Baylor Wins Enduro Title, Caselli Takes H&H Win, 2013 National Enduro And Arenacross Schedules And World Trials! – The Weekly Dirt: October 17, 2012

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Alan Randt, of the National Enduro Promotions Group, awards Stu Baylor with the national championship trophy. Photo by Shan Moore.

Steward Baylor wrapped up the 2012 AMA Rekluse National Enduro title with one round remaining on the schedule after claiming his sixth win of the season at the Muddobbers National Enduro this past weekend – round nine of the series in Matthews, Indiana.
Baylor came into the Indiana race with a commanding lead in the series point standings, the Fly Racing/RidePG.com/Genuine Dirt Racer/WP Racing USA-backed KTM rider needing only to finish ahead of eight-time champ Michael Lafferty to clinch the title.
When all was said and done, Baylor topped the muddy and slick 75-mile race by 39 seconds over Nick Fahringer to secure the victory, and the title. Meanwhile, Lafferty finished the race in third.

Photo by Shan Moore.

While we’re on the topic of the national enduro series, the National Enduro Promotions Group this week announced the 2013 schedule, which features 10 rounds starting in February with the Cherokee Enduro in Georgia and ending with the Timber Line Enduro in October in Oklahoma. In addition, there will be a rules change next year that will change the order that the Pro riders start the race.

Here is the official rule:
The top 15 overall riders from the previous year must ride the pro class the following year, plus any riders that choose to advance themselves to the pro class.

At the first event the winner of the previous year’s series will start on row 21, the second place finisher on row 22 and continue in order one per row through row 35. Any rider that chooses to advance to the pro class will start on row 36 and continue one per minute in order based on the earliest registration.

Beginning with the second event and continuing through the rest of the series, the top 10 riders overall, including Pro and A classes, from the previous round will be placed on rows based on their overall results from that round. The winner of the previous event will start on row 21 and the second place finisher on row 22 and continue in order one per row through row 30.

The riders that were not in the top 10 overall in the previous round but are in the top 15 overall in the current year series point standings will be lined up one per row starting on row 31 in order of their place in the series points. In the event a top 10 rider does not show up for the next round, that number would not be used.

Any riders that register in the pro class but were not in the top 10 overall in the previous round and are not in the top 15 in the current series point standings will be lined up one per row beginning with the first available row past those riders that are in the top 15 overall in series points.

2013 AMA Rekluse National Enduro Championship Series
Round 1
February 17
Cherokee Cycle Club, Inc.
SETRA.org
LOC: Greensboro, Ga.

Round 2
March 3
Columbia Enduro Riders
LOC: Salley, S.C.

Round 3
March 24
Ross Creek Trail Riders
RossCreekTrailRiders.com
LOC: Blackwell, Texas

Round 4
April 14
Acadiana Dirt Riders, Inc.
AcadianaDirtRiders.com
LOC: Forest Hill, La.

Round 5
April 28
NATRA
NATRA.DirtRider.net
LOC: West Point, TN

Round 6
June 9
UP Sandstormers
UPSandstormers.com
LOC: Marquette, Mich.

Round 7
June 23
Susquehanna Off Road Riders
SORRMC.org
LOC: Blain, Pa.

Round 8
July 28
Brandywine Enduro Riders
BER.us
LOC: Cross Fork, PA

Round 9
September 8
IN, IL, KY Enduro Riders
BlackCoal.org
LOC: Lynnville, Ind.

Round 10
October 20
Oklahoma Dirt Riders
OkieDirtRiders.com
LOC: Oklahoma City, Okla.

Feld Motor Sports this week announced the 2013 AMSOIL Arenacross schedule which kicks off January 4, 2013 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass. The series then travels to nine cities across the U.S. before a dramatic conclusion at the historical Denver Coliseum on March 16, where a 2013 AMSOIL Arenacross Champion will be crowned.

Over the course of 11 weeks, AMSOIL Arenacross will provide thousands of fans with the high-octane, bar-to-bar competition that has become the trademark of this captivating championship. With two-time Arenacross Class champion Tyler Bowers searching for his third straight title, future stars like Zach Ames and Michael Willard will threaten his reign, while veterans Jeff Gibson, Nathan Skaggs and Kelly Smith highlight one of the deepest field of riders in AMSOIL Arenacross history.

