| March 28, 2023
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Dalton Shirey made it back-to-back wins after topping round two of the AMA National Hare & Hound Championship Series, presented by FMF. Shirey finished two minutes ahead of Liqui Moly Beta’s Joe Wasson.
Story by Jacob Michna, Photos by Bob Abrams
Despite not getting the jump he wanted through the bomb run, Shirey followed Wasson to the top of the hill at the beginning of the start before Shirey let his Rockstar Husqvarna FX 450 hit top speed across the long straight putting him in the lead until the finish.
“At the beginning I took a wrong line that allowed Joe to take my line; I just followed behind him,” Shirey said. “Once I got up top, I knew my Husqvarna would pull that Beta, as it did. I just held it on deeper into the corner and clinched the bomb run.”
Shirey came in from the 47-mile first loop one minute and 34 seconds ahead of Wasson, with Carter Klein, aboard the Acerbis KTM, coming in just under a minute behind Wasson. The Husqvarna rider, Shirey, was able to finish the more technical 43-mile second loop with a total race time of 2:28:31, coming in one minute and two seconds ahead of Wasson.
“I feel like this whole year has been faster, which is in favor of my style,” Shirey said.
Wasson was also able to repeat his results from the first round, finishing a solid second place in the colder Idaho Desert. “It started out really good,” he said. “I had the holeshot to the top of the hill and all of a sudden, we got worked over on the straight. I was third coming into the end of the flags. I passed for second really quick and then Carter Klein and I had a nice little train going for a little bit.”
Wasson was able to maintain second place coming in from the first loop with a 1:13.43 lap time and just under a minute ahead of Klein. “The second loop was more technical than the first loop, so I was able to tighten the gap a little, just not quite enough, though.”
Wasson finished the second loop in 1:15:50 just one minute and two seconds behind Shirey.
Sitting in third place was 2022 Pro 250cc champ Carter Klein, aboard his Acerbis KTM. “I took about a fourth-place start after taking a rock to the face by Corbin Wade,” Klein said. “I just tried to get in behind Joe, and he is a lot easier to follow. I had to pit at the alternate pit, and after that I couldn’t get back to him so I had to try to keep the speed I had following him.”
Klein finished just over three minutes behind Wasson, securing his first podium in the Open Pro class.
3 Bros./Hatch Racing Husqvarna’s Corbin McPherson took fourth place, just 1 minute and 37 seconds outside of the podium, with JCR Honda’s Preston Campbell taking fifth overall. Sixth was SWR Construction’s Clayton Roberts, which was his second Pro 250 win of the year.
Just behind Robert’s was DC Sherco’s Mason Ottersberg, second in the Pro 250 class. This was Ottersberg’s first-ever AMA National Hare & Hound and also Sherco’s first hare and hound Pro 250 podium.
3Bros KTM Nic Colangeli rounded out the Pro 250 podium in third, eighth overall. Idaho local Carter Stears and DJ Weber rounded out the top 10 overall.
In the Pro Women’s class, defending champ Rachel Stout took the win on her Full Factory Off-Road KTM after battling Bobby J’s/Motorex/Fly Racing’s Britney Gallegos (Husqvarna) on the second loop.
Gallegos eventually had a nasty crash giving the lead back to Stout. Gallegos got back on the bike and managed to ride to a second-place finish. Rounding out the podium was Woolslayer Racing’s Ty Woolslayer. It was her career-first Pro Women podium.
OVERALL RESULTS
- Dalton Shirey (Hus)
- Joseph Wasson (Bet)
- Carter Klein (KTM)
- Corbin McPherson (Hus)
- Preston Campbell (Hon)
- Clayton Roberts (GG)
- Mason Ottersberg (She)
- Nic Colangeli (KTM)
- Carter Stears (GG)
- DJ Weber (Hon)
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