P77
VOL. 48 ISSUE 23 JULY 19, 2011
TIMER
Nick Fahringer pulls
off maiden win at the
Jack Pine.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SHAN MOORE
I
t didn't take Nick Fahringer
long to settle into his new ride
for Husaberg - just one race, in
fact.
After spending the last four
years on various four-stroke
mounts, Fahringer gave the new
2012 Husaberg TE300 - a twostroke - the victory in its maiden
appearance in Enduro competition.
This year's Jack Pine Enduro
in Moorestown, Michigan, was
noteworthy in that several of the
top riders switched from their
usual four-stroke mounts to two-
76-81 Jack Pine Enduro.indd 77
strokes. Charlie Mullins, Cory
Buttrick, and Michael Lafferty
joined Fahringer in making the
transition at the Michigan race.
Most eyes were on Mullins, who
is locked in a two-way battle with
FMF/KTM teammate Russell
Bobbitt for the series points lead,
to see how he would fare on the
two-stroke. However, it was Fahringer who surprised everyone
with a smooth, and at one point,
dominating ride to victory, edging
out Bobbitt by 10 seconds at the
end of 70 miles of trail.
It was the Indiana rider's first
National Enduro win and it was
the first time he had ridden a two-
Briefly...
It was a two-stroke renaissance
at the Jack Pine, with Charlie Mullins, Cory Buttrick, Michael Lafferty and Nick Fahringer all switching from their usual four-stroke
mounts to two-strokes for the
race. All four riders sighted lighter
weight and more nimble handling
as the main reasons for the midseason change. Mullins and Buttrick rode KTM's newly released
2012 250 XC models, while Lafferty and Fahringer were on Husaberg's new TE300 two-stroke. In
the meantime, three-time series
champ Russell Bobbitt chose to
remain on his 2011 KTM 250 XC
two-stroke.
Fahringer gets his name on the
coveted "Cow Bell" trophy for
winning this year's event. Each
year the winner's name is engraved on the prestigious trophy,
which includes the names of such
notables as John Penton and Randy Hawkins.
Airgroup & LeoVince posted
$800 for the winning four-rider
team at the Jack Pine, with the
check going to the team of Andrew DeLong, Chase Bishop,
Zach Ingram and Mitch McRee.
stroke since mid-2007. It was
also a huge day for Husaberg.
"It's kind of a little bit of relief to
get my first win," Fahringer said.
"It's more a feeling of satisfaction
than excitement. I felt I've had
the speed this year and I knew I
would finally get it. For some reason I thought I might do it today
and I just had a good ride."
7/18/11 3:11 PM
