Updated October 23, 2007   Email   Print

AMA Hare Scrambles Series race reports

Round 10:
Jason Raines clinches title

Jason Raines clinched the AMA National Hare Scrambles title with his overall win at the 10th and final round of the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series, the RockStar Classic in Globe, Arizona, October 21-22.

"I was expecting to see flat desert for miles," Raines admitted of his first desert race with Arizona Motorcycle Riders Association, "but there sure were a lot of rocks! I was surprised on how tight and technical it was."

Raines took the holeshot but was quickly passed by Justin Williamson, another AMA National contender. Raines was able to battle back through the Endurocross-inspired section, gain the lead and maintain it to the finish. Russell Pearson and Jordan Brandt rounded out the top three.

Raines also complimented AMRA and RockStars for putting together a great National-caliber course. The course consisted of eight miles of rough and rocky terrain nestled in a spectator-friendly canyon in the small mining town of Globe. --By Kara Hutchinson

Round 7

The Knobby Acres AMA National Hare Scramble was conducted on September 8-9 with 495 riders participating. The youth and quad support classes were run on Saturday with the AMA Nationally recognized bike classes conducted on Sunday. The course was 14.5 miles of natural terrain and was a true national level hare scrambles event with every type of challenge riders would expect.

Saturday's events were dry and dusty making the challenging course what every rider dreams about. However, as Saturday night came, so did the rain and it never stopped. By the end of the day on Sunday, almost 4 inches of rain had fallen, making the challenging course a difficult one for everyone.

The eight entries in the Knobby Acres Pro class wrestled their machines through 4 laps, with 4 out of 8 eventually finishing all 4 laps.

Jason Raines wasted no time setting the pace on the first lap - turning a 43:32 lap time. The next rider through the checkpoint at the end of the first lap was Robbie Jenks, rolling through with a 43:43 lap time. Justin Williamson filled in the number 3 spot, 0:07 further back. Andrew Millier was next through the gates, followed by Brett Ward, who was on the gas, determined to move up a position (or two) in the next lap.

There was a new leader at the end of lap number 2, with Williamson taking the lead away from Raines, who came through the gates in second place, 15 seconds back.

Jenks was having troubles on this lap - dropping from second to third place, and trailing by 1:33. Andrew Miller refused to sit back and was in fourth place, trailing the third-place rider by 1:55. Brett Ward was doing some brilliant riding, coming through the gates in fifth place, trying to eliminate that 7:39 deficit.

One rider dropped out sometime before the end of lap 3, with 6 riders completing lap 3.

Still on the gas, Williamson remained in the lead during lap 3, staying ahead of Raines, who was trailing by 3:41. Spectators saw some brilliant riding as they watched Jenks come through the gates in third place, trying to eliminate a 1:03 deficit.

Four riders made it to lap 4, with Williamson still in the lead and the rest of the pack picking the track debris from their goggles and chest protectors. Raines came through the checkpoint in second place, saying, "Step aside folks, I'm on a roll."

At that point there was 8:17 separation between the number 2 spot and the first-place rider. In the end, it was a great race with two different riders, but it was Williamson taking the win with an average speed of 18.45 mph.

Round 5

Former AMA National Hare Scrambles Champion Jason Raines made it two in a row on his comeback tour. Raines, after a one year hiatus coming off a leg injury Raines grabbed his second national win in as many tries in 2007.

The AMA National Hare Scrambles Series returned to Rausch Creek in combination with a Pennsylvania State Hare Scramble Series round. There were over 200 entries for the national, in addition to morning youth racing and an afternoon ATV race.

National GNCC #2 Chris Borich from Subury, Pennsylvania, would take the afternoon ATV race, covering four laps in just over 1 hour and 34 minutes, followed closely by Pennsylvania native Rob Hertz, and with Andy Lagzdins from Baltimore rounding out the podium.

In morning youth racing, there were be separate races for the Pee Wee motorcycles and ATVs on their own course while the older youth raced on an abbreviated version of the 7.5-mile national course. GNCC racer Cody Mummert from Hanover, Pennsylvania, would take the overall win in just over an hour, followed by Nick Davis and then Evan Houston.

