AMA Pirelli
/ Parts Unlimited / Moose / Maxxis
Mid-South
Championship Winter Hare Scrambles Series
Round
6: Wolf Branch Hare Scramble
Blackwell Subdues the Wolf
BY DEBBIE ALLEN
Mid-South’s sixth
round revved into action as the Pirelli Tire, Parts Unlimited, Moose, and
Maxxis Tire sponsored series slid into its first survival run. On a cold, hazy day, 355 Wolf Branch racers
faced the most challenging hare scramble that this season has had to
offer. Claiming 64 marsh fed victims
along its path, the survivors muddled through the mountainous terrain in
“It got ugly out there a few times,” said Blackwell, “and I liked to say that there was one bad hill but actually there were more like four or five bad hills to climb. For me, I would always have to stop, take a good look, and even go up the hills in sections to make it to the top. Today was definitely a day where you had to use your head, you had to ride smart, and you definitely needed a lot of luck!”
Blackwell’s luck fell into place during the last lap. While going up a hill, he got stuck momentarily. Thinking his lead was lost, he looked back only to find Scott Summers in a big rut. He said, “I knew from that point on that I just had to stay out of trouble. I tried to stay moving without getting stuck, and that was just the name of the game, keep moving without getting stuck.”
Off the start, the battle began with Team Green Kawasaki mounted P.A. Allen getting the holeshot, leading John Maschino and nine other AA riders onto the nine mile course. He stayed in the lead for most of the first lap. Then about a mile from the score tent, Blackwell passed him when Allen couldn’t make it up a hill. Allen went back down to start his incline and then Scott Summers joined them and followed into a close third.
Blackwell led for the next lap while Summers moved into second place and Allen remained at a distant third. On the third lap, Blackwell and Summers swapped back and forth several times and pulled away from the rest of the AA class.
American Honda / Alpine Star / Oakley / Summers Racing Components / Honda’s Riders Club supported Summers said, “It was just a parking lot in some places. Guys were stopped everywhere and sometimes you couldn’t see where you were going because there was so much steam coming off your bike. You couldn’t even see the trail, but you had to hit the hills with so much momentum, or you wouldn’t make it up the hill. It was absolutely about an hour and a half of complete chaos, but that’s what makes it so much fun. Doug was riding really well, and it was great because it had been years since he and I had a battle like that.”
The Wolf Branch battles mostly consisted of just trying to survive. The ruts were so deep and the mud was slick and slimy. As the course got progressively worse, several hills had to be rerouted due to the rough conditions. Many riders were thankful for the easier course, but Allen thought otherwise. He decided to take the long trail every time except toward the end of the race. He tried to make it up a rerouted hill but luckily was unable to make it. At his second attempt, Dustin Gibson swung by to tell him that they had rerouted the course and pointed him in the right direction.
“I’m glad he did that,” said Team Green Kawasaki / Pro Circuit / Twin Air / Dunlop / Renthal backed Allen, “because that saved me a lot of time and energy. I thought the track was awesome. It was really muddy, and I got stuck a whole bunch of times. But, it was really fun.”
Allen completed the podium while OffRoad Group / GasGas /
Bridgestone / Leader Goggles sponsored Machino and Sarge’s Cycles / KTM / Smith
/ GPR /Motor X backed Gibson respectively finished in the top five. Due to numb fingers and pure exhaustion, most
of the riders slowly moved into the score tent making three laps or less. Many struggled to complete the course due tough
racing conditions so Scott Horton, President of the MSHSS, slightly lowered the
number of laps required to receive points. He said, “This rewarded the
In spite of those conditions, several riders achieved. Sarge’s Cycles / Pro Action of Kentucky supported Mike Sampson, 250 /Open A winner, proved to be the Overall A rider for the day. After getting the holeshot, he pushed for Overall on the first lap, and was the only A rider to make four laps. He finished the race in seventh place in Overall. Scott Martin mastered the Senior A win and came in tenth place in Overall while Nathan Alering manhandled his RM 250 Suzuki in the B class. He made three laps, finished in fourteenth place in Overall, and was the Overall B winner. Geoffrey Vermilyea, 200 C winner, made two laps and finished as the top C rider.