Caselli Wins King of the Desert National H&H

Mark Kariya | March 7, 2011

Kurt Caselli of the FMF/KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team scored his second victory of the AMA Racing/Kenda National Hare & Hound Championship Series at the Roadrunner Off-Road/Threat Racing King of the Desert National with David Pearson the runner-up again.

But unlike round two where Caselli had about seven minutes in hand at the finish, round three found him unable to shake the Purvines Racing Honda rider at the Superstition Mountain Off-Highway Vehicle Area just west of El Centro, California, on March 6.

At least for the first 60 miles or so, anyway.

After that fast first loop, the course once again wound its way through the sand dunes and rocky canyons of the Superstition area, and Pearson began to make a mistake here and there. “Really, there’s no excuses,” Pearson admitted. “Kurt rode good today, and I rode as hard as I could and got second.”

Caselli agreed. “He was on my butt that whole first loop and I was pushing and still trying to ride smart,” he said. “It was tough. I felt good that second [loop]. The bike was awesome.”

Though Caselli is the first competitor to score more than one victory now, he still trails Pearson in points, 80-76, unofficially.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Destry Abbott earned his third straight podium finish with third place on the day and sits third in points with 67, unofficially.

Kawasaki of Simi Valley’s Jacob Argubright followed Abbott practically all day, finishing fourth, while Justin Morrow rounded out the top five in his debut aboard a Purvines Racing Honda.