te r seven races in four states
over th e past nine months,
the
AMA/FM F Racing
Natio nal Hare & Hound
eries came down to the
finale at the 37th annual Johnson Valley
C ha m p io ns h ip , put on by the 100's
Motorcycle Club . Going into the race,
defe nding series champ Russell Pearson's
only hope of ho lding on to his numbe rone plate was to w in the race and pray
that his rivals fell by the wayside.
So, the Montclair Yamaha/ Pro
Circuit/Moose Yamaha YZ450F rider did
just that, storming to his second victory of
the season. But with former champ
Destry Abbott finishing comfortably in
A
30
second, Abbot t earned the number-o ne
plate , with the final se ries points reading:
Abbott , 163 (including four wins and a
second); Pe arso n, 152 (including two
w ins, two seconds and two th irds).
"I knew Destry had to finish [far] back,
so 1 didn't wo rry about it," Pearson said.
" I just knew I had to win and wait at the
finish and maybe congra tulate him or else
cele brate. I did what I had to do ; it just
didn't fall into my hands ."
Another title contender, David
Pearson, finished th ird overall after losing
the seat on his KX500 late in the race. He
ended up third in final series points w ith
148 points (including two wins, a second
and two thirds).
NOVEMBER 10 ,2004 • CYCLE NEWS
40th Anniversary
