Mark Kariya | June 10, 2019
The ninth running of the Prairie Dogs M.C.’s Last Dog Standing 2019 played out in hot and challenging conditions at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, June 8-9. The rider who dealt with it best was the rider who came all the way from Spain–extreme off-road star Alfredo Gomez.
Alfredo Gomez Wins Last Dog Standing 2019
Gomez had just finished fourth at the ErzbergRodeo in Austria the weekend before the Last Dog Standing race and was eager to improve on that result in sunny Southern California. The Last Dog Standing race, which used a portion of Saturday’s Sprint Hero off-road race, came down to a two-man shootout between two Husqvarna riders, Gomez and American Colton Haaker, who came into the race recovering from a back injury. KTM’s Cody Webb, a past LDS winner, did not compete due to injury.
Haaker led the field going into the final test of the weekend, but Gomez saved his best for last and quickly shot into the lead and held on to it, as he took the checkered flag on his Rekluse/Twin Air/Shot-backed TE 300i Husqvarna.
“Today I wanted to prove my body in hot conditions because probably in two weeks we will have [similar conditions at a race] in Spain—not that much hot, but it will be hot,” the Spaniar, Gomez, said. “I gave it all to test my body, how it works [in these temperatures]. In [today’s] races I had a lot of pain in my stomach; that’s why I try today some different water [to drink].
“The level [of course difficulty] is very low [compared to European hard enduro],” he added. “They expected the winner to [finish] the race in three hours and it was like an hour and 40 minutes or something like that. It was hard because it was so hot but not because of the [technical challenge].”
Haaker settled for second overall, while Canadian Trystan Hart came away with third overall.
“The heat in the ravines was pretty brutal!” Hart said. “That just amplifies the terrain [difficulty] by 10 times, I’d say.”
Max Gerston (Beta) and Hawaii’s Grayson Gonsalves (Sherco) rounded out the top five overall.
Beta’s Morgan Tanke made a bit of history by becoming the first woman to qualify for and complete a lap of final Last Dog Standing section (LDS 3). CN
Last Dog Standing
Glen Helen Raceway
San Bernardino, California
RESULTS: June 8-9, 2019
1. Alfredo Gomez (Hus)
2. Colton Haaker (Hus)
3. Trystan Hart (KTM)
4. Max Gerston (Beta)
5. Grayson Gonsalves (She)