New Kids In Town
NEW KIDS IN TOWN
RACE WATCH
Enduro riders Kurt and Aaron Hough make their mark
THEY ALMOST ALWAYS COME IN twos. Four-time motocross champ Gary Jones had his equally impressive brother DeWayne. Grand National Champion Gary Scott had his brother Hank. The Tripes, the Pomeroys, the Lojaks, the Athertons; all fast brothers that came in sets of two.
Now you can add the Houghs to that list. Kurt and Aaron Ilough are 24and I 9-year-old brothers from New Palestine, Indiana, who have undertaken the monstrous task of leading the U.S. into the limelight of international enduro competition.
And they just might succeed. At the end of the first day of last year’s ISDE in France, they were the top two Americans. Kurt was near the top of the 250 class overall and Aaron was only a half-second hack, near the front of the 125s. This is out of a field that included two former U.S. enduro champions, current champion Randy Hawkins and desert great Larry Roeseler. In the subsequent five days, though, Kurt was forced to drop out of the competition with a torn knee ligament, while younger brother Aaron went on to a gold medal.
At home, Kurt has earned doubleA status in national enduros, has won two district 14 championships and was top U.S. qualifier for the 1987 and 1988 ISDE team. Aaron not only qualified for the U.S. ISDE team on both his first and second attempts, but went on to Europe to score gold medals against the world’s best both times. And both of them are just getting started.
Once they learn to back off, the Houghs will be as much of a threat at home as they are abroad.
“Ron Lamastus inspired me to try to race in Europe,” Kurt recalls. “He was a local guy who qualified for the Six-Days seven or eight times. 1 thought if he can do it, 1 can do it. So I tried the qualifiers in ’85 and didn't make it. 1 broke down in Michigan.” The next year, Kurt qualified for the Italian ISDE on a Honda 250. It was his first race in Europe and the pressure was enormous. On day one. he crashed, trying to avoid a car. On day two, his twisted motorcycle finally stopped running altogether.
So the next year, 1987, he came back and rode just that much harder. He won the qualifier in Michigan and became the top-ranked U.S. rider. His brother also qualified. This time both came home with medals.
That year, Aaron and Kurt made up half of the U.S.’s Junior World team. The Junior World is a fourman team consisting of riders who are 23-years-old or younger. For the U.S., that team presents a special problem, because our enduro riders are generally rather older—Larry Roeselerand Terry Cunningham. for> example. are both over 30. Because the Junior World competition is so prestigious, the Houghs are a valu able find. In both `87 and `88. our team consisted of Kurt and Aaron, plus Randy I-Iawkins and Fred Hoess. And it's that team that has given the U.S. the most to brag about in inter-> national enduro competition, finishing third in '88.
Because the Junior World competition is so prestigious, the Houghs are a valuable fmd.
Domestically, though, the Houghs have yet to prove themselves on a national scale. “Kurt still isn't a very good time-keeper," says former National Enduro Champion Kevin Hines. “He’s fast enough, but he just programs a computer and goes. He doesn't know how to keep time very well by himself." Time-keeping is unique to America, where riders are penalized forgoing too fast as well as too slow. Slowing it down is something both Kurt and Aaron have a lot to learn about.
Once they learn how and when to back off a notch or two, both Houghs will be as much of a threat at home as they are abroad. But in Europe, they already have the system wired. Kurt will probably be riding on the World Trophy team now' that he’s 24, w hile Aaron will still be on the Junior World team. So with a Hough brother leading the U.S. on each team. America will be entering a new age in international enduro competition. And with any luck at all. that age will be one with the U.S. leading the world.
