Inside.....

AMA National Enduro Championship Series, Round 1: The Sandlapper

4 Bobbitt Breaks his Bad Luck Streak

AMA FIM Supercross, Round 12: Rogers Centre

7 Dungey Breaks Through!

AMA Arenacross Series: Verizon Wireless Arena

10 Smith Fifth Different Winner of the Season!

AMA Kenda National Hare and Hound Championship Series, Round 3: Road

Runners

12 Caselli’s El Cid of El Centro!

16 Race Report from Superstition OHV

POV

19 Training with the Pros for a Week

Story and Photos by Sandy Carter

South Carolina was the first stop for the 2011

AMA/ Rekluse NEPG National Enduro Series.

It was also the first stop for a lot of Florida-

bound snowbirds escaping from the North

and the winter weather. Aside from the

sunshine and warm weather, many were

heading for Daytona Bike Week, the Alligator

Enduro, the first round of the GNCC Series at

River Ranch – and the 36th Sandlapper

Enduro, a traditional first ride of the season.

This race is sanctioned by SE&TRA and

sponsored by the Hollow Creek Volunteer Fire

Department.

Many families participate in this event: dads,

moms, daughters and sons, many signing up

early so they can ride on the same minute and

therefore ride together on the course. Pro

riders’ bikes sport red plates and carry the

numbers 21 through 35, designated “A” for

“AA” or “Pro.” Numbers for all contestants are

assigned by rows according to the minute and

designated A, B, C, D or E divisions. More than

600 riders signed up for this event. Kids rode

on Saturday, and Sunday was for the adults

only.

At 9:01 a.m., the first row of five riders left the

start and headed for the piney woods after

riding a zigzag course across a flat field and

then crossing a public road, with oncoming

Sunday traffic halted for crossing by local

members of the Christian Motorcycle Club.

The first reset or “check” was up, and riders had

a wait to begin a “special test” or timed section

of the course. Pro and A riders have six resets;

B riders have five; C riders, including Women,

Over 30, Over 40 and Over 50 riders, have four

checks. After completing the final check, or

special test, the day is over.

Russell Bobbitt won his first overall of 2011 at

The Sandlapper, breaking the streak of bad luck

Page 4

he experienced in 2010. The unfortunate

series of events that shadowed him

throughout last year followed him up to the

week before this event, when he crashed

during practice, suffering a concussion,

breaking a tooth, and earning a trip to the

hospital. He then headed to South Carolina

and this season opener, which turned out to

be the charm that broke the spell. Bobbitt

appears focused and on course for a

successful 2011 season.

Also on the podium that afternoon were KTM

pilot Brad Bakken, who took second, and

Michael Lafferty, who placed third overall on a

new ride, a Husaberg 570. Cory Buttrick was

fourth overall, followed by his fellow KTM riders

Steward Baylor Jr. and Charles Mullins.

1. Russell Bobbitt (KTM); 2. Brad Bakken

(KTM); 3. Michael Lafferty (Hbg); 4. Cory

Buttrick (KTM); 5. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM);

6. Charles Mullins (KTM); 7. Nick Fahringer

(Hbg); 8. Thaddeus Duvall (Yam); 9. Shane

Hufford Jr. (KTM); 10. Zach Klamfoth (KTM);

11. Stephen Edmondson (GG); 12. Hunter

Williams (KTM); 13. Shane Watts (KTM); 14.

Jesse Groemm (KTM); 15. Richard Lafferty

(KTM); 16. Jason Chancey (KTM); 17. Jeff

Cregg (Yam); 18. Kody Fennell (Yam); 19.

Grant Baylor (KTM); 20. Steve Leivan (KTM).

1. Hunter Williams (KTM); 2. Shane Watts

(KTM); 3. Jesse Groemm (KTM); 4. Richard

Lafferty (KTM); 5. Jason Chancey (KTM); 6.

Jeff Cregg (Yam); 7. Kody Fennell (Yam); 8.

Grant Baylor (KTM); 9. Steve Leivan (KTM);

10. W. Tyler Trammell (Hus); 11. Jeff Pasqua

(Yam); 12. Michael Grizzle (Bet); 13. Alex

McRee (KTM); 14. Michael Hines (KTM); 15.

Chase Bishop (Yam); 16. Dane Schoeneberg

(Yam); 17. Andrew Kendrick (Yam); 18.

Nicholas Hunter (KTM); 19. Ben Smith (Suz);

20. Brooks Hamilton (KTM).

Page 5

1. Ben Swaim (KTM); 2. Louis Smith (KTM); 3.

Cameron Allen (KTM); 4. Heath Henderson

(KTM); 5. Keath Roberts (KTM); 6. Sean Eric

Benhart (Yam); 7. Tegan Robert Temple

(KTM); 8. Chevis Hendon (Hon); 9. Ashley

Copeland (KTM); 10. Terry Greer (KTM); 11.

Toby Akin (KTM); 12. Jeremy Powell (KTM);

13. Logan Cooke (Hbg); 14. Shane Garner

(KTM); 15. Steven Mullen (Kaw); 16. Ronald

Awad Jr. (Hon); 17. Austin Galyon (KTM); 18.

Steve Mason Jr. (KTM); 19. Al Hubbard (Suz);

20. Chris Doran (GG).

1. Cameron Hicks (KTM); 2. Dakota Hollman

(Suz); 3. Houston Taylor (KTM); 4. Daniel

Barrineau (Hbg); 5. Matthew Glass (Hon); 6.

Charles Center (KTM); 7. Michael Hawkins

(KTM); 8. Marty Hawkins (KTM); 9. Justin

Ramsey (Yam); 10. Wil Miller (KTM); 11. Bryan

Woods (KTM); 12. Hunter Houston (KTM); 13.

Jeffrey Powell (KTM); 14. Brian Stover (KTM);

15. Glynn Martin (KTM); 16. David Farris

(KTM); 17. Randy Brack (KTM); 18. Johnny

Thomas (KTM); 19. Gregory Wheeler (KTM);

20. Byron Butler (KTM).

1. Russell Bobbitt (KTM); 2. Brad Bakken

(KTM); 3. Michael Lafferty (Hbg); 4. Cory

Buttrick (KTM); 5. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM).

