Still mending from his broken leg, David Pearson teamed up with fellow Red Bull KTM racer David Kamo to win the Epic Racing Products Parker 250, round one of Best in the Desert’s American Off-Road Racing Series in Parker, Arizona, January 10. By the end of the three-lap race that roughly paralleled Shea Road’s sand washes, boulder fields, dirt roads and whoops, they had a comfortable cushion over the Honda-mounted runners-up, Four-Stroke Pro victors Ricky Brabec and Robert Underwood, while Ty Davis and Gary Sutherlin scored third overall, second Open Pro, on their Husqvarna.
“Since this is my first race back, my goal wasn’t to impress anybody,” Pearson said. “My goal was just to get through the race, ride smart, don’t ride over my head – ride to the level of my healing. I’m probably 90 percent; that’s what I rode today.”
Pearson and Kamo finished the race in four hours, 45 minutes and 34 seconds. While Kamo and Pearson enjoyed an unchallenged run at the front, the race for second included a number of teams. In the end, 17-year-olds Brabec and Underwood, on their Hemingway Sheet Metal/Cycle Gear/Precision Concepts CRF450X, edged the Davis/Sutherlin duo, 4:47:48 to 4:49:59. For Davis and Sutherlin, the race was their debut on Zip-Ty Racing/Malcolm Smith Motorsports/Moose TXC510 Husqvarna.
Martin Kite and Adam Thissen rode their Speed Technologies/RMS/DirtTricks.com KTM 505 XC-F to fourth overall, third Open Pro, in 4:52:23. A pair of Timberline Construction/Performance Motorsports/Dunlop CRF450X-mounted teams (Chad Black and Conner Penhall, and Ryan Penhall and Cale Wallce, claimed fifth and sixth, respectively, after losing considerable time getting lost.
Jerry Parsons and Anthony Westbay moved up to the Open Pro division on their RPP Racing Yamaha and finished seventh overall. They were followed by Over 30 Pro winners Rex Cameron and Michael Johnson. Open Pros Nick Burson and Brent Harden, on the another Zip-Ty Racing Husky, and Jake Hulett and Kurt Samuelson rounded out the top 10 overall.