Below is the 2013 AMSOIL Arenacross schedule:

The AMA Congratulates Trial des Nation Teams

U.S. Trial des Nations team member Karl Davis Jr. negotiates a muddy rock while competing in this year’s event in Switzerland. Photo courtesy FIM.

Trials is one of the most challenging motorsports in the world, and the annual FIM Trial des Nations championship features the world’s best competitors. On Sept. 30 in Moutier, Switzerland, the U.S. men’s and women’s teams represented America well, finishing sixth and fifth in their respective divisions. 

Spain, a perennial trials powerhouse, won both the men’s and women’s divisions. 



The U.S. men’s team, which competed in the International Trophy division, included Cody Webb from Royal Oaks, Calif., Bryan Roper from Glendale, Ariz., Karl Davis Jr. from Ormond Beach, Fla., and Eric Storz from Ventura, Calif. For the U.S. women’s team, the competitors were Louise Forsley from Bernardston, Mass., Caroline Allen from Norton, Mass., and Rachel Hassler from Albuquerque, N.M. 



“The U.S. team did America proud in Switzerland,” said AMA Off-Road Manager Chuck Weir. “Trials is enormously popular in Europe, but it is growing quickly in the United States. Our participation in events such as the Trial des Nations plays a key role in that growth by showcasing our riders’ talents among the best trials riders in the world. We congratulation Spain on an impressive showing, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s competition.”



The U.S. Trials des Nations team was managed by Kip Webb, and Martin Belair served as the delegate to the local FIM affiliate organization. 

The sport of trials involves riders navigating their motorcycles over seemingly impossible terrain. The Trial des Nations began in Europe in 1983 as a way to bring the best trials riders from each country together to compete as teams, and it has evolved into one of the most anticipated motorcycle events of the year. Each competing country fields two teams: a men’s team consisting of four riders and a women’s team consisting of three riders. —Shan Moore

Pearson leads points but Caselli closes in with another H&H win

If Kurt Caselli wishes to keep his number one plate after missing two rounds due to injury, he needs to maximize his points haul and he’s done just that, most recently winning the penultimate race. Photo by Mark Kariya.

David Pearson is putting his coyote hunting competitions on the back burner as he chases the H&H championship he won in 2007. To regain the title, he must stick close to Caselli, which he did at round eight, finishing second after leading a couple times. Photo by Mark Kariya.

If there’s one thing David Pearson enjoys more than racing his KX450F across the desert, it’d have to be competing in coyote-hunting contests.

“It’s going great, actually,” he replied when asked how that was going. “I did a coyote contest two weeks ago and we got 12 coyotes in 24 hours and we won the contest–we won two AR-15s!

“It’s fun; it’s a good hobby on the side.”

But the THR Motorsports/Monster Energy/Precision Concepts racer has his priorities in order: “I’ve really got to stay focused on my racing, though.”

To that end, he focused on maintaining his points lead in the AMA Racing/Kenda National Hare & Hound Championship Series. Round eight–the next-to-last race of the series–held a simple mandate: Stay close to title rival Kurt Caselli of the FMF/KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team.

And he did just that. In fact, he passed pace-setter Caselli a couple times but was unable to hold off the defending series champ who’d roll on to win number six of the series, cutting Pearson’s points lead from 13 to eight, 188-180. That sets up a finale with the same easy-to-understand formula: Stay close to Caselli. If Caselli wins and Pearson finishes second, Pearson wins the championship by three points, 213-210. If Caselli wins and Pearson finishes third, Caselli successfully defends his crown by a point, 210-209.

Perhaps then, Pearson can look forward to another hunting competition. “Coyote calling’s fun,” he said. “We actually have–it’s like the Olympics of coyote calling, basically, for the western United States. It’s going on December 7th so me and my little brother, after the Best in the Desert [finale], we’re going to be up by Elko, (Nevada), scouting around; that’s where it starts at, is Elko.”

But before then, there’s another race to get ready for: the 45th Tecate/SCORE Baja 1000! —Mark Kariya

That’s all for this week, check in next week for more off-road news.