For the third time this season, Gary Sutherlin finished first. Since he got no points in two races after hurting his wrist at round two, he’s not in realistic championship contention, though he’s now third in points. Photography by Mark Kariya
While the record books will show FMF KTM support rider Gary Sutherlin dominated round six of the Kenda/SRT AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series, simple statistics don’t tell the entire story.
Equally as important in the big picture was the DNF by defending series champ Ricky Brabec. While vying for the lead in the early miles of the X-12 Virgin Ground Hare & Hound, he crashed hard, suffering a broken foot, broken hand, broken collarbone and broken neck (C4). The broken vertebra apparently didn’t affect his spinal cord, though, and the THR Motorsports/Precision Concepts/Bonanza Plumbing racer was released from the hospital later that night.
The first race to be held using Darin Peterson’s ranch as a base lived up to its name, but the lack of whoops didn’t mean it was smooth sailing for anyone.
Despite a big storm the day before, dust played a significant role, at least for the first hour or so. FMF KTM Factory Off-road Racing’s Ivan Ramirez enjoyed clean air for a while after nabbing the holeshot, but he didn’t feel comfortable with the rocks hiding in the brush, especially after getting passed and having to deal with riding in the dust.
“I just wanted to keep it on two wheels and not risk anything,” he admitted.
On the other hand, Sutherlin felt a bit more urgency after crashing out of round two and missing round three as a result, putting him far back in points.
“I had a really bad start—I think I was out of the top 10 right at the end [of the bomb], but luckily I kind of hairballed through the sage brush [to make some passes right away],” the Dunlop/Bonanza Plumbing/Fox 450 XC-F rider said.
“Me and Ivan went back and forth a couple times, and it was good,” he continued before confessing, “It was scary!”
Even after getting lost near the end when rain, wind and hail negatively affected course markers, Sutherlin maintained a comfortable margin over second, which Rockstar Energy/FMF/Moose Racing Husqvarna’s Jacob Argubright held for most of the race. Having sat out seven months due to breaking a wrist at last year’s series finale, he put in a tremendous ride aboard his Bel-Ray/Braking/Sidi-backed FC 450, though he admitted that his hands had it halfway through. “I felt good otherwise. The bike was working better than I was!”
But Argubright lost second near the end when he also lost the course. Purvines Racing Beta’s Axel Pearson had been in third aboard his Motul/Kenda/Klim 480 RR and pounced while Argubright hesitated. The result? Pearson claimed a career-best runner-up finish with Argubright rounding out the podium.
Ramirez held on for fourth to take the series points lead once again, just four seconds ahead of Purvines Racing Beta’s Nick Burson. Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna’s Dalton Shirey was sixth overall and first FMF 250cc Pro (for the fifth time this season) followed by Ryan Smith, Brandon Prieto, Open A winner Kyle Tichenor and FMF 250cc Pro runner-up Taylor Stevens.
The series now takes its traditional summer break and resumes in August in Nevada with round seven of eight.
Results: http://www.moto-tally.com/nhha/results.aspx
1. Gary Sutherlin (KTM)
2. Axel Pearson (Bet)
3. Jacob Argubright (Hus)
4. Ivan Ramirez (KTM)
5. Nicholas Burson (Bet)
6. Dalton Shirey (Hus)
7. Ryan Smith (Yam)
8. Brandon Prieto (KTM)
9. Kyle Tichenor (Hus)
10. Taylor Stevens (Hus)
