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/1542339
AMA/FMF Racing Natlonal HaPe E' Hound s€rlcs John.o'i \/slloy C,lf\, Arla Luccrna vollcri, CA OFF.ROAD Round r tdnud.y 22, 2006 Russ 2006 Peorson toltes Notlonol Hore the eortg teod ln the tr Hound polnts roce SroRY aND PHoros BY Marx Karm -nere s no oouot tnat Russett I P.^.=on wants to keeD his I National Hare & Hound I nrrnb..-on. olate, ln the I op"n,ng rouno oI tne national series, Pearson came out swinging and stormed to an uncontested victory at the Desert MC's 39th Annual Winter Classic/Walt Baehr Memorial H&H in the Johnson Valley OHV Area. His nearest competitor Destry Abbott, the man Pearson dethroned last year, emerged frgm the dust a distant second place, while Pearson's teammate Ty Davis, another former champ, claimed third. A long, fast bomb run northeast of'the rock pile" off of Bessemer Mine Road fun- neled riders into an uphill trail and the start of a mostly fast, whoop-filled, 40- mile first loop. Honda racers Mike Childress and Steve Hengeveld were first to the bomb, with Pea6on third and the rest ofthe field lost in the blinding dust, "l iust out-horsepowered everybody and got to the end of the bomb lim, and then kind ol made a line misake and Steve got by me," Berkeley Honda/Precision Concepts/ o'Neal XR650R-mounted Childress said. "Russ was just on a mission; he came by both of us." "l iust basicalty stayed in behind them, then we headed uphill through that saddle going over the pass," Pearson said. "Both of them - you could see them hit rocks. I don't know if they don't ride rocks enough like what we have back home [in Nevada], but they were darting all over, I almost got by them - then I almost got taken out! Then I almost got by them and almost got taken out again! l'm going,'Okay, no wrecking!' So I backed off, and I saw a line to the left and I iust pinned it. The bike was working good - it hooked up - and I went brooop, right past Childress." The Montclair Yamaha/Zip-Ty Racing/ Moose-backed YZ450F racer then fol- lowed Hengeveld for a couple miles, opt- in8 not to force a pass so early in the race I (For left) Steven Hengovcld (41, Irtike Childrccr (1, righ ) ond Rurs Peorron (1, lefr) led the pock or rhe bomb; (Bclow) Peorion pretty muth dominoled the whole rqcc. D -l n re n t_i which might have taken them both down. Before long, Pearon saw an opening. "lt was just Snariy up and downs with rock." Pearson said. "l was on him. He was going good, but we got into one down, and I saw where (at the bottom) there [were] two or three whoops where it basically stops you- I saw maybe six inch- es off to the rigtt were liftle tiny bushes, and I could see through them - no rocks - so liust pinned it right to the riglt of them, pulled up beside Hengeveld, and he hit a whoop and got up in the air- I stayed on the ground and went rigtt by him," From there, Pearson simPly stretched his lead, Coming into the pits, he had about one minute and 40 seconds on Abbott, who'd been slowed by dust off the san. \n/ a a n i I tii n I L.. L"! H I I I t r-- 1 ., '- 3 ,- .e d,. ![ rl- ,l / ! t l I _E 1 ) t t d i i E [E*;:] ""''] }{ + Sr- \ t t I I t ; "! lr a ,7, tfi- 38 FEBRUARY 8,,2006 . CYCLE NEWS r: ,F-. lr,4