1. Trevor Kline (KTM); 2. Dieter Willenbrock

(KTM); 3. Joe McLaughlin (KTM); 4. Garrett

Church (KTM); 5. David Harris (KTM).

1. Kody Fennell (Yam); 2. Grant Baylor (KTM);

3. Dane Schoeneberg (Yam); 4. Andrew

Kendrick (Yam); 5. Nicholas Hunter (KTM).

1. Hunter Williams (KTM); 2. Jesse Groemm

(KTM); 3. Jeff Cregg (Yam); 4. W. Tyler

Trammell (Hus); 5. Alex McRee (KTM).

1. Shane Watts (KTM); 2. Richard Lafferty

(KTM); 3. Steve Leivan (KTM); 4. Jeff Pasqua

(Yam); 5. Brooks Hamilton (KTM).

1. Jason Chancey (KTM); 2. Michael Hines

(KTM); 3. Tommy Veator (Yam); 4. Lee

Stephens (KTM); 5. Gerald Greene (Yam).

1. Michael Grizzle (Bet); 2. Dennis Decker

(Suz); 3. Jeffrey Harris (Hbg); 4. Glenn Scherer

(KTM); 5. Clay Stuckey (GG).

1. Mitch McRee (KTM); 2. Charles Sullivan

(KTM); 3. Dewayne Dusendang (KTM); 4. Neal

Hamilton (KTM); 5. Greg Gibson (Hbg).

1. Ben Swaim (KTM); 2. Sean Eric Benhart

(Yam); 3. Tegan Robert Temple (KTM); 4.

Ashley Copeland (KTM); 5. Joshua Cairl (KTM).

1. Louis Smith (KTM); 2. Keath Roberts (KTM);

3. Chevis Hendon (Hon); 4. Austin Galyon

(KTM); 5. Evan Schulz (Hus).

1. Cameron Allen (KTM); 2. Terry Greer (KTM);

3. Logan Cooke (Hbg); 4. Chris Doran (GG); 5.

Kevin Townsend (Hon).

1. Toby Akin (KTM); 2. Jeremy Powell (KTM);

3. Shane Garner (KTM); 4. Steven Mullen

(Kaw); 5. Ronald Awad Jr. (Hon).

1. Heath Henderson (KTM); 2. Steve Mason Jr.

(KTM); 3. Al Weisenfels (KTM); 4. Scott Rose

(Hbg); 5. Terry Post (Hbg).

1. John Weicker (KTM); 2. Mike Waters (Hbg);

3. John Bowling (KTM); 4. Brad Myers (KTM);

5. James Tench (KTM).

1. Al Hubbard (Suz); 2. Gordon Stout (KTM); 3.

Mack Barber (KTM); 4. Jeffrey Bromley (Hon);

5. Bryan Giacomozzi (KTM).

1. Richard Burleson (KTM); 2. John Fero (Hus);

3. Barney Barfield (KTM); 4. Gregory Davis

(Yam); 5. James Jenkins (Kaw).

1. Mandi Mastin (Yam); 2. Kelly Hall (KTM); 3.

Louise Forsley (KTM); 4. Tori Noxon (KTM); 5.

Dawn Silvia (KTM).

1. Cameron Hicks (KTM); 2. Houston Taylor

(KTM); 3. Wil Miller (KTM); 4. Hunter Houston

(KTM); 5. Eric Gibson (Hon).

1. Dakota Hollman (Suz); 2. Bryan Woods

(KTM); 3. Cameron Brigg Aycock (KTM); 4.

Sundown Walker (KTM); 5. David Shearer

(Suz).

Page 6

A huge crowd of 45,217 Canadian fans

filled Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Saturday

night for the Monster Energy AMA

Supercross, an FIM World Championship,

and its lone international race of the 2011

season. The 12th stop of the 17-race

championship was host to even more of a

shakeup in the championship standings, as

Rockstar/ Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey of

Belle Plaine, Minnesota, captured his first

win of the season. In Supercross Lites-class

action, Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit

Kawasaki rider and former Canada resident

Dean Wilson, currently of Menifee,

1. Daniel Barrineau (Hbg); 2. Matthew Glass

(Hon); 3. Charles Center (KTM); 4. Justin

Ramsey (Yam); 5. Scott Greer (KTM).

1. Jeffrey Powell (KTM); 2. Brian Stover (KTM);

3. Byron Butler (KTM); 4. Jamie James (Yam);

5. Matt Wiley (Yam).

1. Michael Hawkins (KTM); 2. Marty Hawkins

(KTM); 3. Randy Brack (KTM); 4. Gregory

Wheeler (KTM); 5. Walter Thomas (KTM).

1. Glynn Martin (KTM); 2. David Farris (KTM);

3. Johnny Thomas (KTM); 4. Fred Jensen

(Hus); 5. Greg Wallace (KTM).

Courtesy of Feld Entertainment

Page 7

California, grabbed the victory.

When the gates dropped for the 20-lap

Supercross-class main event, Monster Energy

Kawasaki’s Fabien Izoird from France raced to

the Nuclear Cowboyz holeshot and grabbed

the early lead. Behind him, Dungey and Valli

Motorsports/ Rockstar Yamaha’s Nick Wey of

Dewitt, Michigan, followed, while San Manuel

Yamaha’s James Stewart of Haines City,

Florida, found himself on the ground,

creating a jam that included the series points

leader, Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Ryan

Villopoto of Poulsbo, Washington.

Dungey moved into first prior to the

completion of the first lap and went on to

lead all 20 laps. At the conclusion of lap one,

Villopoto crossed the line in ninth, while

Stewart sat in 13th. The duo moved through

the field in tandem before Stewart attempted

to pass Villopoto. The two riders made

contact, falling to the ground. While Stewart

re-entered the action, Villopoto pulled off the

track to address an issue with his bike.

