Gary Sutherlin has a great day in Utah; Ricky Brabec suffers a broken neck, other injuries.
FMF KTM support rider Gary Sutherlin didn’t get the best of starts but quickly worked his way to the front and stayed there to win the inaugural X-12 Virgin Ground Hare & Hound, round six of the Kenda/SRT AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series, in Snowville, Utah, today. Sutherlin’s became the first rider to claim three series win this season.
But the Utah round was tragic, as Sutherlin’s triumph was overshadowed after THR Motorsports/Precision Concepts/Bonanza Plumbing’s Ricky Brabec crashed hard early in the race suffering multiple serious injuries, including a broken C-4 vertebra in his neck a broken foot, a broken hand and a broken collarbone. Fortunately, suffered no paralysis in the crash, and he is expected to recover, although there’s no timeline currently. It’s a tough break for America’s best hope for a potential Dakar Rally contender in 2016, although the outcome could have been much worse.
In the aftermath of the crash, Brabec took to his Facebook page to post the following message: “Thank you to all my friends and family for keeping me in your prayers and checking in on me daily. I really appreciate the support and nice messages sent my way. I will also like to thank the racers who had stopped for me a from what I remember Skyler Howes and a few others I was told who stopped, Jared Schlapia & Brendan Crow! Thank you for getting me out of the desert safely and for the ones I forgot and don’t remember I’m terribly sorry but thank you fir the support! Tyler Loup is here with me now taking care if my house hold needs and keeping me safe, thank you!”
With Brabec’s DNF, FMF KTM Factory Off-road Racing Team’s Ivan Ramirez took over the series points lead, unofficially, with 144 points after netting a fourth-place finish. Ironically, his move into the series lead comes on the heels of his worst finish of the season.
Based at Darin Peterson’s ranch outside of town, the X-12 Virgin Ground Hare & Hound lived up to its name. All three loops were on private land and had never been raced on before this event. In many places, only cattle and local wildlife had laid tracks before promoter Ron Dillon and his crew put up arrows and ribbon to mark the course.
Ramirez pulled the holeshot when the race commenced, and he exited the long, plowed, dusty field with a clear margin over Ryan Smith, Jacob Argubright and the rest of the pack. Normally that would be clear advantage, but the trouble with leading over virgin terrain is that, with no clearly defined tracks to follow, being out front and searching for the trail is tough work that almost negated the thick cloud of dust that is usually kicked up by the leader. After some fast two-track, the course dove into sage that tended to hide rocks which could cause a crash instantly.
“I had a few close calls and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to slow down!’ ” Ramirez said. “If you’re pushing that hard, you’re going to crash. I knew Ricky was behind me. I was like, ‘Those guys can go ahead and I’ll just pace myself, and I’ll be fine.’ I just wanted to keep it on two wheels and not risk anything.”
Conversely, Sutherlin had to go for broke after suffering a DNF in round, which forced him to miss round three with injuries as a result.
“I had a really bad start—I think I was out of the top 10 right at the end [of the bomb], but luckily I kind of hairballed through the sage brush [to make some passes right away],” Sutherlin said. “Normally, I don’t really push too hard [to make risky passes], but I knew today it was dusty, there was a lot of tall grass with hidden rocks, so I really paid attention to what the bike was doing. If I felt it was kind of smooth-ish, I’d charge as much as I could. Me and Ivan went back and forth a couple times, and it was good. It was scary!”
But Sutherlin finally made a pass on Ramirez and motored away. After that, Sutherlin’s biggest nemesis became the weather. After starting out warm, dry and dusty (and this despite a significant storm the day before), clouds gathered, the temperature dropped and it began to rain hard as Sutherlin headed out on the 20-mile third loop. Wind and hail also added to the challenge, possibly leading to confusion when the course came back onto the bomb run, a plowed field. Sutherlin couldn’t find any course markings and lost time searching futilely. Eventually, he found a bystander relaxing in his truck, banged on the driver’s window and asked where to go, then retraced the earlier course back to the pits and the finish line.
“I think they gained a little bit of time [on me], but I still had a comfortable lead,” Sutherlin said. “It was definitely nerve-wracking!”
Remarkably, Rockstar Energy/FMF/Moose Racing Husqvarna’s Jacob Argubright ran second for much of the race—his first since breaking his wrist at the series finale last year, which kept him off his bike for 7 long months. The last few miles saw him also lose the course, which allowed Purvines Racing Beta’s Axel Pearson to take advantage and steal second place, a career best finish. Argubright held on for third, just 11 seconds back.
Meanwhile, Ramirez rode a relatively careful race to finish fourth, ahead of Pearson’s teammate, Nick Burson, who finished 4 seconds behind Ramirez in fifth place.
Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna’s Dalton Shirey topped the FMF 250cc Pro class for the fifth time this season, finishing sixth overall. Smith, Brandon Prieto, Open A winner Kyle Tichenor and FMF 250cc Pro runner-up Taylor Stevens rounded out the top 10 overall.
2015 Kenda/SRT AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series
X-12 Virgin Ground Hare & Hound
Darin Peterson Ranch
Snowville, Utah
Results: June 7, 2015 (Round 6 of 8)
Overall
1. Gary Sutherlin-KTM (first Open Pro)
2. Axel Pearson-Bet
3. Jacob Argubright-Hus
4. Ivan Ramirez-KTN
5. Nick Burson-Bet
6. Dalton Shirey-Hus (first 250 Pro)
7. Ryan Smith-Yam
8. Brandon Prieto-KTM
9. Kyle Tichenor-Hus (first A Open)
10. Taylor Stevents-Hus
2015 Kenda/SRT AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series Point Standings (After 6 of 8 rounds)
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