach Hayes who joins a long list of Alligator Enduro winners dating back to 1949, a list that includes some of the most famous names in American off-road racing including Randy Hawkins with 4 wins, John Penton with seven wins, and Mike Lafferty with an impressive fourteen Alligator wins. Long a March destination for woods racers tired of the winter cold and snow that plague the Midwest and New England this time of year, the Alligator Enduro returned in 2021 on its traditional date, the Thursday of Daytona Bike Week, as a sprint enduro. The club made a concerted effort to get the word out about the Alligator returning to Bike Week by contacting major motorcycling news outlets and racing
organizations across the East Coast and Midwest. The GNCC organization was very helpful and published the Alligator flyer on their website. The result was that riders from across the Eastern U.S. journeyed to Central Florida to challenge the sand. mud and palmettos that Florida enduros are known for. Lucas Martin and Jared Borgew drove down with four friends from Massachusetts. Lucas wrote: “We traveled from Swansea, MA to enjoy some of the Florida riding and decided to give the enduro a try while we’re here. Known about the Alligator Enduro for years, never made it to Florida to ride but glad we did make it. Great piece of property and awesome event. Thank you to all involved with putting it on.” Lucas finished 5th in Vet B and Jared took 2nd in Vet C. Attendance at the event was helped by being sandwiched between two rounds of the GNCC, the first in Palatka, FL which is only about 40 miles from the Alligator.
FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS
While the majority of riders were from Florida, 23 other states and one territory were represented. Several riders commented that it was great to have a mid-week event to ride as they took the entire week off to vacation in Florida. None of the comments, of course, came from their wives who presumably would have preferred to vacation at a theme park in Orlandoor a beach in Daytona to a cow pasture in Favoretta. In preparation for the event, club members spent months manicuring the trails so as to provide the riders with a memorable experience. Under the watchful eye of trail boss Randy Griffin, the test sections came together to challenge all skill levels while having safety built in. Because the area had experienced a relatively dry January and February (uncommon for the Alligator Enduro), Randy knew the course would most likely be fast and dusty and took steps to limit speeds. As a result, the club had no serious injuries to respond to.
