VOL. 52 ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 3, 2015 P33
referee] is super adamant
about saying you're going
to be DQ'd if you miss any-
thing.' So I thought, 'I'm not
going to ride this lap if I'm
going to get DQ'd. There'd
be no point in ruining the
bike.'"
Kepple was not DQ'd,
but his hesitation dropped
him from the lead lap. He
pressed on and finished the
second loop, recording a
seventh-place finish.
Kepple's gaffe left only
two other riders on the lead
lap, Mitch Carvolth and
Kale Elworthy. They were
both over an hour behind
the lead trio, but put in the
most time on the course and
finished fourth and fifth, re-
spectively.
"It was tougher than I
thought it was going to be,"
Haaker admitted. "Last year
was a fun race. I didn't get
tired and I never got off my
bike; I rode everything. But
this year, it was twice as long
and I felt like it was twice as
difficult."
In the amateur ranks,
Kevin Murphy took top hon-
ors with a 12
th
place finish
overall. Murphy was also the
only amateur to complete
two laps. The rest of the field
behind him, including ama-
teur podium finishers Chris
Lencioni and Jordan Rock,
endured a single lap around
the 12-mile course, while 36
of the 80 racers who started
did not reach the finish.
Women's class com-
petitors and companions
Morgan Tanke and Rachel
Gutish helped each other
through the course, and
crossed the finish line to-
gether in 39
th
/40
th
places,
making history as the first
women to record finishes in
the King of the Motos.
Jean Turner
(Above)
Eventual
second-place
finisher Cory
Graffunder
presses on
through another
boulder-filled
canyon.
(Left) Max
Gerston closed
in on Graffunder
near the finish,
but had to settle
for third overall.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JEAN
TURNER
