Steve Hengeveld (shown) and...
Steve Hengeveld (shown) and Mike Childress jetted to their third-straight BITD triumph by taking the Las Vegas 300 overall despite rain playing havoc.
Rain was the story at the Las Vegas 300, round five of Best in the Desert's Silver State Series.
First off, a storm started dumping in and around Las Vegas the night before the race, complete with plenty of lightning and thunder. The drenching turned the dry lakes that were to serve as the main and alternate pits into very real lakes, surrounding more than a few vehicles that were parked overnight with water several inches deep. So, promoter Casey Folks had to scramble and do some last-minute relocating, plus delay the start about 15 minutes.
Even with that delayed start, the riders found themselves with very limited visibility due to the dark clouds and rain. In fact, the first few miles seemed more a fast, wet trail ride, with no one willing or able to go very fast and try to break away. The Shaun Hanson/Jimmy McKay strategy of retaining the headlight on their Temecula Motorsports CRF450X made theirs the favored bike to ride behind, and a couple others stacked up behind it.
As Mike Childress noted, "We were gophering each other because the person who was leading, he couldn't read anything, it was so dark. All of a sudden you'd fly into a hole [because] you couldn't see them. I just backed off the throttle and let those guys go.
"I went, 'I'm just going to take it easy until the sun comes up.' I took it easy all the way to the alternate pit [at mile 14], then after that I could start seeing pretty good so I stepped up the pace there and had a pretty flawless lap."
The Shaun Hanson/Jimmy McKay...
The Shaun Hanson/Jimmy McKay team found themselves leading by default very early due to the fact that they kept the light on their 450X and could see in the pre-dawn dark and rain.
Indeed, Childress completed that first lap of the 60-mile course near Jean in front on the Berkeley Honda/Precision Concepts/Dunlop-backed XR650R, but before he could hand it off to partner Steve Hengeveld, Folks stopped him and the rest of the field, ready to call the race due to the conditions.
"Casey was like, `The race is over!' I was like, `No way, man! This is cool; let's keep doing it!' " Childress related. "He's like, `No, it's over.' I'm like, `Ah, man, come on; let's race!'
"He's like, 'Well, if you think it's safe, we'll do it.' So I'm like, 'Yeah, let's race!'
"So he was on the radio with the BLM, trying to move pits and stuff because the dry lake over there was flooded. They held us there for 15 minutes so everybody sucked up again, but they kept times so they said they'll readjust the times."
The rain quit for the most part by the time Hengeveld got the bike, and he worked on extending the lead they enjoyed. "It was really nice for me," he admitted. "I just rode smooth and didn't really charge all that hard, just tried to put down a good lap without any mistakes.
"I got to our first gas pit--the alternate--and it was about six inches underwater. So you're going across this lakebed and the water's just everywhere! My [pit] guys are sitting there wading like they're fly-fishing or something!"
Hengeveld would turn the bike over to Childress who completed a third lap in front, but that would be it. Instead of a fourth lap, riders got the checkered flag prematurely. With the earlier disruption, official results weren't immediately available, but going by the finish order, Childress and Hengeveld seemed a safe pick as the overall and Open Pro winners.
Ron Purvines (shown) and Scott...
Ron Purvines (shown) and Scott Glimp ran in front all day and would end up third overall, first Over 40 Pros.
Over 40 Pros Scott Glimp and Ron Purvines actually stayed very close to the apparent winners for a long time on their Motorex USA/Countrywide Estate Planning/Best Cycle KTM 525 XC. "I think the rain separates the real riders from who can just hold it open and go fast," Glimp observed. "It's a big change from Vegas to Reno."
In the end, however, Glimp and Purvines couldn't hold off unofficial Four-stroke Pro victors Luke Dodson and Matt Henderson for second overall. Getting splashed early on the first lap almost threw Dodson into a state of hypothermia, but he kept going and got the Sun Quest Air Charters/Barstow Motorcycle Center/FMF RM-Z450 to BITD first-timer Henderson. "The pace was a little faster than I'm used to, for sure," Henderson admitted, who added, "I got lost."
A win for Childress and Hengeveld would be their third in a row this season and make them practically unbeatable in points with only the Henderson's Terrible 400 remaining.
Las Vegas 300 Unofficial Results
1. Mike Childress/Steve Hengeveld, Honda XR650R
2. Luke Dodson/Matt Henderson, Suzuki RM-Z450
3. Scott Glimp/Ron Purvines, KTM 525 XC
4. Jim McCauley/Tom Willis, KTM 525 XC
5. Shaun Hanseon/Jimmy McKay, Honda CRF450X
6. Preston Brigman/Cullen Marutzky/Dustin Walcher, Yamaha YZ450F
7. Max Eddy, Jr./Dylan Lane/Jeff Trulove, KTM 525 XC
8. Todd Abratowski/Steven Fuller, Honda CRF450R
9. Charlie Barney, ATK 605
10. Reece Honea/Cody Wallis, KTM 250 XC
 Matt Henderson rode his first...  Matt Henderson rode his first BITD race at the Vegas 300; he and partner Luke Dodson survived the rain and getting lost to take second overall, unofficially, and win Four-stroke Pro. |  Storms turned the dry lakes...  Storms turned the dry lakes into very wet ones, stranding those who'd parked overnight to save pit areas. | |