Dungey fended off the pressure from

TwoTwo Motorsports/ Bel-Ray Racing’s Chad

Reed of Tampa, Florida, throughout the main

event, while American Honda’s Trey Canard

of Shawnee, Oklahoma., followed them onto

the podium in third.

“It’s been a tough one [this season] and it feels

great to pull [a win] off,” said Dungey.

“Everyone goes through this at some point,

because it’s a tough road. I got a great start

tonight, which was huge. The track was really

tough, and you had to watch the mistakes.”

“That’s the positive from tonight,” said Reed of

the points lead he claimed after Villopoto’s

misfortune. “I have to just carry on. Ryan

[Dungey] road a great race; he was faster in the

whoops and turns. It took everything I had to

pressure him into making a mistake.

“The industry decided not to give me a chance

this season,” Reed added. “I want to win this

championship so bad. It would be a bittersweet

speech, for sure.”

Stewart rebounded from his troubles to finish

just off the podium in fourth. Meanwhile,

Villopoto recorded a ninth-place result. Reed

now holds a three-point lead over Villopoto

heading into next weekend’s race.

At the start of the Supercross Lites-class main

event, GEICO Honda’s Blake Wharton of Aubrey,

Texas, grabbed the Nuclear Cowboyz holeshot,

with his teammate Justin Barcia of Ochlocknee,

Georgia, and Eleven10 Mods Honda’s Darryn

Durham of Butler, Pennsylvania, in tow. The

remainder of the opening lap featured several

highlights, as DNA Shred Stix/ Star Racing

Page 8

Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes of Vine Grove, Kentucky,

took over the top spot, only to be forced off

the track by Barcia, who then assumed the

lead.

For the next seven laps, Barcia paced the

field, while Wilson, in second, was looking to

close the gap. The distance between both

riders continued to decrease before Wilson

made the winning pass coming out of the

whoops on lap eight. The win marked Wilson’s

second of the season and the second of his

career.

“The track was really tricky tonight,” said

Wilson. “I didn’t get the greatest of starts, but

I kept pushing forward. It was all I could do.

[This win] means a lot to me. We still have

three races to go, and I’m still far back in the

points, but I’ll try my [best].”

Barcia followed in second; he has been on the

podium at every race of the Eastern Regional

Supercross Lites Championship. Wharton

rounded out the podium in third.

Barcia’s advantage over Wilson, who moved

into second in the championship, sits at 16

points.

1. Ryan Dungey (Suz); 2. Chad Reed (Hon);

3. Trey Canard (Hon); 4. James Stewart

(Yam); 5. Justin Brayton (Yam); 6. Nick Wey

(Yam); 7. Andrew Short (KTM); 8. Kevin

Windham (Hon); 9. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw); 10.

Cole Seely (Hon).

1. Chad Reed (236); 2. Ryan Villopoto (233);

3. Ryan Dungey (228); 4. James Stewart

(216); 5. Trey Canard (214); 6. Andrew Short

(159); 7. Justin Brayton (137); 8. Kevin

Windham (134); 9. Davi Millsaps (128); 10.

Nick Wey (109).

1. Dean Wilson (Kaw); 2. Justin Barcia (Hon);

3. Blake Wharton (Hon); 4. P.J. Larsen (KTM);

5. Ryan Sipes (Yam); 6. Blake Baggett (Kaw);

7. Gannon Audette (Yam); 8. Hunter Hewitt

(Suz); 9. Darryn Durham (Hon); 10. Matt

Lemoine (Kaw).

1. Justin Barcia (138); 2. Dean Wilson (122);

3. Ryan Sipes (115); 4. Blake Baggett (100);

5. Blake Wharton (89); 6. (TIE) P.J. Larsen

(80)/Matt Lemoine (80); 8. Malcolm Stewart

(55); 9. Lance Vincent (49); 10. Alex Martin

(47).

Page 9

Courtesy of Feld Entertainment

File Photo by Mark Buchanan

With the 2011 AMA Arenacross Series just

three rounds from completion, Team Faith

Yamaha’s Kelly Smith of Ludington, Michigan,

decided to take matters into his own hands

inside Verizon Arena on Saturday night and

end a longstanding winless drought.

Meanwhile, in Arenacross Lites action, newly

crowned Arenacross Lites Western Regional

Champion Chad Cook of Oklahoma City,

Oklahoma, kept the ball rolling, grabbing an

impressive win.

In recent weeks, just one man has stood

atop the Arenacross-class podium. Babbitt’s

Monster Energy/ TiLUBE Kawasaki presented

by Maxxis rider Tyler Bowers of Danville,

Kentucky, carried an eight-race winning

streak into the evening. However, the current

championship points leader experienced

trouble, ultimately losing valuable points to

his competitors.

When the gates dropped for the 25-lap

Arenacross main event, Smith took

advantage of a strong start and moved into

the lead early. Once out front, the veteran

rider never looked back, despite experiencing

several challenges from Foremost Insurance/

Spinechillers/ HondaofFairfield.com’s Nathan

Skaggs of Chillicothe, Ohio. As the battle for

the win developed, Bowers was experiencing

some rare bouts of misfortune: After

suffering a bad start, Bowers was looking to

work his way through the field, only to stall

his bike following the finish line. The error

allowed his competitors to take advantage

while Bowers fought to work his way back

through the field.

As for Smith, he rode his best race of the

season, as did Skaggs, who ultimately scored

a season-best runner-up finish. Babbitt’s

Monster Energy/ TiLUBE Kawasaki’s Chad

Johnson of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, rounded out

the podium in third.

Bowers fought his way to a season-worst 11th-

place result.

With the adversity Bowers faced, in addition to a

strong showing on the night from both of his

closest title contenders, his advantage in the

championship standings dropped to 38 points.

Feeling the confidence from claiming his first

career professional title one week prior, Cook put

his House of Kawasaki machine up front again

and extended his own personal winning streak to

three races. He crossed the line more than four

seconds ahead of Foremost Insurance/

Spinechillers/ HondaofFairfield.com’s Patrick

Massie of Washington Court, Ohio, who finished

second. Massie’s podium effort extended his

points lead in the Arenacross Lites Eastern

Regional Championship to 51 points. Letko KTM’s

Tanner Moore of Auburn, Kansas, finished third.

