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Blais Racing 2013 NHHA Round 1 Press Release

Blais Racing Services/ Fasstco team takes charge at NHHA Round 1!

Press Release

JAN 30th, 2013

Contact: Chris Blais

Blais Racing Services

 

AMA GPR/FMF National Hare and Hound Championship Series
Round 1 DMC, Johnson Valley OHV Ca.

Jan 27th, 2013


BLAIS RACING SERVICES/FASST CO RACE REPORTS


By:  SKYLER HOWES, Pro Class


 

Skyler Howes on his Blais Racing Services/ Fasstco KTM 300XC. Photos by Grumpy

 

We started the weekend off early Friday morning and headed down to the Lucerne Valley for Round 1 NHHA. Cruising down Camp Rock Road there was no dust behind us!  We knew that it was going to be an epic weekend. Friday consisted of a fun photo shoot with Meg Blackburn, Colt (Gerald) rolling his quad down a rocky hill and a ton of rain.


Saturday was the first ever youth National Hare and Hound that went off very well!  There were 35 kids that showed up to race.  It was cool to be out on the course and to see all of them out there having fun and pinning it!
I was able to ride the kid's course a few times.  Erek Kudla/GXE did a great job setting up the course and everything went really smooth.  That night we had a slow bike race/fund raiser for Rescue 3, which was about a 50 yard area where you have to go as slow as possible and the last person across the finish line wins.  It was a pretty stacked race but I was able to come out on top with the win! 


Race day came and I preran the bomb start which really didn't have any smooth or good line to it. I found the smoothest, whooped out spot and went with it. The banner dropped and I found myself getting the most ridiculous jump and having an amazing start.  I couldn't see anybody to the left or right of me and got really stoked thinking that I might have the holeshot!  Halfway down the bomb, Nick Thompson came flying out of nowhere into the same line so I hopped off trying to stay out of his roost.  As we crested a hill, Nick and I were side by side as we came to a road crossing.  Nick pounded the g-out real hard and sent him straight over the bars.  I caught the whole crash just out of the corner of my eye and it looked insane.  There was a large crowd of people just ahead of us at the smoke bomb and I knew Nick would get taken care of quickly so I kept charging. Coming to the top of the bomb, Kurt Caselli jumped ahead of me and grabbed the holeshot which put me in second overall.


I was able to stay right on Caselli's rear wheel for the first few miles because of the prime dirt and no dust.  Coming through a valley, I charged on and was able to make the pass on Caselli for the lead and held steady all the way to Check #1 where I missed a corner, allowing Kurt to slip back into the lead.  Shortly after, we hit another valley and I made the pass on Kurt again and made the lead stick for ten more miles just until we hit some more technical terrain.  Another directional error allowed Kendall Norman to take the lead and everyone to close in on me.  Jacob Argubright then came in hot in the technical rocks and we banged some bars almost sending us both down.  I kept charging, battling back and forth with Jacob for a few more miles.  It was sick having that gnarly of a battle in the middle of the desert!


Just after that I took a gnarly digger in a rock section and took a rock straight to my left thigh.  David Kamo stopped real quick to make sure everything was good but that fall cost me positions to Burson, Kamo and Hannifin.  After that, the dead leg that I got from the rock was crazy, made me want to sit a lot which made me struggle in the rock sections and lose time.  Just before the finish, I took another real bad digger in some big rocks and allowed Ross Neely to make a pass on me putting me back to 7th Overall.  Coming down the hill to the checkered flag, I was still stoked on my finish position but compared to how the race started out, I was a little bummed that those mistakes cost me in the long run. Starting the season off pretty good, I learned a lot in the first race on my new Blais Racing KTM 300XC. There is definitely room to learn and grow coming in to Round 2 here in a couple of weeks in Ridgecrest.


I really can't thank everyone enough;  Chris and Patty Blais with Blais Racing Services doing everything that they do for our entire team, making it possible for all of us to have the great experiences at the races.  Bundy Inc and all of Geralds M/C for the great pit and awesome time at the races.  Fasst Co/Flexx Handlebars, KTM, Troy Lee Designs, X Brand Goggles, Kenda, Dirt Tricks, A'ME grips, Fastway, ESR Suspension, FMF, 763 Edits, Alpinestars, Bulletproof Designs, HBD Motografx, and of course all of my friends and family for all of the support!

