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/128330
I OFF-ROAD June 5 ·6, 2004 I ~ The 3rd Annual Perry Mountain 24-Hour Challenge RHard Dayls Night By JEFFREY KETCHUM PHOTOS BY SHANNON FAULK AND KETCHUM o ng distance motorcycle racing is not new to the dirt bike community; in fact. the western deserts are home to numero us events each year. If you move east of the Mississippi River. however. long distance races normally include three -ho ur GNCC events and 100-mile enduros . For the past th ree years the Pe r ry Mounta in Mot orcycle Club (PMMC) has been ou t to change that . Patt e rn ed after the po pu lar 24 Hours of Glen Helen in San Bernardino, California, the third annual Perry Mountain 24-Hour Challenge had 51 tea ms and 27 Iro nme n te st ing their endurance, mechanical skills and teamw o rk for 24 brutally long hours of competition. The riders wo uld have to negot iate a 12-mile course of fire roads , woods trails and grasstrack beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday and ending at 10 a.m. on Sunday. At stake was a total purse of $8000. wh ich included $250 for the overall leader at 10 p.m. Saturday (halfway) and $SOO from Red Bull for the rider that turned the fastest lap time . Teams were allowed a maximum of six riders , and there were both Expert and Sportsman classes. The Ironman class was for riders L who chose to ride the entire event solo. Each team could impound a second bike; however, to be eligible for prize money, the original bike had to be used . Using a Le Mans-style start. the Expert classes began at 10 a.m. unde r the warm morning sun, and Dustin Gibson quickly placed his Graham Kawasaki/KTM-Last Dime Racing-backed KTM 450MXC in the lead. He was followed closely by the Texas KTM and Village Cycle Center A Team. The Sportsman class started a minute lat er with the Acadiana Dirt Riders getting t he holesh ot over the SETRA Y oung Guns team . The Ironman Class was last off the line. and Fletcher Aspden put his KTM out front ahead of Mike Phillips and Clay Stuckey. The PMMC transformed the porch of its clubhouse into the scoring area and elected to use a new transponder system for quick and accurate scoring. A 24-hour race is a long. arduous event measured not so much by laps but by hours. Consistency is the name of the game, and keeping mistakes to a minimum is a must . Through the first four hours the Graham Kawasaki/KTM-Last Dime team (Dean Grewe. josh Scott, Thomas Bennett, Lance Smith. Dustin Gibson. jack 46 JUNE 3D, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS 1 I Bailey) he ld the overall lead, with Hattiesburg CyclesfTeam A (Landon Cart er, Glen Myatt . Ste phen Reed, Frank Davis. Taylo r Reynolds, Eric Elam) charging hard in second . The two-time defending race champions (Allen Gravitt. Michael Grizzle. Mitch McRee. jason Chancey. Alan Randt, Russell Bobbit). sponsored by EE/KTM/Proline were third. with the Texas KTM team (Brian Storrie, Mark Faulk. josh Whitaker. Michael Wilson, Dwain Carter. O liver Benetis) and Knight Racing team (Nolan Knight. Nathan Knight. Matt Stavish, Rodney judso n) round ing o ut the to p five. In the Sportsman class. the Passion of the Chr ist team (Jason Hutchins. Mark Lloyd , Chris Clarke. Mark Benson, Chance Benson. Phillip Hobbs) had put the ir KTM in the 40th Anniversary lead . w ith the SETRA Young Guns (Cameron Allen, Andrew Matusek, Andy McRee . Alex McRee . Ryan Overt on, justin Mon sru d) in se cond and the Snyder Co nstructio n team (Paul McColl. Kevin Parker. Dwight Stupin. Ken Conover, Mike Duke. Steve Hardeman) in third. Phillips had assumed his usual position as leader in the Ironman class. with Aspden and Mark Hutchinson completing the top three. Afternoon saw two new leaders emerge as Hatties burg CyclesfTeam A took the overall lead and the SETRA Young Guns forged ahead in the Sportsman class. As the hours ticked by. the racing began to take a toll on both man and machine. O n lap 19, the Knight Racing team experienced trouble when their derailed chain cost them precious