JUSTIN IMHOF WINS THE MIDNIGHT CATTLE DRIVE

SOLO FOR THE 2ND TIME IN A ROW

ROUND 4 OF THE BAJA DESIGNS NIGHT RACE SERIES

By Erek Kudla Photos by Bonnie Boone

17 Year old Justin Imhof has proven this summer that he is the toughest rider to race District 37 Ironmanning every round of the 2010 Baja Designs Night Race Series and taking two overall wins and two 2nd overall finishes against some of the fastest TEAMS in the desert. The 3rd annual Ventura County MC Midnight Cattle Drive would mark his 3rd overall victory of the season and one of the harder fought wins of his career.

At the start line 50+ teams lined up in the dark underneath the high powered lights ready to do battle with what was known as the hardest night race of the summer. VCMC has always made their finishes ones that had to be earned and this year was no different. "The course reminded me of a national in some areas!" exclaimed first time night racer Greg Iesberts and "The waterfalls were a great head check while hauling the mail through the washes" said Driftwood Taylor from MRAN while Dennis Greene said "I tell people that Baja is not a District 37 race and last night I was reminded that a District 37 race is not Baja."

When the green flag flew at 9pm the fastest night racers in the desert were off to do battle including the JCR Honda team of Colton Udall and Jeff Kargola, Blais Racing's Morgan Crawford and Kevin Dejongh and Amateur phenoms Cory Klien and Justin Shultz aboard their trusty YZ 450s. Into the 1st turn it was Udall with Imhof hot on his trail. The two flew side by side straight into the 1st bolder section no more than a 1/8 mile into the race and the battle was on. Imhof would eventually get by Udall and put minute after minute on the JCR team as the night wore on.

Back at the start the classes were all getting off smoothly, racing into the dark knowing that they would have a hard fought night infront of them. One rider that was being watched was the lone 60+ year old Frank Brewer aboard his trusty XR 400. "I didn't see him come through home check all night and I started to get worried!" said race referee Erek Kudla. As the riders started to crest over the hill spectators could see riders navigate up "Cattle Prod Canyon" and then watch the brave split off onto the "HARD SECTION" which was a rocky boulder pass over the mountain and down several steep waterfalls into the finish. VCMC is always known for throwing in the most technical terrain and this year they didn't sease to impress.

After the 1st lap it was Imhof into the shoot followed by Udall and Crawford and the three teams would stay this way for the remainder of the night. 4th overall however would be faught over by the top Amateur racers for the entire night! Thea team of Justin Shultz and Cory Klein would start the race off right and make their way into the lead but a stalled bike would let the team of Justin Hurgess and Tyler Bennington and the Pira Brothers team slip by and into the finish. Klien would get on the bike for the 2nd lap and was able to put the bike back in the lead and set their sights on the 3rd overall Crawford/Dejongh team for the rest of the night. The team of Cory Brown and Andrew Whitehead would also put in a good battle taking the holeshot until they had to pull off with a crack in their tank.

As the night wore on the teams spread further and further apart and as the Checkered flag waved it was PK Racings/Cyclops Motorsports Justin ImHof aboard his KTM 250 XC taking the win for the second year in a row by 7 and a half minutes over the JCR Honda Team! "I'm really happy about this one! I was really sick on Friday and was really nervous. The JCR guys kept me on my toes and made me push all night. I have to thank Cyclops Motorsports for hookin it up with these awesome lights and also my dad for everything he does for me. Thanks" Coming in 18 minutes behind the JCR team was the KTM 250 XC of Crawford and Dejongh who were able to keep a comfortable gap on 1st overall Amateurs Klein and Shultz followed by the Pira Brothers rounding out the top 5.

Coming in to the home check at 4 and a half hours, just minutes before Imhof took the checkered flag was the XR 400 of Brewer. The check crew held out the white flag for him and asked if he wanted to head out for a final lap "Hell yeah!" he exclaimed. "But it took you 4 and a half hours to do one lap why would you want to do another one?" the check crew wondered. "Whataya mean? I was hanging out with the girls at check 3 all night!" He laughed!!! Frank ended up waiting for Imhof to finish before he rolled across the finish line but said he loved the course and would be back again next year.

Being one of the smallest clubs in District 37, VCMC relied on the help of many different people from many different clubs and would like to thank United MC, Desert Daisies MC, Huntington Beach MC and 100s MC for all of their help. Without the help of so many district families coming together to put this event on it would not have been possible. Thank You.

RESULTS - http://www.moto-tally.com/VCMC/Results.aspx