Round 3: Gorman Hare Scrambles
Courtesy of the National Hare and Hound Association
Photos by Mark Kariya
GORMAN, CA, MAR. 16-17, 2019
The Kenda/ SRT AMA West Hare Scrambles Championship Series, presented by MOJO Motosport, headed to Quail Canyon MX for the Gorman Hare Scrambles, hosted by the Prospectors Motorcycle Club. The weather could not have been better, with nearly 70-degree temperatures and the sun shining for the racers all weekend – exactly the opposite of the previous year. The Prospectors MC and the NHHA made sure the racers enjoyed the weekend.
Youth Classes
The Pee Wee class was the first one to take off of the start line on Saturday morning, as usual. Coming off of the first lap in the lead was Ayden Berry. However, Berry was not alone, as he had Levi Shade and Ian Passno racing only a few seconds behind him. Shade and Passno battled it out for second overall, with Shade taking the lead in this skirmish, finishing in second overall. Passno came in third.
The Pee Wee podium saw Ayden Berry on the top step, with Levi Shade as runner-up and Ian Passno in third.
The next race of the day was for the Micro Mini and Girls classes. The first to take off on the start line was Allison Hall, who was racing solo in the Girls class. Hall held the leading position up until lap three, when Lowe Lord gained an 11-second lead on her. Hall wasn’t going to give up her lead easily, though. She stole back the point position on lap five and remained in there to take the overall win.
For the Micro Mini class, Lord battled out for the lead with Waylon Honnold, who led in class until lap three, when Lord stole the lead in class and held it for the remainder of the race. Peyton Maas was racing in third in class, behind Honnold and Lord, but fell back to seventh when Jacob Jordan stole third. Jackson Adams threw himself into this mix as he raced from sixth in class to fourth overall on lap five. The Micro Mini podium featured winner Lowe Lord, runner-up Waylon Honnold and Jacob Jordan in third. The overall podium for this race saw a win from Allison Hall, with Lowe Lord in second and Waylon Honnold in third.
The last Youth race of the day featured the Big Wheel, Mini and Junior Mini classes.
Lane Forbes took the holeshot right off of the start line and held the leading position for the entire race, with Italo Ruggiero putting on the pressure behind him in second overall. Ruggiero raced into the scoring chute only seconds behind Forbes, coming in only one second behind the leader on lap five and three seconds behind him on lap six.
Seth Sadorra raced alongside Mini racer Jett Lessing for the third-overall position. Sadorra held that spot for the entirety of the race to round out the Big Wheel podium, next to Italo Ruggiero in second and Lane Forbes in first overall.
Jett Lessing raced within the top five to take the win for the Mini class, next to Gordon Tueber, who finished second in class and ninth overall for the race. Aden Edgar finished third in the Mini class to round out the Mini podium.
ATV Classes
To top off the racing on Saturday, the ATV classes lined up to race. To kick off the contest, Collin Duffy got out front into the lead. For the first two laps, Duffy held the point position but then fell behind to second overall, behind Tyler Wesolowski, for the next four laps. Unfortunately for Wesolowski, he ended his race early, putting Duffy back out front.
Coming from fifth overall to second overall in his first race ever, Daniel Gonzales was running second in the ATV B class, behind Duffy, who was also in the ATV B class. Behind these two in third overall was Darren Perina, who moved up from sixth place.
Collin Duffy won the ATV B class as well as the overall for this race. Daniel Gonzales came in second and Darren Perina was third.
As for the ATV C class, Brian Dunstan took the win, as well as fifth overall for the race.
Big Bikes
The first race of the day on Sunday for the Big Bikes was for the Women’s, Masters, Pioneer, Sportsmen all C classes.
For the first row off of the start line, Factory Beta’s Morgan Tanke took the holeshot, with Kaitlyn Jacobs right behind her. Coming through the scoring chute off of the first lap, Jacobs was now in the leading position, with Tanke in second, and Nick Guerrette in third overall and first in the Open C class.
