| June 7, 2021
2021 Perry Mountain 24-Hour Challenge Results. The Perry Mountain 24-Hour Challenge, held in Maplesville, Alabama, June 5-6, returned to business after having to cancel last year’s race. Despite the one-year hiatus, the Elite-class team, NAP/XC Gear, didn’t missed a beat. The four-rider squad, made up of one Sherco and three KTMs, dominated the race from start to finish, completing the race with a two-lap lead over its nearest competitors.
Andrew Clark (Sherco), Josh Vender (KTM), RJ Cook (KTM) and Steve Nicholas III (KTM) combined efforts to complete the most laps at 56 with an average lap time of 25 minutes and 28 seconds.
“We tried to just ride consistent, we knew it was going to be a long race. With each rider doing three laps, it was a little dusty at first until the rains came. Mostly, it was pretty uneventful except for a few [head]light issues during the night,” said Clark.
The Perry Mountain Club enjoyed a near-record turnout with almost 100 teams signed up. Usually, this time of year in Alabama, it’s hot and dusty. This year’s temps were a bit lower in the high 80s, but for the first time in many years, rain was on the forecast. The course was 9.5 miles of tight Alabama woods with fire roads and a few gnarly hills that caused a few riders problems when the rains came.
Finishing in the number-two spot was Team Blue Calf Semi-Factory Racing, competing in the Expert class. Tommy Hill (KTM), Alex Mitz (Hus), Clay Lyons (Yam), Kurt Lucas (KTM), Shawn Clark (Yam) and Martin Cox (KTM) came all the way from South Florida, finishing with 54 laps with an average lap time of 26 minutes and 55 seconds.
“Our race went pretty good,” said Hill. “We got the holeshot and battled with Team NAP/XC Gear. Then one of our riders fell into a creek, and we lost a good bit of time there and had to work our way back. Then one of our riders got food poisoning which left us with five riders. There were a lot of whoops on the course, but not as big as the ones we’re used to riding in Florida.”
Rounding out the overall podium was Team Law Tigers/MAX Motosports, which finished second in the Expert class. Jase Lewis (Hus), Neal Ousley (Suz), Grady Faint (KTM), Tyson Miller (Suz), Nick Ragland (Yam) and Ty Roberts (Husqvarna) completed 54 laps, as well, and took the checkers only a minute and a half behind the winning Expert team.
Terry Cunningham Back In Action
“We didn’t have any real issues at all,” said Ousley. “On the next-to-the-last lap we got passed by the number-two team and then we had to pit. We just weren’t able to make up the time. It did get sloppy after the rain and there were a lot of riders stuck on some of the hills, which was tough at night.”
Everyone was keeping an eye on the AHRMA Dream Team that was constructed of some of the ‘80s and ‘90s fastest off-road racers. Terry Cunningham, Trampas Parker, Fred Hoess and Tommy Veator, all former champions, competed on wonderfully restored 1983 Husqvarna air-cooled motorcycles. Cunningham rode a 430 Husky Auto, a bike he helped make famous back in the day. The vets finished seventh overall, completing 50 laps, averaging 28 minutes and 51 seconds a lap.
“My race was pretty uneventful, just typical Alabama riding,” said Cunningham. “I was blessed by the Lord to get rain every time I went out to keep me cool.
Hoess started for the team. “I had a bit of a mechanical on lap one and that put us back right off the start,” Hoess said.
“A bit” was a seized engine that required a tow back to the pits. They were three laps down and dead last after one lap. Parker, a former world motocross champion, also riding a 430, ended up hammering out the most laps for the team with 16.
“By the time they got us back in the pits we were 97th overall,” said Parker. “We just wanted to get back in the race and try for a top 10.”
In the Ironman class, Jordan Whitmer, on a Kawasaki, took the win after completing 35 laps, and the Ironwomen-class win went to Caroline Kent, who knocked out 17 laps on her Team Somebody Help My Husband With The Babysitting Please GasGas.
By Kenny King
2021 Perry Mountain 24-Hour Challenge
Maplesville, Alabama,
RESULTS (June 5-6, 2021)
1. |
NAP/XC Gear Elite |
2. |
Blue Calf Semi-Factory Racing |
3. |
Law Tigers/Max Motorsports |
4. |
NAP/XC Gear 30+ |
5. |
Crazy’s From The South |