Flynn Again
at Mad Moose
Hard Enduro
A
chilly but beautiful autumn
morning set the scene as IRC
Beta's James Flynn earned his
second consecutive career win
at the Mad Moose Hard Enduro,
the penultimate round of the AMA
East Hard Enduro series present
-
ed by IRC Tire, October 12-13.
Hosted by the UP Sandstorm-
ers in Marquette, Michigan, the
course was comprised of three
laps of 14 miles of flowy, but
tight, single-track, with the usual
hard splits for the Pro and A-class
riders. This year, the course was
dry, with traction being deceptive:
the soil was loose but hooked up
well, while some of the rocks had
moisture in them from the cold
and were incredibly slick.
Flynn was able to take the
holeshot with Rieju USA's Quinn
Wentzel hot on his heels. The two
riders would spend the entire race
within seconds of one another.
Passing was a challenge due
to the course design, and while
Wentzel was able to find a better
line through some of the hard
sections to make a quick pass,
he wasn't able to hold the posi
-
tion. On the final lap, almost to
the finish line, he caught a rock
and went over the bars, nar-
rowly avoiding a tumble down the
nearby cliff. Flynn was able to pull
away and see the checkers just
shy of two minutes ahead.
"Today was good," said Flynn.
"It was tough to pass out there.
At the beginning, I knew it was
important to get out front, and I
was able to do that. Quinn [Wen
-
tzel] and I went back and forth a
couple times. There was some
opportunity to pass. In some of
the hard bits, sometimes you were
able to take a bit riskier of a line,
especially in the lappers. This is
the driest I've seen it out here, but
it was cool, because it opened
some lines you typically wouldn't
be able to do. At the same time,
if it had rained, it would've been
a totally different race. [The win]
feels good. Danny [Lewis] was
here, Quinn [Wentzel] was here,
they're both very, very good riders.
WIND
IN THE
P50
Beta-mounted
James Flynn
earned his second
consecutive career
win at the Mad
Moose Hard Enduro,
the penultimate
round of the AMA
East Hard Enduro
Championship, in
Michigan.
PHOTOS:
STEPHANIE VETTERLY
Rieju's Quinn Wentzel
pressured Flynn (leading)
right down to the end,
finishing second overall.
