King Of The Motos Kicks Off This Weekend
Cycle News Staff | January 31, 2014
This weekend some of the sport’s best off-road racers will flock to the Johnson Valley OHV Area in Lucerne Valley, California, for the Third Annual King of the Motos (KOM). The event is held in conjunction with the King of the Hammers Rock Crawler event and mixes extremely technical sections with more wide-open desert racing. While it requires some versatility, the riders with strong technical skills could make up for the fast stuff in the difficult sections.
Last year’s winner was former AMA Trials Champion, Beta’s Cody Webb. It was his first victory on a big bike (something other than a trials bike). He and the big Betas ended up being a match made in heaven, as he would go on to add three EnduroCross races and the Tennessee Knockout exptreme off-road race to his race win list later in the 2013 season, elevating him to the status of one of the top Extreme Enduro racers in the country.
Webb returns to defend his KOM title against a powerful list of 40 pro riders, all aiming to dethrone him. And on the top of that list is Graham Jarvis, the Brit who is arguably the best Extreme Enduro rider in the world and winner of the inaugural KOM race in 2012. Unfortunately for Jarvis, the rear foam insert in his tire disintegrated during last year’s race and he was unable to successfully defend his title. And he wants it back.
Veteran Mike Brown will be competing this year, marking his first race as a factory Husqvarna rider. It will also be former WORCS Champion Taylor Robert’s first race on his new factory KTM off-road team.
Adding to the list of champions includes reigning GNCC champ Kailub Russell. It will be his first attempt at the KOM. Other riders to watch include past KOM competitor Kyle Redmond, who has been keeping sharp lately in the FIM World SuperEnduro Championship, JCR Honda’s Colton Haaker, Canada’s Cory Graffunder and the always entertaining Wally Palmer.
2014 KOM Pro Pre Entry List
Cody Webb
Quinn Wentzel
Kale Elworthy
Kyle Redmond
Joseph Edsman
Don Boespflug
Colton Haaker
Peter Weiss
Max Gerston
Kevin Murphy
Wallace Palmer
Jason Matheney
Taylor Robert
Brady Elton
Bryan G Nelson
Ty Tremaine
Cory Graffunder
Randy Duke
Mitch Carvolth
Mike Aranda
Wayne Dickert
Justin Morgan
Travis Coy
Dustin McCarthy
Kailub Russell
Kyle Strawn
Matthew Caraway
Brad Hendry
Noah Kepple
Steve Behunin
Jordan Brandt
Jacob Argubright
Brian Garrahan
Branden Lepard
Rory Sullivan
Mike Brown
Graham Jarvis