Hare Scramble.
Round 2: Wilseyville Hare Scrambles
AMA NA TIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HARE SCRAMBLE SERIES
(Left) Doug
Blackwell (1) gets
the jump on the
pack at the start of
the National Hare
Scrambles at
Wilseyville.
(Below left)
Blackwell sloshed
through the snow
and mud to score
his second win in
a row.
(Below) Matt
Slavish took
runner-up honors.
By Jill Ashworth Patterson
WILSEYVILLE, CA, FEB. 21
eam Yamaha's Doug Blackwell
got a one-kick-start jump, sloshed
through 10 inches of fresh snow
faster than anyone else and grabbed the
holeshot at the Wilseyville National
Hare Scrambles. From there, Blackwell
rode on to claim his second consecutive
overall victory of the AMA National
Hare Scrambles Series.
This year's course originally had
been set to be 10 miles long, but a few
miles of the steeper terrain was eliminated because of the deep snow that had
fallen during the night. The changes left
th.e course 7 1 /2 miles in length, which
weaved in and out of "Boston Gulch,"
down "Fish Tail Hill" and up "Ball Bearing Hill," which are some of thl? even t' s
more popular trails. By the time the
race, which doubled as round four of
U1e District 36 Hare Scrambles Series,
started, the snowfall had stopped, the
clouds had broken up, and the 109 AA-,
A- and B-class riders were able to race
under partly sunny skies.
After his quick start, Blackwell, the
de.fending Hare Scrambles champ,
relied on his many years of racing experience and relaxed into a steady, constant pace that was geared just right for
the snow-covered course and very
muddy conditions.
Blackwell, however, let Jimmy Jarrett, Shane Watts, Matt Stavish and a
few others pass him, as they made their
way around the early portion of the first
lap.
"l decided to ride smart, stay back
and let the others lead and beat out a
path," Blackwell said of his race strategy. "I felt like the old, wise rider:'
During the first three laps, Jarrett,
Stavish, Watts, Kelby Pepper, Erik
Kohler, Patrick Garrahan and Brian Garrahan rotated and swapped the first
T
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