Page 10

1. Kelly Smith (Yam); 2. Nathan Skaggs

(Hon); 3. Chad Johnson (Kaw); 4. Jeff

Gibson (Hon); 5. Zach Ames (Hon); 6. Cory

Green (Suz); 7. Dano Aulseybrook (Suz); 8.

Kevin Johnson (Yam); 9. Gray Davenport

(Kaw); 10. Willy Browning (Hon).

1. Tyler Bowers (362); 2. Jeff Gibson (324);

3. Chad Johnson (318); 4. Zach Ames (255);

5. Gray Davenport (236); 6. Kelly Smith

(232); 7. Nathan Skaggs (229); 8. Kevin

Johnson (192); 9. Cory Green (181); 10.

Willy Browning (165).

1. Chad Cook (Kaw); 2. Patrick Massie (Hon); 3.

Tanner Moore (KTM); 4. Michael Lang (Hon); 5.

Zachary Jaynes (Yam); 6. Jeremy Huddleston

(KTM); 7. Kenneth Henry (KTM); 8. Austin

Primavera (Suz); 9. Brandon Marley (Hon); 10.

Jake Locks (Kaw).

1. Patrick Massie (147); 2. Austin Coon (96); 3.

Adam Gulley (95); 4. Steve Mages (86); 5.

Kenneth Henry (70); 6. Austin Primavera (69);

7. Tyler Sehr (65); 8. Kyle Goerke (63); 9.

Michael Lang (49); 10. Scott Zont (47).

Page 11

By Ryan Sanders and Chris Blais

Photos by Mark Kariya and TNT Race Photos

The NHHA headed south to the border city of

El Centro, California, for round three, and

after 100 miles of wide-open desert racing in

the Superstition OHV Area, the series points

chase has just become that much tighter.

With many of the NHHA Pros competing in

various other events on the Saturday prior to

the race, the pits seemed light, but as time

passed on this warm Saturday afternoon, the

NHHA atmosphere grew, as AMA’s District 38

Road Runners Off-Road Group welcomed the

racers with open arms.

Facing many of the terrain challenges for which

the El Centro areas have become known as

features for this year’s “King Of The Desert”

event, FMF KTM’s Kurt Caselli pressed onward

from the word “go” and became the new King

for 2011, despite the fact that he was racing in

Superstition for his very first time. However,

things weren’t as easy as they were for Caselli

at the previous round, despite the absence of a

key competitor.

David Pearson, eager to keep his Purvines

Racing Honda atop the points chase, was hot on

the tail of Caselli for much of the day. The duo

were one and two off the start, and Pearson

rode in Caselli’s dust for all 100 miles, rarely

stopping to let off the gas. In the end, he would

have to settle for the second step on the

podium, which was still enough to keep him in

the lead for the championship points chase,

with 80 points.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Destry Abbott rode

well despite a Saturday afternoon scare that

saw his mechanic returning home to Arizona for

parts, and he held off a midrace charge by

Jacob Argubright to take third place in the end –

his third straight podium finish of the year.

Despite a great start, and the tantalizing

thought of a podium finish just seconds ahead

Page 12

of him, Argubright took fourth place on his

Kawasaki of Simi Valley KX450F; he just

couldn’t make up any time on Abbott in the

sandy and difficult second loop.

New to the Purvines Racing Honda team,

Justin Morrow took fifth overall without much

effort at all. Running in fifth off the start,

Morrow made it look like he had been on the

Honda for years, although he had just picked

it up on Wednesday.

JCR Honda’s defending 2010 champ, Kendall

Norman, was a no-show at round three,

which took many racers and spectators by

surprise. Rounding out the top 10 were

David Kamo, Robert Underwood, Carl

Maasberg, Brett Saunders and Brad Pace.

Holding it down for the two-strokes, Justin’s

brother Chris Morrow, at 12th overall, took

first place in the 250 A class on his Zeman

Suspension Yamaha YZ250. Second in the

250 class, and coming in just three spots

later, Off-Road Support’s Levi Jones piloted

his KTM 250 XC to his highest National finish

to date, at 15th overall. Another Levi, Levi

Hutchins, took third place on the day in the

250 A class and will return home to Nevada

with a nice points lead in the class.

The battle in the Vet Pro class heated up, as

Dan Capparelli returned to the top of the

podium to take a commanding lead in the

points chase. With David Fry taking a DNF,

Capparelli is now atop the podium after his

20th overall at the Road Runners event. TBT

Racing owner Travis Flateau took second

place in the Vet Pro division, in his first

attempt at the El Centro National; he was

one of the smart ones who sat out the

torrential rainstorm back in 2010.

At 26th overall, Mike Whitcomb and his

3Brosktm.com 450 took top honors in the Over

50 A class, but he qualified for third overall in

the Vet class – not too bad for racing with guys

20 years his junior.

On the prettier side of the NHHA, in the

Women’s Pro class, it was again a heated battle,

as the top women racers on the West Coast

went to battle on the demanding desert terrain.

Taking an early lead, Shayla Fulfer piloted her

Blais Racing Services/ Fastway KTM 250 XCF

into the lead through the midway point of the

event and into the pits near Wheeler Road. Off-

Road Support’s Sarah Kritsch made a pass out of

the pits and struggled to hold off the charging

Fulfer in the dunes. Running her bike dry,

Kritsch gave it everything she had in an attempt

at another class victory, but at mile marker 75

the bike quit and Kritsch was forced to watch

her competition slip away.

With her first win of the year, Fulfer took over

the points lead, with an 80-60 cushion over

Kritsch. This DNF hurts Sarah’s championship

points campaign for 2011, and with a hometown

event for Fulfer in just two weeks (round four in

Melba, Idaho), the Women’s Pro class just got

that much more interesting. Olivia Rich was the

only other woman to finish the King Of The

Desert event, and she now sits at third place in

the points chase, with 37.

