Cycle News Staff | June 11, 2024
Typical of the early summer conditions in California, racers were greeted with a warm day and dusty conditions that led to tight racing and several lead changes at the 3Bros 10-Hour Endurance Race at Glen Helen Raceway on June 8. An all-star squad of Nic Garvin, Jacob Argubright and Colton Udall rallied together to put a last-minute effort on top of the box, besting 81 total teams and each earning their first overall win at Glen Helen’s 10-Hour Endurance Race.
Nic Garvin was a member of the winning team at the 3Bros 10-Hour Endurance Race.
Photos by Trevor Hunter
Off the start, the four Open Pro teams rocketed into the Talladega first turn with Garvin grabbing the holeshot and early lead aboard the number 949 Champion Adventures/City Service Paving/AHM-backed CRF450X. Heading straight into the dust, track position was critical just two turns into the race, and the top two racers quickly separated themselves from the pack, utilizing the thick dust to their advantage. Nearly halfway through the 10-mile lap, Tyler Nicholson on the number-one KTM passed for the lead as the two battled through the faster terrain in the lowlands of Glen Helen Raceway. At the end of the first lap, Nicholson led with Garvin in tow, quickly followed by Jason Potter on the ACT/Malcolm Smith Motorsports KTM and Luis Flores on the Sunglass Spot Honda CRF450X.
By the end of lap three, Potter had moved through the pack and bumped his team of Brandon Krause and Austin Keys into the overall lead after the first hour of racing. Utilizing a different pit strategy, the trio of Nicholson, RJ Warda and Trevor Hunter on the number-one KTM switched more frequently in the early stages of the race, keeping the pace high and getting all their riders on track early to learn the flow of the course. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Garvin’s team of Jacob Argubright and Colton Udall was going an extra lap each and building their speed with more time on the bike each rotation.
Justin Kennamer leads Carson Tryon, who was a member of the second-placed team.
Shortly after losing the lead, the number-one KTM moved back into first. The number-949 team followed suit the next lap, setting up a showdown over the next few hours. Both teams exchanged faster laps, narrowing or widening the gap by mere seconds each lap. As usual, the dusty ridgelines played a crucial role in the race, often either increasing or decreasing the gap based on the traffic ahead of the rider.
Just before the halfway mark, a pit stop by the number-one team to fix a fading clutch and change air filters left them idle for two minutes, allowing the AHM Honda team to squeak by in the pits and set the pace. For the following two hours, the gap held steady at roughly two minutes between the two leaders before the Honda team stopped for a maintenance pit, including two tires and an air filter. Back in the lead, the KTM team maintained a small gap—as little as six seconds at one point—over the next hour. However, just as the race got interesting and the countdown clock was winding down, disaster struck for the number-one team. A mechanical failure ended their charge, concluding their day early and leaving the number 949 team alone out front. The team eventually won with 34 total laps, one full lap ahead of the next team.
Meanwhile, as the two teams battled at the front of the pack, the other two Pro teams and a few Expert teams were amid their own battles. One of the most impressive rides of the day came in the 125-250cc Expert class. The Dirt Bike Magazine/Stoney Sock Co. squad of Carson Tryon, Travis LaValley, Ian Burke and Harlem Nelson piloted a KTM 125 to second overall and first in class. Made up of four teenagers, the team credited their success to consistent riding and a mechanical-free day, with pit stops only consisting of gas and air filter changes on the small-bore machine.
The battle for the final overall position came down to the final lap between the two Pro teams—Brandon Krause (466) and Luis Flores (8x). After a mid-race crash that severely damaged their bike, Krause’s team recouped and charged back into third overall in the final hour of the race, but a late-race charge by Flores unofficially saw the number-8x Honda team steal third overall and second Open Pro.
Cody Ineichen won the Ironman division with two laps to spare.
Other notable finishers include Levi Arnold & Thomas Seroka, who finished fifth overall and first in the 30+ Expert category; Todd Davis/Rowan Trefz/Robert Baehr/Brent Farrell, who finished eighth overall and first in the 40+ Expert category; and Nate Scott, who won the Business class. In the Ironman ranks, 24 brave riders soloed the race, with Cody Ineichen winning the class by two laps, finishing with a total of 28 laps. Jacob Hatfield and Matt Vega completed the Ironman podium with 26 and 24 laps, respectively.
Seth Herrmann’s team led the Mini class with a total of 28 laps for the minibike riders, and Brayden Bailey claimed victory in the Mini Ironman class with 11 laps in a solo effort. The Glen Helen Endurance Series will conclude with the notorious 3Bros 24-Hour Endurance Race planned for October of this year.CN
2024 Glen Helen 3Bros 10-Hour Endurance Results
OVERALL
- Jacob Argubright Team (Hon)
- Carson Tryon Team (KTM)
- Luis Flores Team (Hon)
- Brandon Krause Team (KTM)
- Levi Arnold Team (Yam)
