400 (the first time the two had
ever partnered in a race) the first
year the bikes are back and win it,
this is going in the books for sure!
I think Kendall and I and Johnny
are going to take this memory and
hold it with us forever."
The Morgan/Samuels team also
finished under five hours with their
4:56:00, Morgan saying, "I know
in a few sections my speed was
good; I actually gained a little time
in a few sections, and kind of went
back and forth. But those teams
[ahead of us] are really good; those
guys are awesome. Ricky and
Kendall's bike is very similar to ours
from what I know. We're definitely
going to refine the suspension a
little bit and make a couple more
adjustments [before our next race].
Top gear was a little high going up-
hill in the sand washes, but every-
where else it was perfect."
Purvines Racing Yamaha's Axel
Pearson and Tallon Taylor teamed
up to do the race on their own
and ended up fourth in 5:09:25
followed by Cooper Motorsports
747 Honda-mounted Danny Coo-
per/Kyle Tichenor/Justin Wallis in
5:14:00 while Chidester Transport
Racing/JS Buchanan Trucking
Yamaha's Brody Honea/Tuffy
Pearson/Troy Vanscourt came in
sixth overall.
Legends Ty Davis, Larry Ro-
eseler and Kellon Walch divvied
up the course in smaller chunks
between them on a Team Green/
Dunlop/Braking KX450. With
Walch the youngest, they had to
ride Over 30 Pro and did a tre-
mendous job in winning the class
and taking seventh overall.
The oldest of the crew, Roesel-
er was one of the few in the entire
field who'd raced the '76 Mint. He
said, "When I heard they were
going to have bikes back, I found
out right away and I immediately
said, 'Okay, I'm going to ride this
one way or another!'"
Hayden Hintz/Jeff Trulove/
Sage Vincent finished seventh
Open Pro and eighth overall on
their KTM with Jason Alosi/Wy-
att Brittner/Taylor Stevens ninth
and Over 30 Pro runners-up Carl
Maassberg/Jason Trubey round-
ing out the top 10 overall.
Mark Kariya
IN
THE
WIND
P34
Kellon Walch (left),
Larry Roeseler
(right) and Ty Davis
congratulate each
other on their Over
30 Pro-class win.
(Below) Besides
the usual BITD
classes, the Mint
400 offered several
others, including
Vintage. This BSA
B50, ridden by
Steve Erickson
and owner Steve
Yarborough, took
second in class.
