Round 10 of the AMA/Kenda National Hare & Hound Championship Series wraps up this season with a great finale race on Oct 23rd, hosted by AMA District 37's 100 MC in the Johnson Valley OHV area.
Many champions were crowned on the podium by the NHHA organization, along with awards for all the overall podium finishes for the year for all national classes. Many amateur racers were interviewed and photographed on the podium while being able to thank their pit crews and sponsors. It was a great day all around and the racers are excited for the 2012 season!
Although the Champion was crowned at Round 9, FMF/KTM's Kurt Caselli was present all weekend to participate in the "Pro Rider Ride-Along" for kids, to help out his friends, and do a little celebrating. Kurt would be on hand in the KTM pits as "Factory for a Day" rider, from Ensenada B.C. Mexico, Red Bull's Ivan Ramirez would be given the opportunity to ride under the factory KTM banner. Ivan has participated in a few National events this season, along with racing in the WORCS series, where Caselli will also be competing next weekend for another possible Championship. Ramirez would finish in the 6th Overall Pro spot on Sunday. Congrats Mr. Caselli!
The National Hare & Hound 2010 champion, JCR Honda's Kendall Norman, would once again dominate this final race of the series from start to finish. Norman would come down pit row many minutes ahead of his competition and would finish in the 1st Overall spot for the day at this final round. Norman would finish the series in the 5th Place position in points (after having to miss some rounds this year). Norman will now get ready to race in the Baja 1000 in November. We hope to see him and his team in 2012!
Kendall Norman takes the race win on his JCR/ Honda. Photo by Mark Kariya
The battle for 2nd Place Overall for the season came down to the wire for Purvines Racing's David Pearson and Monster/Kawasaki's Destry Abbott. The two would go into this round with only 8 points separating them. Abbott would finish in 2nd Overall for this round, putting him on the podium once again this season as Pearson would cross the finish-line in 4th place overall, giving him just what he needed to lock in 2nd Overall for the season, by just 1 point ahead of Abbott! Pearson will also be racing in the upcoming Baja 1000 event in November.
David Pearson takes 2nd place in the Pro Championship. Photo by Mark Kariya
Abbott would finish out the season in the 3rd spot overall for the year and as he stood atop the podium as he has done all season long, this seasoned veteran (who always makes jokes about himself being the "old" guy), this 39-year old past National Champ, who also participates in WORCS, Endurocross, X-Games and ISDE, would announce that this would be his final year racing in this series. Abbott will still be racing many weekends out of the year and will now focus on doing more PR with Kawasaki and helping out the up-and-coming younger racers soon by opening his own training school. Destry, you have brought so much to the sport and racing your guts out almost every weekend for so many years. You are a true legend and champ! Good luck in your future and we'll see you at the races!
Destry Abbott takes 3rd Overall Pro for the Series. Photo by Mark Kariya
Off Road Support/KSV racer Jacob Argubright would have a great final race of the year. Having battled with the top guys all year long, Argubright would prove that he has some wins in his future for sure. He raced with a broken ankle this weekend and would still finish in the 3rd Overall spot for the day behind Abbott. We think that racing with the green cape must have really helped! Argubright will finish out the season in the 4th overall spot in points behind Abbott.
Jake Argubright takes 3rd overall on the day. Photo by Mark Kariya
JCR Honda's David Kamo would have a not-so-good start as the banner dropped, putting him way back in the pack for the first two loops of this 4-loop race. Kamo had a fire lit after his bad start and would pick off riders left and right, taking his anger out on the bike and making his way all the way back up to the 5th Overall spot for the day. Kamo will also be racing in the Baja 1000 race this year.
Top 10 for the day: Norman, Abbott, Argubright, Pearson, Kamo, Ramirez, J.Morrow, Burson, Howes (1st 250), R.Smith (2nd 250).
In the memory of fallen desert racer and one of the founders of District 37's Desert MC club, a banner was raised in the memory of Mr. Ed Farrell on the start-line. With a moment of silence by all the racers, this is a very touching tribute and how the desert racing community pays tribute to one of its fallen brothers. RIP Mr. Farrell.
In the Women's Pro Class, Blais Racing Services/ KTM rider, Shayla Fulfer, would lock in her championship title at Round 9 and would also finish Round 10 in the 1st Overall spot. This would be Fulfer's first full year racing this series and she was a happy camper at the finish-line and on the podium with her crew and some of her family. She will be back for 2012 to defend her #1 title. Fulfer had a great battle all year long with District 37's #1 Plate holder, Off Road Support's Sarah Kritsch. These two ladies have become good friends and great competitors. Kritsch would finish 3rd Overall for the day. We hope to see Sarah back in 2012. 3 Brothers KTM racer, Kelly Barbosa, would come into the pits in 1st overall after the first loop and would finish in the 2nd Overall spot for the day behind Fulfer. This is also Barbosa's first year at racing the National series.