 

 

Our rider, Skyler Howes #7, making the pass for the lead (helmet cam footage)

 

 


By:  BEN MEZA, 200A Class

 

 
Ben Meza on his Blais Racing Services/ FasstCo, ESR, Kenda KTM 200. 

Photo by Mark Kariya

 

My race day started out with an early drive out to North Anderson on Sunday morning with my dad. We got out to the staging area at about 6:00am to get ourselves situated.  I went out with teammate Brendan Crow to find a line for the bomb run.


The start time had been delayed to 10:00am due to all the people at sign-ups, so by the time the race was going to start, it seemed all my nerves had gone away.  When the banner dropped, I got a great jump and by the end of the bomb run, I was running top ten.  This was my first National starting on the Expert/front row and this was a whole new feeling for me.  I was doing well and keeping with the pace but ten miles later, the pace had not changed.  Being my first expert race, I still didn't fully understand the idea of running at that pace for the whole race.  It was really cool getting to battle with guys that were riding at the same pace as me.  I had a good little battle with Paul Krause at the start of the giant 80-mile loop.  I settled into my groove and rode a flawless race to an eventual 1st Place in class and 25th Overall!  Thanks to everyone that supports me;  Blais Racing Services, ESR Suspension, RaceTech, Muscle Milk, KTM USA, Leatt, BRP, Bullet Proof Designs, Kurt Caselli, HBMC, and My Parents.

 
By:  SAM BANGERT, 200B Class 

 

 

Sam Bangert takes the Overall Win in the Amateur Class.  Photos by Grumpy


This weekend was the first race of the 2013 NHHA series, which got me very excited!  On Friday, we had a photo shoot with our team which is always fun, plus I learned I'm not a jumper.  All day Friday it was raining, which got everyone pumped because the dirt would be flawless.  The skies cleared up for most of the day Saturday and it looked like it was going to be perfect riding conditions.  On Saturday, I got to run sweep for the brand new Youth National Hare and Hound Series.  It was super cool seeing all the up and coming shredders!


The morning of the race, I was getting really nervous.  I don't know why, but I was.  I definitely had the jitters.  I ate my usual almond butter and honey on toast.  When I heard the start was pushed back to 10:00am, a lot of the nervousness went away.  The bomb run was very interesting because it went from a flat out valley to a semi tight canyon which made it an awkward bomb.  The first half of this race consisted of fun downhills to flowy washes then right back into a technical downhill.  It was cool doing one big loop because of the fact that we got to go so far out and see a lot of Johnson Valley.


The second half of the loop started with an endurocross type rock canyon and the best part....wet dunes!  The sand in the dunes was so thick and fluffy from all the rain it made it a ton of fun!  For the majority of this loop, I battled with Max Brunson which was a blast! I ended the day as 1st Place in my class, Lwt II, and 1st Place Overall Amateur.  I want to thank Blais Racing/Fasst Co., TLD, ESR, Cytomax, Rekluse, FMF, KTM, Speed Unlimited, Bio-tearoffs, and my parents and the Lord for keeping me safe.  This was absolutely one of the most fun races I have done in California!  Thank you Desert MC for laying out such a great course.  See you at the next one. YEE YEE!


We want to wish our rider Brendan Crow (250A Class) a speedy recovery!  Brendan tipped over on a rocky downhill and cut up his right hand pretty good, requiring stitches.  Heal up Brendan!!

  
 
 
 

 

Thanks to all our team sponsors for 2013:  Fasst Company, KTM, ESR Suspension, Race Tech, Alpinestars, Kenda, Pro Moto Billet, Fastway, FMF, Rekluse, HBD MotoGrafx, Regina, TLD, BRP, Bullet Proof Designs, DirtTricks, Eline, IMS, No Toil, Muscle Milk, and Acerbis.
  
Be sure to check us out on Facebook!
Blais Racing Services offers engine rebuilding and online parts for all your Motorcycle, ATV, & UTV needs.  Owned and operated by Chris Blais, former Factory KTM Dakar Rally Racer. We specialize in KTM/ Honda, but can work on anything. I do all of the engine work myself.   www.BlaisRacingServices.com

 

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