X-12 AMA National Hare and Hound
X-12 Ranch at Exit 12
Courtesy of the Big Nasty Hillclimb
The X-12 AMA National Hare and Hound is coming up Saturday, June 6, at Exit 12 in Snowville, Utah. It’ll be big, because it is an AMA National; it is also a USRA (Utah) and a SIDRA (Idaho) points event, and it is running on mostly virgin, never-before-raced-on ground. And just for fun, we’re running an evening hillclimb there on June 5, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Please go to www.moto-tally.com/NHHA/PreEntry.aspx for online big-bike registration, or to www.moto-tally.com/nhha/youth/preentry.aspx for online minibike registration – or, for those who want to do mail-in registration, go to x12events.com/Data/Sites/7/mail-in-h&h-entry-form.pdf for a mail-in flyer. You should also look at this form if you want clarity on classes. You will save money by pre-registering online or by mail, as opposed to signing up at the event.
As for the Friday evening hillclimb on June 5, the Stock Big-Bike class is already sold out, but there are still some spots open for the Minis, Pros and four-wheelers. To register for the Friday evening hillclimb, please go to https://bignasty.webconnex.com/X-12-AMAlDesertRace-Fun-Hillclimb.
Apologies: Online registration for this event is still not quite ready to open, but it will be very soon!
Here is a breakdown of the course:
Minibikes run on their own special 5- to 10-mile loop in the morning before the big bikes run. Pee Wees race for 45 minutes, and bigger minis go 1.5 hours.
As for the big bikes and four-wheelers, loop one is 31 miles long and designed so that four-wheelers can ride it too. Actually, the loop itself is 29 miles, but there’s an extra two miles used just for the start, so that is where the “31 miles” comes from. This loop is pretty open and pretty fast and pretty easy. It has one uphill that might challenge C riders a bit, but overall it is fast, fun and rolling.
Loop two is 37 miles long and it is super tight, with lots of cedar trees and gullies and first-, second- and third-gear stuff. Everyone rides loop two except four-wheelers, who will be done at the end of loop one.
Loop three is for A and B riders only. (The C riders will be done at the end of loop two.) Loop three is straight up and straight down – big, big climbs and big, big descents… pretty hairy stuff, and almost this entire loop is virgin ground, with trees and tall, tall sagebrush. It is short, at 15 miles, but most guys will be glad that it is short. This loop will give you some new bench-racing stories!
So, the total distances are:
Minibikes – a 5- to 10-mile loop, with the race lasting between 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the class.
Four-wheelers – 31 miles.
C riders – 68 miles.
A and B riders – 83 miles.
This is a pretty short event, but it is interesting and extremely varied terrain, with 90-mph sections in places and 5-mph sections in others. The farthest distance between fuel stops is 37 miles. If you are planning on running in the top 50 overall, you might want to wire your shift and brake levers like we did in the 1970s and ’80s; otherwise, a sagebrush might just bend or rip one or both of them off. We promised you that X-12 is old-school!
Idaho’s largest motorcycle event, the Big Nasty Hillclimb, returns for year 13 on September 18 through 20, with some wild new stuff like a Pro bull-ride and the return of the four-wheeler mud bog in Tom’s Ditch. Online registration for it will open on June 1. Visit bignastyhillclimb.com soon for more details.