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/1545405
ing splits for the B and C classes, allowing racers at different levels to have an improved experience. Since this race was split from the Pro and A classes, there was less traffic on course than in years past, which reduced bottlenecks and let amateur racers move further along the course than they ever have. The race ended at 4.5 hours, which was more than enough given the altitude and heat of the day. The top 25 B-class racers qualified to continue racing on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon, the main race kicked off, with Three Ring Cycle's Danny Lewis lead - ing the charge with a holeshot. Dust was a problem throughout the weekend, so holding the lead and avoiding it on the first lap was critical. Braxton Hintze quickly overtook after the first checkpoint, as James Flynn was charging after a navigational er - ror. A new Pro split for this year was called "Petey's Hill," a hill on the front side of the mountain that had been used the day prior at the Donner Motoclimb, where Petey Krunich was the only person to make it over this very steep and technical line. The Hard Enduro Pros raced up it on their first lap, with some taking nearly 15-25 minutes to crest the top, and it was potentially the crux of the entire race. Hintze approached the hill first and made it to the halfway point, starting to tick-tack his way to the top by traversing far left. Flynn followed, staying more in the center of the hill but still be - hind and moving slowly. About 150 feet from the top, Flynn gunned it straight and didn't let off the throttle, passing Hintze on an incredibly steep and loose section of the hill. He made it through the top flags, gaining a few-minute lead to the end of the first lap. Following about 10 minutes behind were Danny Lewis and Maverik Thaxton, who both made good runs up Petey's Hill after the lead pack. On lap two, Flynn and Hintze battled wheel-to-wheel, swap - ping positions more than a dozen times as they tried to clean the technical granite slabs. Toward the end of lap two, Flynn pulled away, extending his lead over Hintze, and held it to the finish, completing the three laps in just over 3.5 hours. This was James Flynn's first AMA West Hard Enduro Regional Championship race win. Hintze finished 17 min - utes behind, while Lewis finished third, just before the 4.5-hour cutoff. There were only three finishers in the race, which was widely regarded as the toughest Donner Hard Enduro yet. In the A class, MojoMoto - sport's Cole Clarkson held a strong lead throughout the race and finished as the top Amateur of the weekend, two laps and a couple of additional checkpoints ahead. In the B class, where racers had an additional day of racing, Grayson Ingoldby won after a hard-fought battle on A course splits. Matt Musgrove PRO OVERALL 1. James Flynn (Bet) 2. Braxton Hintze (KTM) 3. Daniel Lewis (Bet) 4. Maverik Thaxton (KTM) 5. Joseph Nemeth (Hus) 6. Nick Poohachoff (Bet) 7. Kristjan Thordarson (GG) 8. Riley Bender (Yam) 9. Anson Maloney (KTM) WIND IN THE P56 Braxton Hintze was runner-up.