2022 Lucerne Hare & Hound Results

Mark Kariya | October 25, 2022

Dalton Shirey (3 Bros./Hatch Racing Husqvarna), who wrapped up the series championship at the previous round, didn’t even have to show up to the eighth and final round of the AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series, Presented by FMF. But that, of course, didn’t even enter Shirey’s mind and instead of merely going through the motions, he rode the 100-mile-long California 100 55th Annual National Hare & Hound hosted by the 100s Motorcycle Club in the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Area as if the title was on the line.

Dalton Shirey at 2022 Lucerne Hare & Hound — **A flag-to-flag lead netted Dalton Shirey his fourth win of the season, though he’d clinched the championship at the previous round and is now a two-time champ.**

Photos by Mark Kariya

Leading from start to finish, he completed the three loops (40, 35 and 25 miles long) in two hours, 27 minutes and 13 seconds, finishing comfortably ahead of LiquiMoly Beta’s Zane Roberts with Argubright Design Co. Kawasaki rider Jacob Argubright rounding out the podium.

“I definitely wanted to come out here and win again (making it four wins over the eight rounds, the last three in a row) to show I won this championship for a reason,” the FMF/P-Worx/Troy Lee Designs-backed Husky FX 450-mounted Shirey said.

“I couldn’t say my day was flawless because I was blowing turns,” the two-time champ admitted. “It was pretty hard to navigate today—a little bit—because there was a lot of virgin cross-grain and stuff that zig-zagged a lot so you’d blow the turn pretty easily.”

Roberts and his Dunlop/DP Brakes/Klim 480 RR also had some difficulty following the course, high winds blowing course marking away during Saturday’s Youth races a possible explanation.

“I feel like I lost most of my time finding my way in the Cougar Buttes area,” he said. “Overall, I’m pretty happy with the way I rode.”

Clayton Roberts at 2022 Lucerne Hare & Hound — **Clayton Roberts finished out the year by winning on home ground—his second career victory in Pro 250—though runner-up Carter Klein earned the number-one plate.**

While most of his time nowadays is geared towards funding his Dakar Rally effort, former series champ Argubright parlayed a good start aboard his Team Green/Golden Tyre/Fly Racing KX450X into what ended up a solitary ride to third, though he did have Roberts in his sights early on.

“I’m racing the bike that’s for sale to get me to Dakar, and I almost holeshotted. I was in second, then Zane got around me,” Argubright said. “From there, I tried to keep pace and after that, the story just gets more boring riding by myself.”

Defending series champ Joe Wasson ran the number-one plate aboard his LiquiMoly Beta/Evans Coolant/Fly Racing 480 RR one final time en route to fourth, placing him second in final series points behind Shirey, 211-145. Roberts was third at 138.

S.W. Roberts Construction GasGas-mounted Clayton Roberts placed fifth overall, making him the Pro 250 winner for the second time. He fought the entire race to keep Carter Klein and his Korr/3 Bros. KTM at bay. Though Klein was runner-up on the day, he took the class championship from current plate-holder Corbin McPherson who was third in class and seventh overall on his Kenda Husqvarna FC 250. Klein earned the 2022 Pro 250 Championship with 215 points to McPherson’s 185, Roberts third with 174.

Gustin Motorsports YZ250-mounted Brian Whiteside finished eighth overall followed by Open Pro Brody Honea aboard his High Sierra Fire Protection KX450 and Modified Machine Works YZ250 rider Tucker Hopkins, the fifth Pro 250.

The Pro Women’s Championship went down to the wire with just a handful of points separating Rachel Stout, defending champ Britney Gallegos and Ava Silvestri. Basically, whoever did best at the 100s National would claim the title.

Gallegos and Stout went back and forth in the day’s most hotly contested race, but in the end, it was Stout earning the championship with a winning ride to 23rd overall aboard her Full Factory Offroad/Ryno Power/Fly Racing KTM 350 XC-F.

Pro Women racers at 2022 Lucerne Hare & Hound — Defending Pro Women’s champ Britney Gallegos and challenger Rachel Stout had a furious battle all day that saw them not much farther apart than this at any time. In the end, though, Stout had the advantage, giving her the title by one point over Gallegos.

“I stressed over it for weeks,” Stout said. “Mentally, I knew I was capable of it if I was able to ride my own race and just did the best that I could. I did a lot of mental prepping. I did ice baths every night, day and night staying out in the cold just trying to get my mind right.”

Gallegos had a slight advantage in the rocks, but found she’d guessed wrong on suspension settings on her Colorado Recycling/Elite Offroad/Fly Racing Husky FX 350. Having set it up for rocks, Gallegos found that Stout had the edge in the more plentiful whoops; no matter how hard she tried in the technical sections, Stout would pull away in the faster going. A crash reportedly gave Silvestri a hole too deep to dig out of and she had to accept third in class. The final points saw Stout edge Gallegos, 204-203, with Silvestri settling for third at 194.