Sorry we’re a bit late with this posting, but we were kind of swamped over the weekend with races and with our print deadline yesterday. At any rate, KTM’s Shane Watts (pictured) was faster than we were, collecting the win at the Elkton, Oregon, National Hare Scrambles last Sunday.
Watts was back in full form as he grabbed the holeshot at the Emerald Trail Riders Association-sponsored Maxima Funky Chicken Hare Scrambles. Never looking back, he put his KTM 200 out in front of the field in the opening grass track section and kept it for the duration of the 87-mile race. On a course that combined tight woods sections with fifth-gear single- and two-track, Watts increased his lead each lap and took the checkers with a one-minute, 22-second cushion over Kawasaki-mounted Fred Andrews. Rob Zimmerman, who kept his Yamaha YZ250 in second place for several laps, finished third overall, with Team Green’s Brian Brown and KTM’s Patrick Garrahan rounding out the top five. Kawasaki’s Chuck Woodford, who was fourth in series points coming into this round, suffered a broken tibia/fibula in a turn-two accident during the opening grass-track section.
Watts, who is trailing Suzuki rider Rodney Smith in the GNCC standings, leads the Hare Scrambles points with 99 over Andrews’ 96.
