IN
THE
WIND
P28
ROBERT CLOSES
IT OUT WITH
CHECK CHASE WIN
B
ut for two missed races due to injury,
Taylor Robert might have been the 2017
Kenda/SRT AMA Hare & Hound National
Champion.
Since the FMF KTM Factory Off-road
Racing Team desert star did indeed miss
two of the early rounds, however, he had
no realistic chance of wresting the champi-
onship from Purvines DA8 Racing Yamaha
rider Gary Sutherlin, who managed to ride
through his injuries and clinched the title
last month at round eight.
So, Robert set his sights on other goals:
pulling himself up as high as he could in
points and winning more races than anyone
else.
He accomplished both by taking the
Checkers Motorcycle Club's 67th Annual
Check Chase at the Stoddard Valley Off-
Highway Vehicle Area—the ninth and final
race of the season—over Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna Factory Racing Off-road Team's
Jacob Argubright and Sutherlin. His fourth
triumph of the series cemented him at sec-
ond in points behind Sutherlin, 215-184.
Though relatively short with a 32-mile first
loop and 37-mile second loop, they were
indeed "Checker miles" with much of the
course comprised of technical, virgin trail,
but what it lacked in whoops, it made up
for in Stoddard's endless supply of loose,
sharp rocks and silt.
Aided by a great start aboard his Red
Bull/Motorex/Troy Lee Designs-sponsored
450 XC-F, Robert essentially led from start
to finish.
"I was just a little more patient than I was
