THE #1 PLATE IS MY #1 GOAL

USDR Round 2 Race Report - 03/08/10

By Erek Kudla - Photos by Brad Hisgen

FINALLY!!! For the first time this season I've felt really good on the new 450. The jump up to the big bike has been a tough one for me and the beginning of the season was rough. I didn't feel that slow on it but the competition has gotten so fast this year that the seconds when I questioned what to do and how it would react added up quickly.

Last season I doubted myself and felt like I didn't deserve the #1 for the 3rd year in a row. I felt like I didn't belong up front, like everyone was progressing and I was stuck on the plateau. I gave up on 2 occasions due to lack of hydration and preperation. It was the worst feeling to see the championship slip out of my fingers by a few points because "I didn't feel like riding through the pain" and I swore that it would never happen again.

US DESERT RACING SERIES ROUND 2 - 03/08/10

Colton Sanders Becomes the Youngest Rider in Histroy to Take the Overall Win.

By Erek Kudla - Photos by Venboi

While the southern most deserts of California were getting hammered with rain the riding in the Spangler Hills OHV Area just outside of Ridgecrest, Ca we absolutely perfect. The sun was shinning, there was a cool breeze, the dirt was still moist from the nights rain and 16 year old T.O. Powersports/Maxima/Dunlop backed Colton Sanders took full advantage on is KTM 450XC taking his first ever overall win and the Pro purse at Round 2 of the US Desert Racing Series.

Off the start it looked like it would be an epic battle with Zip-Ty Husky's Nick Burson and Sanders side by side all the way down the start straight but Sanders was able to edge him out getting into the clean air and putting a gap on Burson. He had a huge close call in the first mile hitting a jump wrong and landing almost straight up on the rear fender with his feet dangling but hit a rain rut just right to bring it down. After that it was smooth sailing all the way to the finish and Sanders was able to take the win by nearly 45 seconds. "I still can't believe it!" Sanders excalimed at the finish. "Its just so great to have everything finally go my way!"

AMA/KENDA NATIONAL HARE AND HOUND ROUND 3 - 03/08/10

Norman Scores a Wire to Wire Win at a Wet and Wild Race

By Erek Kudla - Photos by Dirtfocus.com

Round 3 of the Ama/Kenda National Hare and Hound series brought the racers to El Centro, Ca located East of San Diego and only a few miles north of the Mexican Border. The last two rounds narrowly missed the weekly down pours of ran making for perfect riding conditions but Round 3 caught the brunt of a major storm. The rain fell from 2am until long after the finish and hard! JCR Honda's Kendall Norman was able to pull the holeshot through the slop and mud and lead the race till the finish scoring his first ever National Hare and Hound overall and the first win for Honda in over 10 years.

There were rivers, waist deep mud holes and unreal conditions which very few of the Hare and Hound regulars had ever encountered giving a distinct advantage to those that have ridden in bad weather. National Enduro racer and ISDE Gold medalist KLIM/Kenda backed Senior Expert Chilly White took full advantage breaking into the top 20 for the 1st time this season finishing 19th overall.

JCR Honda's Kendall Norman Leads Wire to Wire

Checkers World Championship Hare and Hound - 02/28/10

by Erek Kudla - photo by Ian White

The riding conditions at the 60th Annual Checkers World Championship Hare and Hound were epic with the Southern California Deserts getting pounded with rain for the last month and JCR Honda's Kendall Norman took full advantage taking the Overall win by 11 minutes over KSV Kawasaki's Jake Argubright.

Once the banner dropped it was all red with Norman taking the lead and getting over the first hill almost 30 seconds ahead of FMF/Dirt Digits backed Brett Saunders. Saunders had spent the last few months focusing on school and hasn't been able to ride or train much but was still able to pilot his KX450f to 5th Overall.

Coming in a strong 4th overall was the T.O. Powersports/Amsoli KX450f of Ryan Kudla. Kudla has just gotten accepted to Graduate school but has been spending the last month training hard after a few dissapointing finishes early in the season. "I got a really really bad start. My buddy said he stopped counting after 10 kicks!" commented Kudla but he was able to use the dust-free course to his advantage.