The ATV Pro contest got under way after a short

delay from the bike classes. Round-two winner

Andy Lagzdins took top honors yet again at

round three, and also took home a pair of

Alpinestars boots for his holeshot win on the

Expert Quad line. Local D38 quad expert Jeff

Hoskins took second overall in the Quad Pro

Page 13

class and held off the charge of longtime vet

racer Wesley Feeler, who took third in the

Quad Pro class. Casey Lizaolao physically

took second overall ATV against a field of

nearly 30 ATVs but, as a B-class rider, he

didn’t qualify for the ATV Pro class – not too

shabby, considering he was up against some

of the fastest ATV riders in the desert!

A number of Holeshot Awards were handed

out, and both the B and C bike-row holeshot

winners, local District 38 members, took

home prizes of their own. For the B row it

was James Shafer, and for the C row it was

Darren Buonaguidi. They will both have a

new pair of Alpinestars boots come round

four. Also winning prizes at round three from

series sponsor Works Connection were the

first-overall B- and C-class winners, along

with first overall ATV racer Andy Lagzdins;

they will all receive hour meters (after the

results are verified).

Congrats to the Kenda Kash winners, who all

received a $50 cash bill at the finish line for

using Kenda tires all around their machines:

Anthony Joshua, Kevin DeJongh, John

Kearney and Shayla Fulfer. For the ATV

riders, Eric Hartell filled his pockets with a

$50 dollar bill for using Kendas. Kenda Kash

will be handed out at the finish line at each

round!

Once results are verified, another series

sponsor, MadJack Racing/Amsoil, will be

awarding one gallon of oil to the winners of

each these classes: Over 40 B, ATV B, Vet C,

and 200cc C. The support of all of our series

sponsors is much appreciated!

For round four, the series heads north to Idaho,

as Dirt Inc. hosts its second annual AMA/ Kenda

National Hare and Hound in the area near

Mebla. For more info on the AMA/ Kenda

National Hare and Hound Championship Series,

go to www.NationalHareandHound.com.

1. Kurt Caselli (KTM); 2. David Pearson (Hon);

3. Destry Abbott (Kaw); 4. Jacob Argubright

(Kaw); 5. Justin Morrow (Kaw); 6. David Kamo

(Hus); 7. Robert Underwood (Kaw); 8. Carl

Maasberg (Kaw); 9. Brett Saunders (Kaw); 10.

Brad Pace (Hon).

1. Kurt Caselli (KTM); 2. David Pearson (Hon);

3. Destry Abbott (Kaw); 4. Jacob Argubright

(Kaw); 5. Justin Morrow (Kaw).

1. Carl Maasberg (Kaw); 2. Brad Pace (Hon); 3.

Clay Davies (Bet); 4. Justin Morgan (Suz); 5.

Jeff Truelove (Kaw).

1. Chris Morrow (Yam); 2. Levi Jones (KTM); 3.

Levi Hutchings (Yam); 4. Skyler R. Howes

(Yam); 5. Travis Livingston (Kaw).

1. Cordis D. Brooks (KTM);

1. Dan Capparelli (Kaw); 2. Travis M. Flateau

(Hon); 3. Mike Thompson; 4. Dennis Gleen.

1. Carey Lincoln; 2. Mike Barnhum; 3. David

Klein (Yam); 4. Robbie Pippin (KTM); 5. Jason

Cogbill (KTM).

1. Michael Whitcomb (KTM); 2. Mark Brown

(KTM); 3. Todd Barnhill; 4. John Kearney (Hus);

5. Dave Byrd (KTM).

1. Shayla Fulfer (KTM); 2. Kelly Barbosa (KTM);

3. Olivia Rich (Hon).

1. Bubba D. Novis (Hon); 2. Jacob Gaddis

(Kaw); 3. Austin H. Aube (Yam); 4. Ryan

Baillargeon (Yam); 5. David Bringman.

Page 14

1. Harry Lyles (KTM); 2. Brandon Merbach

(Kaw); 3. Kyle Mueller (Yam); 4. Andreas

Hengstberger (KTM); 5. Brandon G. Cable

(KTM).

1. Kyle King (KTM); 2. Nicolas Garvin (Hus);

3. Benjamin C. Meza (KTM).

1. Steve Grieb (KTM); 2. Jes Hulbert (Hon); 3.

Dennis Maurer (Hon); 4. Tony Gregory; 5.

Ryan McGhen (KTM).

1. Rich Nixon (Hon); 2. Wayne Ellis (Yam); 3.

Dave Harlan (KTM); 4. Bill Hinkle; 5. John

Copeland (KTM).

1. Rob Corder (Kaw); 2. Tom Albright (KTM);

3. James Gibson (KTM); 4. Jon Johnson

(Yam); 5. Scott Hegel (KTM).

1. Alex Paris (Hon); 2. Larry Leyva; 3.

Garrison Rios; 4. Alex Drew (Kaw); 5. Henry

Daly (KTM).

1. Brendan Crow (KTM); 2. Daniel Murtin; 3.

Randy Witherell; 4. Ben Larsen; 5. James M.

Ogaz (Yam).

1. Joshua Maxwell (Hon); 2. Austin Newman

(Yam).

1. Derek McGaughy (KTM); 2. Daniel Flowers;

3. Raymond Gray (Yam); 4. Scott Hughes

(Suz); 5. Anthony Nolan (Hus).

1. Frank Zugouitz; 2. Doug Kuezkowski; 3.

Phil Apostolakos (Yam); 4. Robert Orendain

(KTM); 5. Dave Colmer (KTM).

1. Brett Wilkinson; 2. Arie Toet; 3. Carl

Johansson (KTM); 4. Norm Bisson; 5. Vandos

Handley.

1. Kori Wilson (KTM).

1. Dale Parriott (KTM); 2. Dave Gazzaneo; 3.

Terry Flynn (Hon); 4. Rickert Haag (KTM); 5.

Bill Thornburg (KTM).

