SRT Husqvarna’s Trystan Hart came from a poor start, found a way to pass people in the tight trails and won the Wilseyville Hare Scrambles hosted by the Nor Cal Motorcycle Club, the 10th and final round in the Kenda/SRT AMA West Hare Scrambles Regional Championship Series.
In triumphing for the third time this season, he also became the winningest rider, though missing half the races due to previous commitments back in Canada left him “only” fifth in final series points.
Grey Area KTM’s Devan Bolin claimed second with SRT Husqvarna rider J.T. Baker rounding out the podium in his Pro-class debut after clinching the FMF Pro 250 title at the previous round. The series championship saw Beta’s Max Gerston take his first title via a controlled ride to fourth on the day in epic conditions on the hilly, tight trails the private area holds.
Having finished seventh (which was good enough to claim the Super EnduroCross Junior Championship and second overall for the series) in Ontario, California, the night before didn’t sit well with Hart so he channeled that frustration into a drive through the night to reach Wilseyville with only a couple hours of sleep. That may have also slowed his reflexes as his start was among his poorest this season.
“I think I was dead last,” Hart chuckled. “It was tough to pass because it was so tight so the first lap was just following, following, and the only time I got someone was when someone made a mistake so that made it slow.”
But no one was able to lead for long or check out, and Hart patiently made his way to the front and once there, he kept stretching his lead, though two big crashes on the last lap had him a bit worried that Bolin might catch him. As it was, though, Bolin seemed more concerned about completing the race.
“I knew I was out of shape, so I stood up, and people kept wrecking in front of me,” Bolin said. “I eventually got in the lead. I didn’t want to be there, so I dropped back and let a couple guys by me. They were battling pretty hard, and I could just key off their lines, save energy. The last lap I just put it all out so I didn’t get caught.”
Hart completed four laps of the approximately 15-mile-long course in two hours, 53 minutes and 58 seconds. Bolin finished second in 2:55:11, and Baker’s 2:57:29 placed him third. Gerston finished fourth in 2:59:30 and ended up with 219 points for the season.
“I would’ve liked to have won it, and I probably could’ve, but I was trying to be smart and I just wanted to get through it,” Gerston said. “I’m not going to play the coulda, woulda, shoulda game. I had a blast; I was really enjoying myself, and I just wanted to make sure me and my bike and everything got to the the finish line in one big, nice piece so I can put a big number-one plate on my bike and drive home and be able to sleep tonight.”
His primary rival for the championship was Purvines DA8 Racing Yamaha’s Nick Burson, but Wilseyville turned out to be another race marred by bad luck. While waiting at a bottleneck, SRT KTM’s Steven Godman banzaied past but went sideways as he passed Burson, damaging the YZ450FX’s front brake. With the hilly terrain making both brakes a necessity, Burson pitted to replace the entire system and made his way back up to 12th overall by the end.
Godman finished fifth overall followed by FMF Pro 250 winner Patrick Garrahan, EMT Racing KTM’s Conatser (who’d clinched second FMF Pro 250 last month and, like Baker, entered the Pro class), Gas Gas rider Joey Fiasconaro, Purvines DA8 Racing Yamaha’s Axel Pearson and FMF Pro 250 runner-up Dillon Sheppard. Burson and Fiasconaro finished the season with 184 points apiece, Burson’s two wins for the year besting the single victory Fiasconaro owned. Pearson took fourth with 178 with Hart sitting fifth at 115.
For more results, visit www.westharescramble.com.
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