Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1125433
IN THE WIND P40 Perry Mountain 24-Hour Challenge T he Max Motorsports/Gnarly Routes Team of Russell Bobbitt, Cole Kirkpatrick, Geoff Braico and Brad Bakken took the top spot at the 18th running of the Perry Mountain 24 Hour Chal- lenge in Maplesville, Alabama, June 1-2. Dealing with very dusty conditions and temps in the 90s, the KTM USA-backed team rode a 300 XC two-stroke and took the lead on lap one and never let go. The four riders all rode 12 laps each for 48 total laps. The team was the brainchild of Russell Bobbitt. "I have been wanting to do a 24-hour race. 2011 was the last year I raced here, and Brad was on the team. I was talking to Cole and KTM and said, 'Hey let's get the band back together.' Geoff Braico and I have been friends since we met at Six Days. He raced the 24-hour on the winning team last year. So, he came over from Australia for the race." The team finished 19 minutes ahead of the runner-up team and rode consistent laps with a 30-minute average lap time. Brai- co set the fastest lap of the race on lap 43 with a 26.21. "We were fairly issue free," said Bobbitt. "Cole did burn up a set of pads on his first outing on the course. Brad had some lighting issues during the night and two of the guys had problems with their hel- met lights. But all in all, it was a really good race. It was one of the dustiest 24-hour races I have raced. We changed a lot of air filters." In the runner-up spot was Team NAP/XC Gear Elite 1. The team of Darin Downs on a KTM 350, Heath Harrison on a Kawasaki, Steve Nicholas on a Husky and Will Sievenpiper on a KTM, completed 48 laps. "It was super dusty," Downs said. "We were third off the start and moved into second after four laps. We rode consistent and held second. During the night the Max motorsports team had some lighting issues and we got within seven minutes of them. Then around midnight we had our own light problems. We fixed the wire then a few hours later had a light go out again. Will fell during his stint at night and got sick so the three of us finished the race. I ended up with 14 laps. All in all we put in a good effort. Heath and I are motocrossers and we had blister problems with our hands." Finishing in the final podium spot was Team NAP/XC Gear Elite 2 of Corey Jordan (Husqvar- na), Dalton Riddle (KTM), Payton Attaway (KTM) and Andre Clark (KTM). They had consistent rides with each taking on three to four laps at a time. The team made it as high as second but after several hours, settled into third for the remainder of the race. Jordan had bike issues and struggled into the pits. Unable to repair the bike, he shared Riddle's bike for the remainder of the race. Finishing in the fourth spot was the NAP/XC Gear Expert Team, consisting of Sammy Dor- ris (Husqvarna), Tanner McCoy (KTM), Justin Leonard (KTM), Austin Franklin (KTM), Mitchell Owenby (KTM) and Gavin Sieven- piper (KTM). Rounding out the top five was the NAP/XC Gear +30 Team, made up of Michael Grizzle (Ya- maha), Jeremy Ketchum (KTM), Josh Scott (KTM), Roger Little (Yamaha) and Paul Ward (KTM). Top Ironman was Jody Estes (Estes Motorsports KTM) after completing 32 laps. The Iron Woman overall win- ner was Ashlie Peterson (Team Slothunicorn) with 12 laps. Kenny King Cole Kirkpatrick was a member of the winning team at the Perry Mountain 24-Hour in Alabama. PHOTO: KENNY KING