1. A.J. Motta; 2. Logan Ventimiglia (KTM); 3.

Taylor Haiwlive; 4. Luice Bosse; 5. Mason

Nolan (Hon).

1. Tayler Jerome (KTM); 2. Nick De Carli

(Yam); 3. Robert Cruz.

1. Harry Simpson III (KTM).

1. Frank Vasicek (Hon).

1. Andy Lagzdins (Hon); 2. Jeff Hoskins

(Hon); 3. Wesley Feeler (Hon); 4. Bill Markel

(Yam); 5. Shawn Bigney (Suz).

1. Casey Lizaolao; 2. Eric Hartell (Yam); 3.

David Valley (Yam); 4. Kevin Palmer (Hon); 5.

Andrea Bosemer (Hon).

1. Caesar Ceballos (Hon); 2. Rachel Bosemer

(Yam); 3. Jared Sallenbach (Yam); 4. Peggy

Ogaz (Yam); 5. William Baston.

1. Ryan Zeller; 2. Frankie Becerra (Hon); 3.

Zachary Haywood (Yam).

Page 15

By Jacob Argubright and Levi Jones

Photos by Ryan Sanders

Round three of the National Hare and Hound

Series was this last weekend in El Centro,

California, and for me, it was all about

redemption! I needed to make up for what

happened last year in the mud, and I needed

to keep the strong finishes alive in order to

stay with the lead pack in this year’s points

chase.

We have had a few weird curveballs thrown

at us this year, with Kurt Caselli nearly DNFing

and Kendall Norman actually DNFing at round

one, so the points chase is tighter than ever,

and I am going to do everything I physically

can to stay within reach. I was pretty

disappointed with the fifth at round two, and

I knew that with a good start I could make

things happen here in El Centro.

Before the racing happened, though, Ryan

Sanders and I decided to head down a day

early and have some fun. With the big sand

dunes, and the awesome mud hills right by

camp, it was like a playground for us to try and

jump things. Most of the time I am all about

being a serious racer, but you need to have a

little bit of fun from time to time. Friday was just

that, and after spending nearly eight hours on

the bikes (and almost two whole tanks of gas),

we were happy to go to bed early in preparation

of a busy weekend.

We weren’t allowed to practice the bomb on

Saturday, and because of the new BLM permits,

the club couldn’t even tell us where the race

would start. So I just spent some time working

on the suspension and my bike setup for the

slick and fast roads of loop one. Sarah [Kritsch],

Levi [Jones], Brandon and I went up into the

dunes at the end of the day, and it was a lot of

fun trying to over-jump one another

in the sand. I went to bed for the

night feeling like I had a great shot

at doing well the following morning.

As the sun came up on race day, I

quickly geared up and was one of the

first guys to the bomb. I found a

good line on the far left and knew

that if I could just hold on, it would

be one of the faster routes to the end

of the start. They actually never gave

a two-minute warning, though, and

literally none of us were ready when

the banner actually went up! It took

me about three kicks to get started,

but when the bike lit, I was gone,

and actually I felt really good.

Page 16

It was dusty for about the first two miles,

but I eventually got into some clean air and

ended up in third overall, right behind Kurt

Caselli and David Pearson. We hit the first

road crossing and I saw the trail bending to

the left. I took a good line and settled in

behind them, literally right in their dust.

The thing with the loops down there is that

they bend back and forth; it’s almost just a

race to the check points, because once it

gets dusty, you have no idea where the

actual trail is. Unfortunately for me, Destry

Abbott found a better line through the dust

and made a pass just after check one. He

put about 10 seconds on me, and I just

literally followed him for the last 40 miles of

the first loop. It was 60 total miles before

the main pit, so we all had to stop at an

alternate. Jerry was there and gassed me up

and gave me goggles, but it was hardly a pit

stop.

I followed right behind Destry and was

determined to get him before we got to the

main pit. With all of the high-speed sections,

we were basically just an even match, and

neither of us made up any time on the other.

Going into the pits, I was still about 10

seconds down, and I knew that loop two

was going to be a little bit tighter.

Loop two was really fun, but I found myself

making a few mistakes, which was not a

good thing if I wanted to get on the podium.

Des was riding really well, and no matter

what I tried, I couldn’t make up the time I

needed to in order to get in front of him. We

hit a couple of cool sand dunes, and the only

big, gnarly rocky canyon in El Centro, but he

really rode hard and I just didn’t have enough to

catch up. At the finish line, there was a big

crowd, and although I narrowly missed the

podium, I was happy to have my best finish to

date in El Centro.

I wore some of the new Answer gear this

weekend; it’s called the “Ion Breeze” and it was

really a lifesaver. With nearly 80-degree

temperatures, the vented gear was the one

thing that kept me going. Our bike setup was

really good, and I was happy with how

everything worked this weekend. I have a local

race coming up this week, and then it is right

back into the National Hare and Hound thing, as

I hope to get a podium out in Idaho.

As always, I couldn’t do any of this without my

sponsors, so thanks to Kawasaki of Simi Valley,

Off-Road Support, Answer Racing, UFO Plastics,

Jett Boots, Omega, BRP, TBT Racing, Kal-Gard,

Pro Moto Billet, Fastway Performance, IMS, FMF,

and Brian Elliot at Allianceoffroad.com.

Meanwhile, Levi had a great ride this weekend,

finishing second in the 250 class and 15th

overall. He has really stepped it up despite

having some difficult classes at Cal Poly this last

semester, and his results are great for the Off-

Road Support team.

Unfortunately, Sarah had a motor issue out on

loop two. She was leading at the time and just

boiled over the coolant. As she tried to stay

ahead of Shayla Fulfer, who eventually won, the

motor quit, and now she has a project for the

coming week before Idaho. Due to our busy

workload, with the next National just two weeks

out, Paul at AS Racing is taking special care to

ensure that she can make it to Idaho! Big thanks

Page 17

to Paul for helping to keep her racing!

