SERIES
VOL. 52 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 13, 2015 P85
following me. We passed each other three or
four times a lap out there!"
A change in pit sequencing became the
changing point in the race for Blythe who
said, "Destry and I were both gassing every
other lap, but then I gassed two laps in a row
and made a change to my suspension, so
then we weren't gassing at the same time.
He had to gas the next lap and he lost touch
with me then, because in the slickrock, it was
key to be able to see somebody because you
could see their lines and outbrake them into
the corners. You can't drop somebody in the
slickrock. It was kind of by accident that we
got alternating pit stops, but that was the key."
FMF/Dunlop/THOR KX450F-mounted
Abbott was the first to fold after losing his rear
brake and crashing hard as a result.
"I was having fun," Abbott said. "I actually
felt really good. I totally felt comfortable
running with the leaders. I never felt out
of place or nervous or tight or whatever—I
actually felt really good. It's just the brakes
Briefly...
going to be a lot of guys who are
tired afterwards. When I started go-
ing slow coming back [to the pits], it
was even harder so the more speed
you carry in the sand, the faster and
easier it is. But once you get tired,
it's hard to keep doing that."
The first race under the direction of
the National Hare & Hound Associa-
tion featured a Pro purse that paid
$1,035 to winner Ian Blythe, $545
to Cory Graffunder, $375 to Nick
Burson, $225 to Chris Bach and
$115 to Travis Coy. Joey Fiasco-
naro earned $100 for topping the
FMF 250cc Pro class while the top
three overall Women took home cer-
tificates from TBT Racing worth $100
(Jennifer Mannie), $75 (Sophia
Oliveira) and $50 (Brianna Vinson-
haler, the Women B winner).
Cory Graffunder
returned to his hare
scrambles roots and
ended up taking
second.
Ian Blythe savors
his first big AMA
triumph after three
grueling hours of
sand whoops and
an intense early
battle for the lead.
