GERSTON WINS MT. BAKER
WEST HARE SCRAMBLE
B
eta's Max Gerston became
the sixth different winner
in seven rounds of the Kenda/
SRT AMA West Hare Scramble
Regional Championships Series
in its return to the Pacific North-
west. GasGas rider Joey Fias-
conaro enjoyed his best result
since winning round one, finish-
ing second while Joel Tonsgard
upheld local pride by earning a
solid third place.
Gerston's first-ever and much-
anticipated victory allowed him to
regain the series points lead from
reigning champion Nick Burson,
the Purvines DA8 Racing Ya-
maha rider having a few issues in
one of the tightest, most techni-
cal events so far this season.
Gerston went from seven points
down to 10 points ahead, 155-
145.
While not as muddy as ex-
pected after storms a week ago,
the seven-mile-long course at the
Hannegan Speedway/Mt. Baker
Motorcycle Club grounds incor-
porated plenty of rutted, root-
infested trails winding through
thick stands of trees. In addition,
the entire weekend saw tempera-
tures soar into the 90s, which
combined with fairly high humid-
ity to make for a strength-sapping
two-and-a-half-hour race.
Burson got a great start on
his John Burr Cycles YZ450FX
followed closely by Tonsgard,
Purvines DA8 Racing teammate
Axel Pearson, Vaughn Wilk, local
Danny Brocker and the rest of
strong Pro/AA class.
But this wasn't Burson's day;
he reported, "I blew a corner on
the first lap, and then Max and I
almost got in a head-on because
I was going backwards [to get
back on course] and they all
blew it too, so I lost three or four
spots."
IN
THE
WIND
P48
Max Gerston dominated the Toasted
Hare Scramble, taking the lead on the
first lap and pulling away for his first-
ever series victory.
