Best In the Desert Laughlin Hare Scrambles

If there's going to be a race near Laughlin, Nevada, and there's a Pearson entered, don't bet against him.

Unlike most of the other events in Best in the Desert's Silver State Series, the Kawasaki Team Green Laughlin U.S. Hare Scrambles is comprised of very tight, twisty, technical trails in the canyons and hills west of this town on the banks of the Colorado River. (In fact, it's the only race on the schedule that is exclusively for motorcycles; promoter Casey Folks considers it way too tight for your average ATV racer.) And when you add the storms that have drenched the area recently (including a light rain falling during this race) to eliminate any chance of dust, you end up with unadulterated dirt riding ecstasy. That is, unless you like doing 100 miles per hour or hitting four-foot whoops in the dust.

Back to the Pearsons: They grew up in Nevada but not in or around Las Vegas. They grew up pretty much in the middle of nowhere—which is perfect for raising cattle and riding horses—and rode through trees on mountain trails. Though they raced typical Nevada desert races, they (and their fathers) weren't typical desert racers; they were more akin to enduro enthusiasts.

So it was no surprise to find cousins David and Russell Pearson going 1-2 at the latest BITD race in Laughlin. David and his partner, Shane Esposito, diced with fellow Team Green KX250 riders Destry Abbott and Lance Smail in the early going, but when the Abbott/Smail bike began to have rear-brake problems, the Esposito/D. Pearson duo pulled away, winning the roughly 150-mile race in four hours, 48 minutes 17 seconds.

Russell and his partner, Ty Davis, were on the move aboard their Montclair Yamaha YZ450F, and they pulled into second place where they'd eventually finish in a fairly close 4:49:25. Abbott/Smail finally got out of the pits and on the trails to claim a distant third in 4:58:23.

"I grew up riding in tight stuff like this up in the trees," David Pearson said afterward. "I don't know; it just seems like it's [normal] for Pearsons to do good in the tight stuff."

But when asked what the deciding factor in the race was, he answered, "Mainly just not having problems. The other two Kawi teams [Abbott/Smail and Brian Brown/Nick Pearson (Russell's brother)] had brake problems. We ended up not having [much of a problem]; they faded a little bit at the end, on my last loop, but they never went out. I guess [the brakes] went completely out on the other Kawi teams."

Esposito said he and Smail raced for the lead on their first loop (the faster western loop), "Then when I went out I rode a hard second loop. I think I [put] a little bit of time [on Smail]—not much—but they had problems so that put Ty into second. My third loop, I just rode the whole thing to make sure nothing happened.

"Everything came together today. It's about time!"

Unofficially, the Esposito/D. Pearson team now shares the series points lead with Honda's Johnny Campbell and Steve Hengeveld, the round one winners. The defending series champs ended up fifth on their CRF450R after getting off to a slow start but getting faster as the day went on. They finished fifth behind fellow Red Riders Robby Bell and Kendall Norman, 5:03:15 to 5:03:58.

Matt Berault and Mark Miller were the lone 125cc Pros—just like last year—but didn't let that keep them from charging. The part-time bike racers (Miller races trucks in the desert and is planning another assault on Dakar next year) finished 10th overall.

Overall Results
1. Shane Esposito/David Pearson, Kawasaki (4:48:17)
2. Ty Davis/Russell Pearson, Yamaha (4:49:25)
3. Destry Abbott/Lance Smail, Kawasaki (4:58:23)
4. Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Honda (5:03:15)
5. Johnny Campbell/Steve Hengeveld, Honda (5:03:58)
6. Brian Brown/Nick Pearson, Kawasaki (5:08:51)
7. Christopher Blais/Andy Grider, KTM (5:12:08)
8. Quinn Cody/Brent Harden, KTM (5:20:23)
9. Ed Dean/Jacob L. Phillips/Wade Phillips, Honda (5:26:23)
10. Matt Berault/Mark Miller, Yamaha (5:29:34)