Right before noon, the green flag dropped for the main event. The day’s format allowed for a three-hour race for A- and B-class riders with the C-class competitors pulling off after two hours of racing. Many of the top pros made the trip to central Pennsylvania for the Rausch Creek event. This area has been home to off-road riding and sanctioned competition for decades and many of today’s top racers grew up riding here. The terrain is very rocky and hilly and with the lack of rain that the East Coast has experienced this year, the event was very dusty, making visibility hard at times.

KTM’s Justin Williamson grabbed the holeshot and was first into the woods, followed closely by Yamaha’s Barry Hawk. At the end of lap one, it would be Hawk coming into the barrels first, followed by Williamson, Raines, and then local pro Ryan Rodgers. The leaders would charge hard during the entire race but the running order at the front would not change a lot. Williamson fell off pace, eventually finishing seventh, with the majority of the three-hour trek being commanded by Yamaha’s Barry Hawk, then Jason Raines and 17-year-old Thad Duvall.

With a half lap to go, the leaders would stop for fuel with Hawk getting out of the pro pits maybe 10 to 15 seconds ahead of Raines. In talking with Raines after the event, he said it was Hawk's race to win. He said the two biggest problems of the day were the dust and the many lapped riders they had to contend with.

With only a few miles to go on the last lap, they encountered those lappers and Raines took advantage of the opportunity and was able to squeak by. At the checkers, it was Raines with Hawk's front tire locked onto his rear with Duvall almost two minutes back.

The day's event was a success and very fruitful for Team Yamaha. They filled the podium with their past champions and their up-and-comers, there was a two-stroke bike and two four-strokes on the deck and I believe the future looks very bright for them both in terms of talent and product.

For complete event results you can check out www.eventscoring.com and to view over 800 photos from today’s race, check out: www.mcracingaction.com. -- By Jim Bull

Round 4

Yamaha-mounted Jason Raines (above) returned to form at the Rock Hill AMA National Hare Scrambles on July 8 in Lebanon, Oregon.

The event, which coincided with the AMA West Coast National Youth Hare Scrambles Championship Series, saw 200 riders battle dust, technical rocky terrain and grass-tracks in pursuit of victory. The deceptively difficult course afforded riders no rest time and plenty of challenges.

Raines’ first lap found him in fourth place. Not willing to concede, he methodically worked his way to the front for the win.

KTM rider Justin Williamson held on for second just 26 seconds behind Raines and Beta-mounted Jordan Brandt finished in third, only 8 seconds behind Williamson.

The race venue, on private land owned by the Lester family, offered spectators a variety of spots to observe plenty of racing action.

Round 2

Local legend Michael Lafferty (above) took the early lead on his KTM and never looked back as he won the Tri-County Sportsmen National Hare Scramble in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, on April 22.

Pulling to the front for all five laps of the 13.1-mile course, he ran the course in 2:37.06. In a close second was Justin Williamson of Florida on a KTM, who was only 30 seconds behind at the checkered flag.

Taking third was another local rider, Wally Palmer, on a Kawasaki, turning a time of 2:39.09. Defending 2006 AMA National Hare Scramble Champion Robbie Jenks on his KTM took fourth-place honors in 2:40.30.

All the riders were quite pleased with the mix of terrain of this area. The course included three basic sections of open motocross pit, tight pines and a fast section through open oak forest.

Round 1

Woods lives not too far away and used to race motocross at Hollister SVRA. Unlike most years, conditions were really pretty good after an overnight shower. It's usually a mudbath. The track was sloppy at first, but it got nice in most places as the race wore on.

Woods had a decent start and passed Robbie Jenks (KTM), the defending series champ and last year's third-place finisher here, after a couple laps. Then he pulled away to win by almost two minutes.

Jenks, of course, felt at home in the muddy conditions and was pleased to start so strongly for a West Coast race.

Local favorite Patrick Garrahan (KTM) came from behind to sneak into the final spot on the podium late in the race, beating out enduro champion Russell Bobbitt (KTM) by just over 30 seconds. Former enduro champ Mike Lafferty (KTM) rounded out the top five, 23 seconds behind Bobbitt, and was the second thumper behind Woods.

© 2007, American Motorcyclist Association