Press Release | September 3, 2019
East Meets West Showdown Returns to Oklahoma
This is a race report provided by National Hare and Hound Association…
Clayton Gerstner returned from an injury to race the East Meets West Showdown, landing himself a 3rd place position on the Pro podium.
Photos by: Mark Kariya
The Kenda/SRT AMA West Hare Scramble Championship Series presented by MOJO Motosport traveled to the neutral territory of Stillwater, Oklahoma to see some of the fastest racers from the East and West region for the “East Meets West Showdown.” This race was co-sanctioned with the EHS and hosted by the Oklahoma Hare Scramble Championship Series.
Youth
The one-day event kicked off Saturday morning with the Pee Wee classes from both the East and the West coast. Enzo Zaccarria led the entire race, holding a steady lead on the rest of his class from start to finish. Katin Lessing raced in a 2nd OA position behind Zaccarria to land herself a well earned spot on the podium. The Pee Wee podium saw Enzo Zaccarria in 1st, Katin Lessing in 2nd, and Trace Murray in 3rd OA.
Katin Lessing celebrates her 2nd place position on the podium by spraying cider with 3rd OA, Trace Murray.
The next race of the day saw the Jr. Mini and Micro Mini classes from both regions. Ryder Sigety started off the race with the holeshot and held the lead for the remainder of the race. Rocco Zaccarria was not too far behind in 2nd OA, with Wyatt Pereira in 3rd putting on the pressure. Logan Ritz stole the 3rd OA position coming through the scoring chute on the 2nd lap with Pereira now in 4th. It was not long before Pereira stole back 3rd OA securing his podium spot for the finish. The Micro Mini podium was topped by Ryder Sigety in 1st next to Rocco Zaccarria in 2nd and Wyatt Pereira in 3rd.
Ryder Sigety from the East coast topped the Micro Mini podium.
In that same race, the Jr. Mini class saw an awesome win made by Logan Ritz, ahead of Elizabeth Edwards in 2nd to round out the Jr. Mini podium.
Elizabeth Edwards raced against East coast Logan Ritz and finished 2nd in class on the Jr. Mini podium.
The last youth race of the day saw the Big Wheel and Mini classes. Vincent Caramanna stole the holeshot after breaking through the cluster of racers, all fighting for the lead off of the first turn. The first three racers through the scoring chute were Sawyer Scott, Lane Forbes, Kenneth Held Jr, all who were within seconds of one another after coming off of a 51 minute lap. Leaving the pits, Forbes was still in the lead, with Scott in 2nd and Held holding onto 3rd. Seth Sadorra was not far from this battle, racing in a 4th OA position. The second lap would see the checkered flag, with Lane Forbes taking home the big OA win next to Sawyer Scott in 2nd and Kenneth Held Jr. in 3rd to round out the Big Wheel Podium.
Lane Forbes fought for the lead of the Big Wheel race and took home a well-earned 1st place position on the Big Wheel podium.
The Mini class in this race saw a 1st place from Anthony Knight who led the class for the entirety of the race. Meanwhile, Vincent Carramanna and Riley Knapp battled it out for 2nd on the Mini podium. Vincent Carramanna took home the win for this battle, landing himself 2nd on the podium next to Riley Knapp in 3rd.
Factory Beta’s Rachel Gutish joined us for a hare scramble and topped the Women Pro podium while having a blast with the close to perfect course terrain.
BIG BIKES
Although the turnout for Women Pro racers was thinner than usual this weekend, we were able to give West Coast Women Pro points leader, Chidester Transport Racing-backed Sharon Mowell, and one of the fastest Women Pro racers on the East Coast, Factory Beta’s Rachel Gutish, a chance to race head to head for a top podium spot. Right off of the start line, Gutish stole the holeshot, and would remain in the lead from that point on. Gutish found her groove on the tight course and held a steady pace without the pressure of a battle, contrary to how races usually go for her! Gutish topped the Women Pro podium taking home the OA win for the race, next to Sharon Mowell in 2nd for the Women Pro class and landing 3rd OA in the event. The OA podium for this race saw Factory Beta’s Rachel Gutish in 1st, Tanner Pierce in 2nd and 1st in the 250 C class, and Chidester Transport Racing backed Sharon Mowell in 3rd.
Factory Beta’s Rachel Gutish topped the Women Pro podium next to Chidester Transport Racing backed Sharon Mowell.
It was now time for the Pro race; the last race of the race weekend. This race saw over 3 1/2 hours of racing, with a thick layer of humidity to add onto the difficulty; posing a major challenge for the West Coast racers. After stealing the holeshot on the Pro 250 line, Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts pulled out of the pack middle of the first lap due to bike difficulties. This allowed Hunter Bush to get a jump start on the Pro 250 class and retain his leading position with Dillon Sheppard following behind in 2nd OA, feeling right in his niche in this course terrain. With Bush being last off of the start, he realized soon that he needed to start pushing to get a bigger lead on the heavy line of competition. After making a couple of passes and continuing a positive mindset, Bush was able to finish the race in a 3rd OA race position.
The Pro 250 podium saw Hunter Bush in 1st next to Dillon Sheppard in 2nd and Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts in 3rd.
Meanwhile, Roberts pit crew was busy repairing the damage to his bike. Roberts was able to get the bike fixed and get back out on course to finish the race he had started. The Pro 250 podium was topped by Hunter Bush 1st in class and 3rd OA in the race, Dillon Sheppard 2nd in class, and Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts in 3rd OA to round out the Pro 250 podium. Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts also wrapped up the 2019 AMA West Hare Scramble Pro 250 Championship.
Factory Beta’s Zane Roberts wrapped up the 2019 KENDA/SRT AMA West Hare Scramble Pro 250 Championship title one round early.
Last, but surely not least, the Pro class saw a podium full of exhausted racers all who worked more than hard to land a spot on the podium. Coming off of the first lap and through the scoring chute in the lead, Factory Beta’s Max Gerston was pushing hard to hold the position he was in. After pushing harder than he knew he was capable of that day, his teammate Joe Wasson made his pass for the lead. Coming through the scoring chute off of the 2nd lap, Wasson and Gerston were within seconds of one another, but that quickly changed as Wasson gained speed and Gerston was slowly falling behind. Gerston decided to play it safe from that point on, and race at a pace he knew he could for the remainder of the race.
Despite the suffocating humidity, Factory Beta’s Joe Wasson was able to continue charging to hold his lead and pull off a 1st OA for Round 7 of the 2019 race series.
Wasson unknowingly was averaging a two minute lead on the rest of the class, put continued pushing as if someone was racing right on his rear tire still. The Pro podium was topped by Factory Beta’s Joe Wasson next to teammate Max Gerston in 2nd and Clayton Gerstner in 3rd.
The Pro podium was topped by Factory Beta’s Joe Wasson next to teammate Max Gerston in 2nd and Clayton Gerstner in 3rd.
The NHHA and all of our racers enjoyed the hard work that went into the East Meets West Showdown hosted by the Oklahoma Hare Scramble Championship Series and co-sanctioned with the East Hare Scrambles. We hope to see all of our West Coast racers at the final round in Wilseyville, CA on November 23-24, 2019.
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For more information, visit www.nationalhareandhound.com
