Russell Pearson ran away with the AMA/FMF Racing National Hare & Hound Series opener at Lucerne.
Hare & hound races got their name after someone decided it'd be fun to give one guy (the hare) a head start and have everybody else (the hounds) chase him.
Round one of the AMA/FMF Racing National Hare & Hound Series saw the Desert Motorcycle Club send one rider out ahead of time per normal at the 39th Annual Winter Classic, the Walt Baehr Memorial, near Lucerne Valley, California. However, the large field of riders quickly caught him, with defending series champion Russell Pearson being the first to do so around the 10-mile mark. From that point, he became the hare, but no one would catch the Montclair Yamaha/Zip-Ty Racing/Moose YZ450F-mounted rider. Instead, he gapped the pack to take a nearly effortless win as he chases his third series title.
Team Green's Destry Abbott, another former champ, wanted badly to give the new KX450F a winning debut, but he got dusted out at the start, putting him back a ways. By the time he'd worked into second place, Pearson had about a minute and 40 seconds on him—time that Abbott couldn't make up, so he had to settle for second on his Pro Circuit/Dunlop/THOR-sponsored thumper.
The first of five waves starts to open the AMA/FMF Racing National Hare & Hound Series. | | |
Ty Davis, yet another former series champion, didn't have to come from as far back as Abbott, having had a decent start not far behind Pearson. Fifth after completing the first 40-mile loop, the Montclair Yamaha/Zip-Ty Racing/Moose YZ450F rider snuck by early leaders Mike Childress and Steve Hengeveld to complete the podium. Childress hung on for fourth place on his Berkeley Honda/Precision Concepts/O'Neal XR650R while Hengeveld, on his Precision Concepts/Honda Pro Oils/MSR CRF450X, had to pull a last-minute pass on KTM's Matt Gosnell to secure fifth.
Afterwards, Pearson said, "It's nice to begin [the season] like that. Do your homework, get your bike working good, and it comes together."
For many, the topic of the day was the final 38-mile loop, with many saying it was like a National enduro. ISDE veteran Chilly White related how many of the riders he came upon had fear in their eyes while bulldogging down some of the steep, rocky hills, though most of the leaders had only good things to say. Abbott praised, "The guys [in the Desert M.C.] did an awesome job on that second loop. The second loop, they made it National-caliber; there were some good, gnarly downhills and a lot of tight, technical sections. I had fun; I enjoyed that."
Former champ Ty Davis isn't chasing the AMA title any more, but since it's so close to home he raced and got third. | 
The only true Open bike among the leaders belonged to Mike Childress; the XR650R pilot eventually finished fourth. | 
Destry Abbott gave the KX450F a runner-up finish in its desert debut. |
What he didn't enjoy, however, was taking a back seat to Pearson, who was clearly the hare of the day. Whether he can make it two in a row at round two remains to be seen, of course, but this could very well go down like the past couple seasons, with Pearson and Abbott swapping wins throughout the series.
Desert M.C. Winter Classic National Hare & Hound Results
Why do they call it a hare & hound? Because the "hare" is what "hounds" (riders) chase.
1. Russell Pearson, Yamaha YZ450F
2. Destry Abbott, Kawasaki KX450F
3. Ty Davis, Yamaha YZ450F
4. Mike Childress, Honda XR650R
5. Steve Hengeveld, Honda CRF450X
6. Matt Gosnell, KTM 525 XC
7. Quinn Cody, Honda CRF450X
8. Luke Dodson, Suzuki RM-Z450
9. Paul Krause, KTM 450 XC
10. Justin Morrow, Yamaha YZ125
11. Morgan Crawford, KTM 250 M/XC
12. Ryan Kudla, Yamaha
13. Kellon Walch, KTM 525 XC
14. Reece Honea, Honda CRF450
15. Charlie Morris, KTM 250 M/XC
16. Carl Maassberg, Yamaha YZ450F
17. Matt Eddy, KTM 250 M/XC
18. Nick Burson, Kawasaki KX450F
19. Ryan Abbatoye, Kawasaki KX450F
20. Ryan Spangler, Honda CRF450