If there was any hero this weekend, it was

Destry’s mechanic, Johnny. Des had a motor

issue one mile before the pits on Saturday,

and they didn’t have the parts to fix it, so

Johnny had to drive all the way home to

Peoria, Arizona, and get the spare motor into

the race bike. He then had to wake up and

drive the bike out to El Centro so that Des

could ride the bomb before the race started!

It made for a pretty good story around the

pits.

Lastly, it was pretty funny to finish and see

Kurt Caselli’s number-one WORCS bike loaded

onto a tow truck. Apparently the registration

on the forks didn’t match the frame, so they

impounded it, as his mechanic had ridden it

over to the finish! They don’t mess around in

El Centro!

See you in the desert!

-Jacob

Jacob911.com

I was definitely looking forward to round three

in the Superstition OHV area. School has been

extremely hectic lately, so it was a nice

reprieve to be back out in the desert with my

bike and my friends. I got into the pit around

4 p.m. Friday night and immediately geared

up and went out into the sand dunes to test

and jump some dunes with Jacob Argubright

and Ryan Sanders. I spent most of Saturday

doing much of the same: tested up in the

sand with Jacob, Sarah Kritsch and her friend

Olivia, and Ryan.

Race morning came pretty fast. I went out

early and found a good line on the bomb run.

Unfortunately, David Kamo and I were aiming

for the same line, and we nearly bumped on

the start. Somehow I managed to take the

line and got to the bomb somewhere in the

top 10 – definitely my best start in a while.

The first 15 to 20 miles was a lot of fun. I got

to drag-race one of my idols from back home,

David Fry, and from there it quickly turned in

to a four-way drag race between me and

three other 250s. At the alternate gas, I got

around Travis Livingston, thanks to my dad’s

quick gas-up, and settled into fourth, behind

Open-class racer Jeff Truelove, for the

remainder of loop one.

In the main pit, I got around another 250,

thanks to another superfast pit stop from my

dad, Jerry Jones, Ed Villanueva, Ryan, and

the rest of Off-Road Support. They told me I

was in third, not even a minute back, but

from my experience in this event two years

ago, I knew that the sand and the rocks on

loop two were extremely tiring. So I did my

best to conserve energy but make progress at

the same time.

I battled with Livingston, Levi Hutchings and

Skyler Howles for much of loop two, but

managed to hold on and finish second,

behind Chris Morrow, and 15th over all.

I couldn’t have done it without the awesome

pit support of Off-Road Support and Blais

Racing, and my other sponsors – FMF, EVS,

and Sam’s Cycle Supply.

I can’t wait for spring break and round four in

Idaho!

Page 18

With harsh winters everywhere north of

Tennessee, and with racing in the Grand

National Cross Country Series starting in

the first week of March, most of the Pro

riders head south to Florida to train,

race, and get their new bikes sorted out,

starting in January. I have raced in the

GNCC series myself for the last two

years, only missing round one in Florida.

Being from Indiana, I have become

good friends with top up-and-coming

Pro rider Chris Bach. He raced with the

KTM satellite team in 2010, and for

2011Chris has moved to the Factory

Beta Team. Chris is good friends with

KTM rider Nathan Kanney. Bach and I

run around Indiana with another top

Amateur in the Open A class named

Chris Douglas. Right after Christmas,

Bach, Kanney and Douglas headed

south to prepare for the 2011 racing

season. I’m a normal guy and have a

regular job, like most normal people.

Heading south for two to three months

doesn’t really fit into my budget, and my

wife divorcing me certainly doesn’t fit

into the budget either. I do, however,

have some saved-up vacation time, and

all three riders encouraged me to come

down for at least a week and ride and

train with them.

Going in to the 2011 racing season, I

had gotten a new KTM 350 SXF from

Performance Supercycle of Cookeville,

Tennessee. I had sent the suspension

off to WP Racing USA, and mounted up

a set of Renthal twin-wall bars, along

with an O-ring chain. I knew that going

down there and riding with these guys, I

would need all the horsepower I could get, so I

installed an FMF 4.1 silencer with a mega bomb

header. I mounted a set of Bridgestone sand tires,

and the bike was ready to go. I spent a lot of time on

the cycle trainer, as I knew these guys were hitting it

hard every day. I wanted my body and cardio as

prepared as I could get it. I rode the trainer about

eight hours a week and did countless sit-ups,

crunches and push-ups. The week of January 16 was

going to be the week that I would descend on Florida.

I packed my small 5x8 trailer, moto bike, road bicycle,

Fly gear, and enough oil and oil filters to make a

couple of oil changes. I headed south as soon as I

got off work on Friday. I drove as far as I could stand

to on Friday and finished up the drive on Saturday

morning.

The guys were staying a place called Waldo. It’s close

to the city of Gainesville. I pulled in around 10 a.m.,

and the guys were already outside, prepping their

bikes for a day of riding. We did a quick catch-up,

Page 19

and then it was time to gear up.

We headed to the track right before noon.

With this being my first time ever doing

something like this, I was trying to take

everything in and feel things out before I

jumped in with both feet – or, at least, that

was my plan. All four of us pulled up to the

track, and Kanney let us know that we were

going to start out with a 30-minute moto on

the turn track. This was a sign of things to

come.

We completed our moto and pulled off the

track to talk about what went wrong or what

went right and how we felt. XC-2 rider Teddy

Mullins was also there, and he joined in. We

made our way back to the compound for a

little lunch and to make some adjustments to

the bikes.

It was surprising to me that these guys made

big changes a lot. Kanney and Bach both

would swap bars at this break. I made a

spring change on the rear shock, based on

the recommendation of Bart Hayes at WP

Racing USA.

At about 2, we headed back to the track.

Surprisingly, we got right back at it, with

another full 30-minute moto. This time when

we finished, we would make small

adjustments right there at the track and jump

right back on the track. I was having some

issues with my handling, and Bach was giving

me a hand dialing it in. I would ride about

three hard laps and then pull off. Based on

what I was telling him, he would turn on this

and turn on that. We made huge progress and

the bike was handling great.

At the end of day, we washed the bikes and

headed into Gainesville for some dinner. We

were back at the house by 7 p.m. and all

ready for bed by 8 p.m.