Shayla Fulfer takes the Woman Pro Championship on her Blais Racing Services/ KTM. Photo by Mark Kariya.
In the ATV Pro Class, the #1 Champion title holder for 2011 is DirtFirst/Duncan Racing's Andy Lagzdins. Lagzdins would wrap up his championship at Round 9 and would race a 2-wheeled bike for this final round. Lagzdins came out this year in full force and will hopefully be back for the 2012 season to defend his #1 title. He will also be racing in the Baja 1000 race in November. The 2010 champ, RND Motorsport's Kyle Penner, would again be the holeshot winner for this round and would finish out the season in the 2nd Overall spot in the points standings. Penner stated on the podium that he will be back on 2012 to try and regain the championship!
Andy Lagzdins takes the ATV Pro Championship. Photo by Grumpy
District 37's #1 ATV racer for 2011, King Off-Road/Teixeira Tech's Bill Markel, was in 2nd place coming down pit row and ended the race in 1st Overall for the day. Markel has been racing District 37 for the past year and has raced almost every weekend since. He would finish the season in 4th place for this series behind Aaron Hopson. The first overall woman ATV racer for the day was District 37's Peggy Ogaz.
The battles were heated in several other classes as well. In the Vet Pro Class, it came down to the wire at the final round! Purvines Racing's David Fry and Reno KTM/WR1's Dan Capparelli have had some great races this year, both vying for the championship title. It came down to the final round where the riders would race neck-and-neck until Fry had a crash and would eventually DNF the race. Capparelli would earn the Championship title with Fry taking the 2nd Place podium spot for the series. Both riders will be back in 2012! Finishing in the 3rd Overall spot for the season is TBT Suspension's Travis Flateau. Not only does he help sponsor the series, he also participates in these events. Great job guys!
Capparelli and Fry going at it again just after the start. Photo by Mark Kariya
Another stacked class was the 250A class. These young men would push the limits and battle each other for the #1 spot all year. Purvines Racing's Chris Morrow would battle for the championship with Utah's Skyler Howes in this final round. Howes would be the winner on the day but Morrow would have enough points to win the overall Championship for the season. 2nd Overall for the day would be the current District 37 #1 250 of Ryan Smith, followed by 3rd Overall on the day from Idaho, Lane Buchert.
Skyler Howes takes the 250 A class win. Photo by Grumpy
The Senior 40+ classes, along with the Super Seniors 50+ and Masters 60+, all rode tough all year long as well! There were some great battles in these veteran classes, with most of these riders also racing many of the local District 37 events during the year also. Much respect to these older and wiser men of the desert ~ !
Congrats to ALL the racers of 2011 - all the A, B, C, D classes, Women, ATV's, and Pros! We hope you will all be back in 2012! All National Hare & Hound results for each class can be found on the AMA website under 'Racing' at: http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/
The Saturday afternoon "Pro Rider Ride Along" for the kids was a great success. The kids got to ride with several of the Pro racers and would return to find goody bags and prizes awaiting them. Many of them got autographs and took photos with their favorite pro racer.
Holeshot Alpinestars boot winners:
B row - Tim McFarland
C row - Seth Abrahamson
ATV row - Kyle Penner
Leatt Neck Brace/Hydration System winners:
Dale Aastrom
Dan Grassmann
Flexx Bars winners:
Kevin Hasten
Mike Whitcomb
TBT Suspension winners:
Viola Mader
Taylor McDonald
Jack McNutt
Slash 4x4 Remote Control Car winner presented by Coyote Hobbies Raceway/ Hobby shop in Victorville, CA:
Sam Bangert
Thank you to ALL our awesome sponsors of this series, for all the product give-aways and discounts, and for being present at these events with race support!
FMF, Fasst Co, Alpinestars, Bullet Proof Designs, BRP, Dirt Tricks, Fastway/Pro Moto Billet, Fluidyne, IMS, Leatt, MadJack Racing/Amsoil, RB Components, Rekluse, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, RTT, TBT, 3 Bros, Works Connection, and ZLT. And OEM Contingency from KTM, Kawasaki, Honda, Husqvarna
Round 1 of the 2012 season will be hosted by District 37's Desert MC club, in the Johnson Valley OHV area. Mark your calendars now as the 2012 season will soon be approaching.
For more information on this series, go to:
www.NationalHareandHound.com
Round 10 Prelim Results
NHHA Points Standings
Event Photos by Grumpy
Text Only PR Link
