IN
THE
WIND
P48
THREE STRAIGHT FOR ROBERT
T
aylor Robert returned to the
scene of his very first win
in the Kenda/SRT AMA Hare &
Hound National Championship
Series, in Caliente, Nevada,
August 13, and scored his third
consecutive triumph in this
year's series.
Doing so moves him tantaliz-
ingly close to reigning series
champion Ricky Brabec in
series points after seven of
nine rounds, which now reads
131 for the Johnny Campbell
Racing (JCR) Honda rider to
129 for Robert. But they're still
more than 30 points behind
Purvines DA8 Racing Yamaha's
Gary Sutherlin, who took third
at the Muley Run, hosted by the
Silver State Trail Blazers Motor-
cycle Club, behind Robert and
Purvines DA8 teammate Axel
Pearson.
Robert missed two rounds
recovering from injuries suffered
at the King of the Motos earlier
this year. "After I started feeling
better and getting back in my
groove, I knew that I could keep
it going," the Red Bull/Motorex/
Troy Lee Designs 450 XC-F
rider said.
As for the Muley Run, Robert,
"Going into that first hill [off the
start], I wasn't in that great a po-
sition; I think I was maybe eighth
or something. But a bunch of
people made mistakes at the
bottom of the hill. By the time I
got to the top, I was in second. It
was pretty dusty so I was like, 'I'll
just kind of stay here until I get
to an opportunity where I can
really make a pass.' That's really
exactly what I did. I just stayed
calm and didn't take any risks
because I didn't need to."
Pearson and his John Burr
Cycles/DP Brakes/Thor
YZ450FX led Robert for most of
the 33-mile first loop, ceding the
top spot about five miles before
the pits at the Caliente Motors-
ports Park.
After the more technical
44-mile second loop, Pearson
ended up 31 seconds behind
Robert's time of two hours, six
minutes and 10 seconds follow-
After following Axel
Pearson for almost 30
miles, Taylor Robert
saw the opening
he was waiting for,
passed for the lead
and held it to the
finish for his third
straight win.
