Destry Abbott got his first...
Destry Abbott got his first win of the season at Red Mountain and now has a few points on rival Russell Pearson.
Former series champ Destry Abbott completed a very successful weekend for Kawasaki's KX450F by winning round two of the AMA/FMF Racing National Hare & Hound Series near Red Mountain, California. After his runner-up finish at round one, his victory at round two, the 56th annual Moose Run by the Four Aces Motorcycle Club, gives him a slight lead in series points over reigning champ and round one winner Russell Pearson, 55-51.
Fellow Team Green racer Ricky Dietrich got the ball rolling by winning the opening round of the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series on Saturday in Arizona, the first off-road triumph for Kawasaki's brand-new thumper. That night in San Diego's supercross, James "Bubba" Stewart used a last-lap pass to give the 450 another win so it was up to Abbott to complete the streak on Sunday in the SoCal desert.
The second loop featured some...
The second loop featured some puckering downhills; here, runner-up Kendall Norman glides down.
"It's nice to get a win on that bike finally," Abbott said while driving home. "I wanted to do it at the first round, but I had a couple things I had to work on."
Kidded about not being the first to give the KX450F its first off-road win, Abbott laughed and said, "A day late here! That's cool, though. I talked to Ricky yesterday; he called me and let me know how he did. I was happy for him; he's riding really well. It was a good weekend for Kawi!"
And it was a stellar race for Abbott. By the time he got to the bomb on his Pro Circuit/Dunlop/THOR-sponsored machine, he had a sizeable lead and simply rode away with only a few minor bobbles along the way.
The same could not be said for Pearson and his Montclair Yamaha/Zip-Ty Racing/Moose YZ450F. When his bike took a half-dozen or more kicks to start, he knew he was in for a long day. "Well, I pinned it and entered into a wall of dust," he said of the bomb run. "I tried, but it was too much so I went to the right to get out of the dust and never really succeeded because there people were everywhere. I just started trying to get to where I could see a little and go as fast as possible."
After running as high as second,...
After running as high as second, David Pearson's clutch went out, and he slid back to fourth.
His charge found him racing into the pits at the end of the first loop in fourth, behind Abbott, Honda's Kendall Norman and KTM's David Pearson (Russell's cousin). When the clutch went out on David Pearson's Michelin/Tag/Moose 525 XC, it made for a trying time on the technically demanding second loop. In fact, he said, "All those downhills and stuff, I was crashing. I tried to go up one uphill three times before I made it up. You can't do anything without a clutch in a tight race." He would salvage fourth place at the finish.
Norman, who got a great jump off the line and led Abbott for maybe a mile, worked his way past David Pearson and into second place on the second loop on his Precision Concepts/Pro Honda Oils/O'Neal-backed CRF450X. "I was just trying to be as smooth as I could, and I was kind of closing on Destry a little bit but not getting close enough to strike or anything," he said.
Round one winner Russell Pearson...
Round one winner Russell Pearson suffered through a horrible start and other dilemas to claim third.
Russell Pearson continued to charge and gained ground on the second loop, but he ran out of time as well as fuel. "Near the finish, I caught up to where I could see second some 10 or 15 seconds ahead, and then it got fast again and I ended up third," he reported. As he turned out of the last sand wash, his bike stopped, and he started pushing until one of his supporters ran over with gas can in hand to give him a splash.
KTM's Matt Gosnell came back from a bad start and persevered through a knee injury to round out the top five on his BRP/GPR/Fly 525 XC.
Four Aces M.C. Moose Run National Hare & Hound results
Luke Dodson (9) snuck up on...
Luke Dodson (9) snuck up on Quinn Cody to make this pass, but Cody got him back and ended up sixth.
1. Destry Abbott, Kawasaki KX450F
2. Kendall Norman, Honda CRF450X
3. Russell Pearson, Yamaha YZ450F
4. David Pearson, KTM 525 XC
5. Matt Gosnell, KTM 525 XC
6. Quinn Cody, Honda CRF450X
7. Scott Myers, Honda CRF450X
8. Ryan Kudla, Yamaha
9. David Kamo, KTM 450 XC
10. Steve Hengeveld, Honda CRF450X
11. Chris Ray, Kawasaki
12. Matthew Henderson, Kawasaki
13. Ryan Abbatoye, Kawasaki KX450F
14. Kellon Walch, KTM 525 XC
15. Zack Dodson, Suzuki
16. Reece Honea, Honda
17. Sean Bradley, Gas Gas
18. Dan Capparelli, Gas Gas
19. Brian Pinard, Honda CRF450X
20. Ryan Spangler, Honda