At the start of the second lap, Jacobs held her lead, with Tanke still behind her in second and Sharon Mowell now in third overall. Gina Alvarez was racing in seventh overall at this time, but she was going much too fast to remain there for very long.
Heading out onto lap three, Tanke had fallen back to sixth, with Mowell now in second and Alvarez in third overall. It was not long before Alvarez was going to catch the frontrunners; she would finish second overall, with Mowell in third overall, and Open C racer Nick Guerrette in fourth overall and first in class.
The Pro Women’s podium was topped by Kaitlyn Jacobs, with Gina Alvarez in second and Sharon Mowell in third.
The Open C class saw a win from Nick Guerrette after battling it out in the top five, with Camron Wilson in second and Kyle Perez in third.
For the Masters class, Craig Lane took first in class and ninth overall to land himself a spot in the top 10 for the race. Rick Long finished second and James Miller in third to round out the Masters podium.
The Women’s A class in this race saw a win from Cambree Rincon, with Laci Olivas in second and Ava Silvestri in third.
The final event of the day would see an awesome race in the Pro classes.
The green flag was waved, and 3Bros/ SRT/ Husqvarna-backed Dalton Shirey was in the lead around the first turn off of the start – and he would hold an untouchable the lead for the remainder of the race. Factory Beta racers were running seconds behind each other on the motocross track at the beginning of lap two, with Chance Fullerton in second, Max Gerston racing in third and Joe Wasson in fourth.
With Shirey remaining in the lead, it was a battle for the second-overall spot between teammates Gerston and Wasson. When they both stopped to pit, Gerston was in second and Wasson in third, with their other teammate Fullerton in fourth overall.
When the white flag was thrown, the racing got even closer than before. Coming through the scoring chute, Gerston, Wasson, Fullerton and now Kendall Norman were racing within seconds of one another. Racing on the motocross track, where things were more visible, Gerston was able to see just how close this battle to the finish was going to be. Not only was the pressure on, with such a tight lineup of racers all only seconds apart, the track was also torn apart, making line selection that much more important, as riders had to pay attention, as there was very little room for error at this point of the race.
Taking himself out of this battle, Wasson’s bike stalled in the sand wash, putting Gerston, Fullerton and Norman at an advantage for the podium positions.
The checkered flag was out for Dalton Shirey’s victory, and the spectators anxiously awaited the next two racers. Gerston finished second overall, next to his teammate Fullerton in third overall. Kendall Norman would finish the race in fourth overall, only five seconds behind Fullerton. Wasson finished fifth overall.
The Pro class was not the only one to see a heavy battle, as 3Bros Racing-backed Nick Stover and Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts put the pressure on each other the entire race. Although Stover was not making it very easy, Roberts remained in the lead for the Pro 250cc class. Stover found himself falling further behind on the last lap, making the end of the race a battle for the Pro 250cc class a little less competitive.
Behind these two, in third in the Pro 250cc class, Dillon Sheppard – who also landed a third overall in Prescott, Arizona, at round two – would race his way through the pack to finish third overall again. Sheppard found it hard to find his comfort zone out on the course but nonetheless fought to secure himself a consecutive spot on the rostrum.
The Pro 250cc podium was topped by Zane Roberts, next to Stover in second and Sheppard in third.
All of our racers enjoyed the hard work that the Prospectors MC put into the race and the course, and the NHHA looks forward to seeing its racers at round four in Shasta, California, April 13 and 14, at the event hosted by the Redding Dirt Riders.
Gorman Hare Scrambles
Gorman, California
Results: March 16-17, 2019 (Round 3)
OVERALL: 1. Dalton Shirey (Hsq); 2. Max Gerston (Bet); 3. Chance Fullerton (Bet); 4. Kendall Norman (Hon); 5. Joseph Wasson (Bet); 6. Zane Roberts (Bet); 7. Axel Pearson (Yam); 8. Nick Stover (KTM); 9. Justin Bonita (Yam); 10. Devan Bolin (KTM).