ETHEL, LA

Around 150 competitors gathered at Hall's Hazzard County for round nine of the Louisiana Cross-Country Series in Ethel, Louisiana. The nice weather and ground conditions were a breath of fresh air after the recent mud runs and previous rounds in the summer heat.

Suzuki City/Moose Racing/Enduro Engineering-backed XC1 Expert rider Stephen Reed (right) of Denham Springs, Louisiana, set off at a blistering pace, mastered the two optional extreme obstacles every round, and recorded his eighth overall victory of the season. KTM rider Steve Nicholas of Chunchula, Alabama, rode behind Suzuki jockey Coy Hobgood for the first lap, got around him on lap two, and went on to finish in second for the day in the XC1 class. Hobgood eventually fell back to seventh overall as a result of smacking a tree on the third lap, which took out his front brakes. Meanwhile, Klim USA's Stephen Sturges muscled his KTM through the obstacles each lap, impressed the crowd on the MX track section, and settled into third overall and third in the XC1 class.

In the XC1 Expert Lites class, Jason Reine got out front early and never looked back, topping the class for the day and getting eighth overall. Reine's fellow KTM rider Dusty Neuville took a while to get warmed up but eventually fought his way up to second in the class and ninth overall. The final podium spot went to local Honda racer Brandon Tynes of Slaughter, Louisiana. Round-eight winner Ryan Breaux ran into a bit of bad luck and had a disappointing mechanical DNF on his Honda.

The highlight of the day was that the land owner, Mr. Hall, and his family donated gate fees of about $1,800 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Roll's Cycle in Lafayette also contributed to the effort. Their generosity and support are much appreciated. As usual, links to pictures and action-packed videos can be found at www.AcadianaRacing.com.

The 10-event LACC Championship Series is promoted by www.AcadianaRacing.com and made possible by title sponsor MTA, as well as Deb's Creative Photography, Open Throttle Moto-Parts & Accessories, Performance Cycles, Powersport Grafx, KTM, City Cycles of Baton Rouge, Moose Racing, Honda of Lafayette, Billy's Inc., Jester Designs, AOK Services, Cajun Tie Downs, and Cornerstone Glass.

Results

XC1 EX: 1. Stephen Reed (Suzuki); 2. Steve Nicholas (KTM); 3. Stephen Sturges (KTM).

XC2 EX LITES: 1. Jason Reine (KTM); 2. Dusty Neuville (KTM); 3. Brandon Tynes (Honda).

NOV: 1. Dustin Harwood (Kawasaki); 2. Aaron Saxon (Honda); 3. Shawn Hrubes (KTM).

NOV LITES: 1. Andrew Iverstine (KTM); 2. Chris Roberts (KTM); 3. Alex Reine (KTM).

SR 40+: 1. David Hall (KTM); 2. Mark Jamroz (Hus); 3. John De Lee (Honda).

BEG: 1. Lance Ford (Suzuki); 2. Adam Legassey; 3. Chris Fontenot (KTM).

BEG LITES: 1. Brett Fontenot (KTM); 2. Reed Bonvillain (KTM); 3. Zach Rambin (Yamaha).

JR (14-16): 1. Jake Haddox (Yamaha); 2. Russ Wiggers (KTM); 3. Brayton Broussard (KTM).

KIDS VET: 1. Brennen Reed (Suzuki); 2. James Walerius (Yamaha); 3. Chase Joubert (Honda).

KIDS INT: 1. Evan Wiggers (KTM); 2. Cameron Reed (Suzuki); 3. Grant Broussard (KTM).

WMN: 1. Julie Broussard (KTM); 2. Carolyn Reed (KTM); 3. Shelia Monk (KTM).

P/W: 1. Walker Shows (KTM); 2. Hayden Colvin (Yamaha); 3. Steven Merriett Jr. (Yamaha).

BEG P/W: 1. Jessica De Lee (KTM); 2. Ryan Reine (KTM); 3. Zorion McClarty (Yamaha).