Roberts Tops AMA West
Hare Scrambles Opener
T
he AMA West Hare Scram-
bles Regional Championship
Series, Presented by MojoMo-
toSport, saw a shift in the ma-
jority of its 2021 venues. Most
will be centered in the Pacific
Northwest's forests as the series
refocuses on terrain it feels most
hare scrambles racers enjoy.
But round one—the Lassen
Motorcycle Club's 53rd Annual
Diamond Back Hare Scrambles at
the Fort Sage Off-Highway Vehicle
Area—had a decidedly desert flair
with much of the 23-mile loop for
Sunday's two races resembling a
hare and hound in Utah.
That played perfectly to the
strengths of Beta's Zane Roberts
who blazed his way through thick
dust after a poor start to grab the
lead early and romped his way to
a dominating victory. Teammate
Cole Conatser was the second-
fastest in his debut race aboard
the Motul/FMF/Moose Racing-
sponsored 480 RR that he'll
employ for the entire eight-round
series instead of the 250 RR two-
stroke he's used to great effect in
hare & hound Nationals.
Former MX Pro Ross Neely did
the local MRAN crowd proud by
running in the lead pack all after-
noon to claim third on his Rhyno
Built/DDC/Fly Racing-backed
KTM 450 XC-F.
The course started on an old
dry lakebed full of tough stands
of dry grass and silt, making for
extremely dusty going for the
first few miles. From there, it
transitioned to the south side of
a mountain with sandy whoops,
twisty hard pack through cedars,
rocky washes and plenty of eleva-
tion changes, culminating with the
Widowmaker Downhill that plum-
IN
THE
WIND
P28
Zane Roberts begins the
long descent down the
Widowmaker Downhill with
a comfortable lead he'd
stretch to the finish.
PHOTOS BY MARK KARIYA
