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AMA National Championship Hare & Hound Series Round 2: Rabbit Creek 1 00 STORY AND PHOTOS BY DOUG KARCHER (Above) Brian Brown answered his teammate Destry Abbott's opening-round win wtth a round-two win of his own. They now sit tied in points, with one win apiece. (Below) Greg Zitterkopf made his return to off-road racing at the Rabbit Creek 100 a successful one, finishing 10th overall, first In Four-Stroke A. MURPHY,ID, APR. 1 or a couple of teammates who get along so well, Kawasaki Team Green's Brian Brown and Destry Abbott sure do fight hard when the banner drops. Brown took the '99 Hare & Hound title, while his cohort won the Silver State Series crown, and last year they switched. This year, Abbott took the round-one Hare & Hound win with Brown second, and then they traded positions at the Rats-promoted round-two national on April Fool's Day. As a result, the duo sits tied for the title-chase lead at 55 points and one victory apiece. Brown took over the lead from Abbott and Montclair Yamaha's Ty Davis shortly after the start, and never gave it back. "I got around Ty about three miles out," Brown said. "I was just waiting for a spot to pass, trying to stay out of the rocks, because the roost was terrible. Ty made a mistake, and I got around him. I jumped in behind Destry, and he made a little bobble in the sandwash. I passed him, and that's how it stayed pretty much the rest of the race. He never let me take a break, or rest, or anything." "I could have just taken it easy if you'd told me you were going to go and win it," joked Abbott to his team- mate, and that says a lot about these two - fast friends, teammates and fierce competitors. Over the last three seasons and a total of 17 Nationals, one or both of them has been on the podium at every event. In fact, there have only been two races since the start of the 1999 season in which anyone other than Abbott or Brown has taken the overall win (both times it was Davis). One of the closest and most exciting races was last year's Jericho, Utah, round, where they raced the final 100 yards side-by-side, wide-open, with Abbott winning by less than a bike length. This year is shaping up to be more of the same. A total of 181 riders lined up for the bomb run, which was set on private land this year. Covering over a mile of virgin sagebrush, it ended with an abrupt drop into a narrow draw before funneling through an opening in a fence and onto BLM land. Steady showers the night before made for dust-free conditions. No April Fool, this bomb had plenty of ups and downs, a few rocks and no established lines. It was the real thing, and the only opportunity to pre-ride came less than an hour before the start. Many spectators had positioned themselves at the drop-off near the end, hoping for some excitement, or For those who participate in, or follow, the National Championship Hare & Hound Series, the Murphy round was conspicuously absent from last year's calendar. The reason for this was that the 61.1'\ would not issue the required permits, effectively blocking the host club from holding the event. As in other regions of the west, where access to and usage of public lands has been or is being threatened by organized efforts to impose restrictions on the traditional users of the land, the off-road community in this area has joined together with other users of the land to fight back. So it didn't come as too much of a surprise when the 61.1'\ refused to issue a permit for this race in 2000. The fact that it was back this year is a testimony to the efforts and commitment of many who are fighting for the rights of landusers everywhere. A BLM checb • bib for Its ..... stick 24 APRIL 18, 2001 • cue •• n e _ s and spark . . . . . . . .