Wasson Wallops the Field at Muddy
Hagerman WHS
J
oe Wasson had a lot to live
up to at the Hagerman Hare
Scramble, hosted by the Magic
Valley Motocross club, round five
of the Kenda/SRT AMA West
Hare Scrambles (WHS) Regional
Championship Series, Presented
by MojoMotorsport.com.
Not only did he grow up not far
away in Mountain Home where
he still has plenty of family and
friends, but his son, TJ, won the
Pee Wee class on Saturday.
Complicating matters for Beta's
desert specialist, though, was the
slick, soupy mess the nearly 17-
mile course turned into after it had
rained most of the night as well as
the previous few days.
This would be no dusty desert
race, as one might expect for
the area.
But it's easy to forget why
Wasson's competing in the WHS
to begin with. It certainly isn't to
pass the time—he's chasing the
championship! And don't forget
that he won round one in North-
ern California, a race that was a
complete mud-fest.
So how does a guy who's at the
top of the points chart in the hare
& hound nationals become such a
good mud rider?
"I have no idea!" he replied.
"Maybe riding in the snow? It's
really slick, and we rode in the
snow a lot [as kids]. You kind of
let the bike dance, get loose and
start sliding around. I just get in a
groove and I like it!"
Wasson got a great start, he
and teammate Max Gerston lead-
ing the charge up the start hill on
their FMF/Motul/Kenda-spon-
sored 430 RRs.
"I was going to let Max lead
the whole first loop and just see
where the slick spots were, see
where things got tough," Wasson
confessed.
But on one climb, he ended up
crashing off the trail. By the time
he got back on the trail and at the
top of that hill, he found himself
back in fourth.
Knowing it was imperative
to make up that lost ground as
quickly as possible, Wasson
charged a long, fast section of
whoops and indeed went by Grey
Area KTM's Devan Bolin, PCI
Race Radios KTM's David Kamo,
IN
THE
WIND
P36
Max Gerston (15)
and Joe Wasson (45)
duked it out off the
start and for the first
lap, but after that,
Wasson pulled away
to take the win.
PHOTOS: MARK KARIYA
