Ricky Brabec bags the makeup Kenda/SRT AMA Hare & Hound Rattle Snake 100 National Hare & Hound in New Mexico.
Story and Photos by Mark Kariya
Ricky Brabec took a huge step towards regaining the championship he won in 2014 by running away with the Gas It Off-road Racing Series’ Rattlesnake 100, Presented by Team R&S Racing, in Española, New Mexico, Sunday.
The Johnny Campbell Racing Honda rider now enjoys a 33-point cushion over his closest rival, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Off-road Team’s Jacob Argubright, who was third today after winning round two. Purvines Racing Beta’s Nick Burson split the two in second, his first series finish since earning third at the opener.
The Rattlesnake 100 served as round four of the Kenda/SRT AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series, though it wasn’t on the schedule until a few weeks ago. Previously, a new venue in Utah on June 11 was going to serve as round four, but a land-use issue forced the cancellation of that race a couple weeks before and it appeared as though the series would be a seven-round one this year. After about a week of inquiries, the Rattlesnake 100 became the new round four, though it would be like no other race in the series. Due to BLM regulations, there would be no mass start, for one. Instead, each class had its own row, though the starts remained dead-engine.
Even more unusual was the limit on trails allowed to be used for the race, yielding a single loop 25 miles long. To get the requisite number of miles, competitors would do that loop a number of times, depending on their class; the Pros and A riders faced four laps. The average Hare & Hound normally features loops between 35-70 miles and it’s rare for the same trail to be covered twice. And perhaps the biggest difference was anyone who wanted to pay a $15 fee could pre-ride the loop on Saturday before the kids raced, with some guys going two laps.
Brabec had his reservations going into the race—the first National hare & hound in the state in recent memory, if ever, saying, “Nothing of it is hare & hound but the dead-engine start, I guess.”
Argubright saw it as befittingly challenging as your average National Hare & Hound.
“People say it’s a hare scrambles—and technically it is—but it’s still a Hare & Hhound,” Argubright said. “It’s still gnarly. It was four [laps], and it got choppy and beat up and up and down. It was the ‘easiest’ tough race because there was nothing [technically] tough on it, but it was so tough! It was physically taxing, for sure.”
After getting the holeshot, Argubright spent most of the first lap dueling with Brabec before finally conceding the lead to the 2014 champion on the third lap, the Husky rider going down in a tricky section and twisting his knee badly. Brabec was in front at the time and thought Argubright was still close behind him.
“I rode my ass off because I thought he [Argubrght] was right there behind me,” Brabec said. “I guess he made a mistake and went down.”
Charging to the checkered flag, Brabec was surprised when he had to wait nine minutes and 30 seconds before the next rider came in, and he was more surprised that it was Burson, not Argubright. After a good start, Burson rider had problems
“I was right behind [Argubright off the start], then I crashed on the first lap,” Burson said. “I struggled to ride the rest of the first lap. I actually got passed [by local star Travis Porter] and went back to fourth. I stopped [at the end of the first lap] and got gas and got some new goggles and just kind of regrouped and started riding better.”
When he came upon the noticeably slower Argubright on the last lap, the Husky rider offered no resistance and let the Beta-mounted Burson past to happily finish second. Argubright also got passed by LG Electric Yamaha-mounted Ryan Smith, who for a few moments thought he’d earned a trip to the podium, but then he slid out not long afterwards, and that trip will have to wait for another day. Still, he wasn’t too upset with fourth, just 6 seconds behind Argubright, as it keeps Smith a solid third in points.
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/Precision Concepts Yamaha’s Justin Morgan settled for fifth; he’d held fourth on the second lap (which would’ve tied his best-to-date finish from round three), but the heat exhaustion he suffered last week at Last Dog Standing lingered, and he couldn’t hold Smith at bay. Chidester Transport Racing Yamaha’s Joe Wasson won the FMF Pro 250 division for the third round running, this time finishing sixth overall, while local hero Porter acquitted himself well in his National debut, claiming seventh overall after running third on lap one.
Grant Statley took the Open A win by finishing eighth overall followed by FMF Pro 250s Nick Stover and Tyler Lynn.
2016 Kenda/SRT AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series
Rattle Snake 100
Fun Valley OHV Area
Espanola, New Mexico
Results: June 26, 2016 (Round 4 of 8)
Overall
1. Ricky Brabec-Hon
2. Nick Burson-Bet
3. Jacob Argubright-Hus
4. Ryan Smith-Yam
5. Justin Morgan-Ya
6. Joseph Wasson-Yam (first 250 Pro)
7. Travis Porter-KTM
8. Grant Statley-Yam (first A Open)
9. Nick Stover-KTM
10. Tyler Lynn-Yam
2016 Kenda/SRT AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series (after 4 of 8 rounds)
1. Ricky Brabec-110/2 wins
2. Jacob Argubright-77/1 win
3. Ryan Smith-64
4. Joseph Wasson-59
5. Justin Morgan-49
6. Nick Burson-46
Axel Pearson-46
8. Nick Stover-37
9. Gary Sutherlin-30/1 win
Ivan Ramirez-30
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