2024 AMA Hare & Hound National Round 5 Results

Mark Kariya | September 17, 2024

Plain and simple, Liqui Moly Beta’s Zane Roberts, said, “The strategy for today was win. I knew today was the day that was kind of going to be the big decider on what that last round’s going to look like. I figured if I could come here and set the tone today, then the last round could kind of free yourself up a little bit and take a little pressure off.”

After a bad start, Fiji Water/ Pirelli/ Klim 480 RR-mounted Roberts rallied back to take the lead on the second of three loops and triumph at the Silver State Trail Blazers’ 13th annual Muley Run, round five of the AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series, Presented by FMF. He thus became the first to get two overall victories this season and padded his points lead over Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Off-Road Team’s Austin Walton, 124-108.

Zane Roberts at Muley Run H&H Photo Mark Kariya — **A steady pace saw Zane Roberts recover from a sleepy start, take the lead on the second of three challenging loops, and become the first two-time winner of the 2024 campaign.**

Photos Mark Kariya

Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR) Honda’s Preston Campbell returned from injury to finish a strong second and sits fourth in points at 82 (20 behind Joe Wasson, Roberts’ teammate, who was sixth), while 3Bros/ Hatch Racing GasGas rider Giacomo Redondi enjoyed an excellent ride to third.

Walton and his Motorex/ Dunlop/ Fly Racing FX 450 got a great start down the sandwash bomb run that had quite a bit of water in places—not your usual desert race feature—followed by Campbell’s Pro Circuit/ Pirelli/ Fly Racing CRF450RX, Roberts, Walton’s teammate Dalton Shirey and the rest of the field.

When Walton and Campbell missed a turn, Roberts took the lead, though he believed Walton was still out front and setting a torrid pace. With the type of terrain in the area, Roberts didn’t feel comfortable attacking and settled into a quick but sane pace, saying, “Kind of the whole time I was waiting for somebody to catch me because I’m like, ‘I’m not going that fast.’ Here, you couldn’t push that much. It was just kind of ride at 85 percent. I tried pushing in a couple spots and ended up in some trees.

“I’m also just starting to have more confidence that I’m fit enough and fast enough that at the end of a race, I can make up whatever time I need. That also plays into not panicking too much at the beginning if I’m not out front.”

Now riding with a little extra hardware in the wrist he broke, Campbell’s first National back after missing round four couldn’t have gone much better. “The start really helped me out today and put me in a good position for the rest of the day,” Campbell said. “I was able to make a pass on [Walton] when he missed the course, and I led for—I don’t know—half a mile out on loop two, then Zane got me almost instantly, and he was gone. After that, I just rode by myself in second all day.”

Sam Pretscherer at Muley Run H&H Photo Mark Kariya — **After Sam Pretscherer addressed a bent sprocket, the 2019 class champ took over for the Pro 250 win.**

As he focuses on competing in the series full-time next year, Redondi nearly missed the race, which he thought was on Sunday. When he double-checked and discovered it was a one-day race only on Saturday, he and his mechanic jumped in his van, double-timed it to Caliente on Friday night and got a few hours of sleep before starting the race on his Acerbis/Arma/Seven-backed EX 450F.

Fifth after the bomb, he slipped to sixth on the 36-mile second loop but came into his own on the final loop, which was 33 miles long, passing Walton, local favorite Axel Pearson (who would DNF) and, finally, reigning series champ Dalton Shirey.

“It was a nice experience and the best training that I could do today,” Redondi said.

While not back to full race fitness after his injury at round three, Shirey hung on for fourth aboard his FMF/ VP Racing Fuels/ Sidi-backed FX 450, five seconds ahead of Walton with Liqui Moly Beta’s Wasson just seven seconds further behind.

Dalton Shirey at Muley Run H&H Photo Mark Kariya — **Reigning series champ Dalton Shirey hung on for fourth place.**

Seventh overall and first Pro 250 went to Dallas Chidester (DC) Racing Kawasaki’s Chance Fullerton, the 2019 class champ working his way up for his first win of the season and stopping Sam Pretscherer’s win streak at four. The Precision Concepts Husqvarna rider had climbed through the pack to lead until he bent his rear sprocket after hitting a rock. The resulting thrown chain and trying to straighten the sprocket on the trail cost too much ground to regain and he had to settle for fifth in class, though he still leads the points chase with 136 while DJ Weber, the day’s Pro 250 runner-up, has 114.

Maxima/ Precision Concepts/ FXR KX250X-mounted Fullerton said, “Honestly, I got such a bad start that I was just picking people off left and right. I had to keep asking what position I was in because I was so far back, I had no clue.

“I caught up and I think Sam was leading and DJ was second. It was so hard to tell with the dust and everything, but from what I could tell, Sam had tipped over, and his chain came off, so he was playing with his chain. Then, just after that, DJ tipped over, and I went by him.”

Fullerton beat Weber and his Ride Shop/ Moto Master/ Troy Lee Designs 250 XC to the finish by just under six minutes while Alex Trapp aboard his Cricket Speakers/ AEO/ Moose Racing 250 XC claimed third Pro 250 and ninth overall, five minutes further back. JCR Honda-supported Nolan Cate rounded out the top 10 overall and was fourth Pro 250.

Nevada’s own Kyle Tichenor made his first start of the season a winning one in taking the Pro Vet 35+ victory on his J.D. Concrete/ Ogio/ Scott YZ450FX by nearly 14 minutes over class points leader Jason Gibbons with DC Racing Kawasaki’s Mike Jensen third.

Ty Woolslayer at Muley Run H&H Photo Mark Kariya — Multiple early spills put Ty Woolslayer far back, but she clawed her way back towards the front, and when a broken chain a few miles from the finish stopped leader Rachel Stout, Woolslayer went on to take her second Pro Women win of the season.

It appeared Rachel Stout was headed to her fourth Pro Women triumph of the season, but a broken chain with a few miles to go handed that top spot to a surprised Ty Woolslayer and her Woolslayer Racing/ Nitro Mousse/ Pure Adrenaline YZ250FX. Having dumped it several times, Woolslayer proved that it’s never over ’til it’s over. Beta-backed Britney Gallegos took second while Stout managed to eventually get to the finish for third. InnTeck KTM rider Stout remains the points leader over Woolslayer, 132-126, with Gallegos third at 101.