Sunday came, and everyone was up by 8 a.m.

I questioned what the plan was for the day:

More of the same was on the calendar. I had

gotten sick overnight and was not feeling well

at all. Making trips to the restroom every hour

was really starting to take its toll.

All the guys did bike work first thing in the

morning, changing oil and air filters and

washing all the extra ones they had. When

that was done, they all decided to do a cycling

ride. I had to sit this one out, as getting too

far from a restroom at this point was not a

good idea. A few hours later, everyone got

back, and it was moto time. By this time I

was worse, and even getting out of bed was

going to be a chore. Needless to say, my

second day was shot; doing anything was out

of the question.

Monday came, and along with it came rain. It

decided to let loose all day. This put a damper

on doing anything outside. Everyone grabbed

their gym clothes and it quickly became a

gym day: cardio on the bike, a little weights,

and some swimming. Tyler Thompson of the

ThompsonMX Academy was staying close to

where we were, and I went and visited him

later in the day. He helps train some young

up-and-comers in motocross. He does a lot of

bike work to help the kids keep their bikes

going: changing tires, changing oil and all the

regular things, but he also does top-end

rebuilds if it’s needed.

On Tuesday, we all woke up to sunny skies

and cool temperatures. The bikes were ready

to ride, and after a day off, we were ready to

ride! I was finally feeling better and looking

forward to another day on the bike. We all

geared up and headed to the track.

In the back corner of the riding park was a

small woods loop that works great for some

woods testing. Those woods were on the

day’s calendar. Everybody gathered together

and Bach made the call to hit the woods hard.

It was almost all single-track, with a short

field section at the end of the lap.

Bach and Kanney started pushing each other

hard, and that’s the last I saw of them. About

an hour later, everybody regrouped and we

hit it again. Another hour of woods and I

would be shot.

We took a lunch break, and again these guys

were making changes to their bikes.

After lunch, we made our way to the turn

track. A couple of 30-minute motos were on

tap. The ThompsonMX Academy riders were

on the track, and Tyler was there, coaching.

Tyler watched me for a few laps and pulled

me in to give me some great pointers.

When the riding was over, Douglas was going

to try to cook us something on the grill. It

had been a long day, and going out to eat

was just not an option. He threw together

some chicken and some kind of noodles. It

actually turned out really good – or maybe I

was just so hungry that I could have eaten a

shoe. We were all shot and ready to eat,

Page 20

Coming Up Soon on TCC:

Opening-night action from Victorville Speedway!

CMC Golden State Nationals South Finale!

CALVMX Round 2 from Perris Raceway, PLUS extra

photos! !

Race Report from the Maxxis General, Round 2 of

the GNCC Series!

National Hare and Hound Championship Series

Round 4, PLUS extra Race Reports!!!

AND... the Thor United States Mega Series (Round

2)/ FMF Southern All-Stars MX Tour (Round 1)/ Fly

Racing Southern Classic Championship Series

(Round 1)/ American Suzuki B.I.G. Championship

MX Series (Round 1)/ North Georgia Spring Classic

Series (Round 1) ! ! ! ! !

relax, and hit the beds early. Everyone wanted

to go to a private single-track woods track the

next day.

The next morning we got up early and did our

bike work. We threw the bikes and gear in the

trucks and headed out. It was about a two-

hour drive, and this was a good time to talk

about all the things happening throughout the

racing year. Everyone would be racing the full

GNCC Series, and Bach, Kanney and myself

are hitting select National Enduros. Douglas

and I will join Bach and race some of the local

series in Indiana.

We arrived at the place and unloaded the

bikes and geared up. It’s about an eight-mile

course, and the plan was to light it up from

the start. I prefer to do this, as you never get

a good warm-up before a race anyway.

We finished the first lap and compared lap

times. Bach and Kanney were close, with

Douglas right behind them. Sand is not my

thing, and my lap time showed that. I made a

few suspension changes and went back out

for lap two.

This place was really cool. It had a good mix

of everything you see down in Florida. Four

laps later, my body was shot! Bach was dialing

in the new Beta machine and feeling better

and better with the work that he’d been

putting in. Kanney and Douglas both rode

KTMs last year, so they were familiar with

their rides and were just trying to get them

fine-tuned. We all loaded back up in the early

afternoon and headed back to camp. That

evening we did more bike work and prepped

everything for Friday.

Bach, Kanney and Douglas needed to get to

WMR1 in southern Florida to do some motor

work. They had decided to head down on

Saturday and race an FTR on Sunday. Friday

would be my last day, and we decided that we

would all go cycling in the morning and the do

some more motos in the afternoon.

On Friday morning, Bach, Kanney, Douglas

and I loaded the bicycles up and made tracks

to Gainesville, which has a “bike path” that is

32 miles long – 16 out and back. My

background is in cycling, so I felt like I could

hold my own on the bicycle. A quick warm-up,

and it was on! We smashed petals hard going

out and coming back. It felt good to be able

to stay with these guys and feel competitive

for once during this week. I did hold my own

on the ride and did my share of pulling the

group along.

When Saturday arrived, it was time for me to

head home, and for the guys to head to

WMR1 and to race on Sunday. All in all, I’d

had a great time. I did more riding in a week

than I had done in the previous three months.

I also did more bike work in a week than I

have done in the last three months! These

guys are hitting it hard every day. This is their

job, and they treat it that way. In a solid week

of riding, we didn’t do 20 minutes of play-

riding the whole week. Riding and racing is a

hobby to me, and I would like to leave it that

way. We’re all great friends, and when the

helmets are off, fun is had by all.

If you decide to spend a week with these

guys, you’d better have thick skin. If you do

anything stupid or hit the deck, the butt-riding

will last a couple of days. There is one other

thing that happens day in and day out, and

that’s the trash talk. Bach and Kanney are

relentless when it comes to this. I can’t wait

for March 8 and see where all their hard work

lands them. I would be really surprised if

anyone is hitting it any harder.

See ya at the races!

Page 21