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Mid-South Championship Winter Hare Scramble Series

Bersano Tames the Wolf

By Debbie Allen

Round 5: Wolf Branch

Monterey, TN, Dec, 1

As earlier predictions would have it, Blair Bersano came to Monterey, Tennessee with a notion to win. It had been four years since his last Mid-South Championship win, so he was ready to tame the Wolf, Mid-South’s most demanding course ever created.

F&S Suzuki / Lowe Racing /Smith / Sport Optics / No Fear backed Bersano immediately got off to a great start and was the third rider into the woods. He rode smart and managed to stay upright the whole race. He took the lead directly after the white flag and finished the race in first place in overall and first place in the AA class.

“I was kind of hoping that the track would loosen up towards the end, but it was just as frozen,” said Bersano. “No one is use to riding in frost, but I just wanted to ride smart and not fall. I think it paid off in the end.”

Gordon Promotions didn’t purposely set out to create the most challenging course. Mother Nature added a little freezing weather to make the trails more interesting. Slick spots were everywhere and as the riders sloshed through the creeks and traversed up the hills, the hills became frozen. It was very difficult to make it up large hills, and only fifteen of the 500 riders managed to make five laps because the track proved to be tougher than usual.

Out of the ten AA riders, John Robbins got the holeshot with Charles Mullins, Bersano, and Mike Sampson fighting for the lead throughout the first lap. Off the start, Scott Plessinger went down and his rear wheel got stuck on Chad Froman’s foot peg. Plessinger had a dead last start and left with the 250/Open A pack one minute after the AA start.

Of the five laps raced, each lap had a different leader. Robbins continued to lead the first lap while Sarges Cycles supported Mike Sampson moved into first place during the second lap. Sampson pulled away from Bersano and Jeff Cregg. They followed him within thirty seconds time. Then a mile from getting gas, Sampson got a flat tire and wrapped his bike around a tree. In spite of his dilemma, he made five laps and finished in sixth place in the AA class and eighth place in overall.

During the third lap, Team Green Kawasaki’s Cregg moved into first place and was thirty seconds ahead of Bersano and Robbins. The battle stepped into high gear as Bersano picked up his pace for the next nine miles. Bersano took the lead directly before the white flag.

He said, “I knew on my third lap that I had to step it up if I wanted to win. When I came through the score tent, I saw that I was in second place so at that point I decided to go faster. I got by Cregg when he made a mistake passing a lapper.” Bersano finished his fourth and fifth laps in first place.

Sarges Cycles / KTM / Pro Action of KY / Cycra backed Dustin Gibson finished in second place in AA and overall. He said, “It was slick so I tried to ride smooth and smart. There were some hills out there that you just had to concentrate on to make it up. On the second to the last lap, the ground was all ice so my previous line didn’t work anymore. I had to come back down to make it up one of the hills.”

Gibson rode within the top five the entire time and passed Cregg for the lead on a downhill. After pulling away, his bike washed out from under him and Robbins, Bersano, and Cregg moved around him. Shortly thereafter, it was Robbins and Cregg who had their share of problems. Robbins fell and Cregg’s bike blew a rod, so he was out of the race.

I got a good start and pulled the holeshot and was in the lead several times,” said John Robbins of Robbins Turbo and Cycle Shed. “It was a great race, and I really enjoyed myself. A couple of the areas got bottlenecks and the lappers just wouldn’t let you around, but that just makes for a better race. On the last lap, I slid sideways and my bike ended up on top of me, but I still ended up with a solid third place.”

A 250/Open A rider, Timmy Pool, got fourth place in overall. He was flying on his RM 250. After a third place start, he passed Michael Cornett and Steve Ezell for the lead a few miles into the race. From that point on, he tried to stay on two wheels like everyone else. He really enjoyed riding at a faster pace with Plessinger who got fourth place in AA and fifth place in overall.

Pictures:

1 & 2 Blair Bersano tamed the Wolf and won MSWS’s fifth round. He consistently rode in third place or better and got the lead directly after the white flag.

3 Dustin Gibson finished in second place in Monterey, Tennessee.

4 John Robbins got the holeshot and was in third place in the AA class.

5 Timmy Pool came in an impressive fourth place in overall after winning the 250/Open A class.

6 Scott Plessinger (14) and Chad Froman were the first riders to make a mistake at the Wolf, Mid-South’s most demanding course ever created. They had a dead last start because Plessinger’s tire was caught on Froman’s foot peg. They left with the 250/Open A pack.

Merry Christmas everyone!