Podium Finish

National Hare & Hound Race Report

By Jacob Argubright

Round one of the National Hare and Hound Series went just about as good as could be this last weekend. I feel like all of the months of preparation, and everything that Ed, my dad, and Tuner have done in the garage have paid off, and I am proud to say that I got myself and all of my sponsors on the podium for the second time this year.

With a ten round series that has no throw outs, it's important to get as many points as possible as soon as possible. The goal this weekend was to get on the podium, and with the start that I got it almost didn't look like it was going to happen. But, I knew that it was going to be a long race, and anything could happen as the race wore on.

Pre Race

Saturday I got up early and worked on the suspension on my new bike. Tuner says that the 2011 is a little bit different than that of the 2010, so we had to work on the forks a bit to get them to a point that I really liked. Travis went out with me for a couple hours, and before we knew it Ed was here and it was time to get the bike ready for the race day.

The start was really long, and really wide open, so I just tried it from a couple different angles, but really knew where I was going after the first run. We marked out spot with a stand, and headed back to the truck for the night.

While Ed was working in the green truck, I showered up and got ready for the Autograph signing that Patty and Chris had put together. It lasted about an hour in the sign up tent, but it went by really quick, so I was happy to see some people that I hadn't seen in a couple months.

Race Morning

I woke up at 6:15 from about 10 hours of sleep which was the most id gotten all week! I got out of bed and took my bike to the line with my dad. We had a good spot picked out, about dead center, and I felt like if I could get the bike to start I had a shot to be out front. It was pretty crazy to see how busy everything was, and Justin Morrow had decided to line up right next to me in the middle. Ivan Ramirez and a few others were here for the first time at an NHHA race, so it was definitely nerve racking wondering who was going to get the start.

At 8:45 AM I headed back to the startline and prepped my line. They told us that it was going to be a delayed start because of an accident on the road, so I just tried to walk around and concentrate to make sure that I was ready for the banner drop. We ended up starting about 9:50, and again I had about a 4 kick start. My dad said that I was about 20 to the end of the bomb, and it literally went from 80 mph to 15 mph in a matter of feet. Normally I would like the difficult slower trails because I feel like I can excel at those sections, but in this race, with the leaders so far out front it was not a good feeling at all. I battled my way through traffic all the way to check one, and got stuck behind Ryan Kudla for the middle ten miles or so of loop one. I know that he could see me there, because he would look around every time that we got into a tighter section, but eventually I got past him and pushed forward towards Destry who was in 4th.

I followed Destry into the pits, and could see him pulling out as I was coming down the hill into the pits. Ed told me I was about 30 seconds down, and I knew that I would have a chance to make up time on loops two and three as they were more technical. Loop two was actually a little bit harder than I thought it would be, and it was pretty sandy and loose throughout a lot of the loop. There were a couple cool hills, and everyone at each of the checks really cheered for me as I went through. At the end of the loop we continued on towards the Alt gas where I knew that my dad and Ed would be waiting for me.

The problem here was that I was so focused on catching Justin who was ahead, that I physically missed the entrance to the Alt Pits. I had to loop around and lost about 20 seconds due to my error. It was ok though, because loop three was really a lot more difficult then I think any of us were ready for. As we went up the first hill, I knew that I would have a shot, but running in 5th, it was going to be tough to make up two spots with only 10 miles left to go.

About 4 miles into loop 3 I finally caught up to Justin. He was ripping and riding great to! We went down into a tight canyon and we started yelling back and forth to each other for fun, it was awesome I don't think we could have been anymore out of breath. I made the pass by going up and around him in the rocks, and he yelled something at me as I went by. I unfortunately got lost and he got back in front and we ended up going back in forth a couple of times Destry was ahead, but I still couldn't see him so I figured I was just going to finish the day with 4th.

As we crossed the last valley, I literally had the bike pinned. It physically couldn't go any faster. Everything that we have done to the bike at this point was really working, TBT Suspension, Fastway steering stabilizer, my Dunlop tires, and the BRP components all gave me the confidence to just hold on and know that the bike would work. I know I was going fast when I could see Destry only half a valley ahead.

With about a mile to go, I noticed a KTM up ahead. IT WAS KURT! I mean, it was bad that he was out, but it meant that I was going to get past and onto the podium. Apparently his motor went and he was stuck pushing for a mile or so. It just goes to show that you can't give up no matter where you are in the race. I finished Round One in Third Overall, and it really feels good to have those points this early on.

Other Notes

I have been testing some new boots for the last two weeks and we decided Monday to go with them for the rest of the year. They are Italian made by a company called Jett Boots. These boots are really awesome! They are light, and very tough. I had to have kicked rocks about 4 or 5 times on loop three, but it felt like nothing had happened the whole way through. Another important part to the boot, and probably reason I like these so much, is the way that they feel on the footpegs. These things are awesome on top of the bike, and I can really feel my body position no matter where my feet are on the pegs. We are going to use them all year, and I am really looking forward to helping promote them throughout the Off Road World.

I am also in early testing stages for a new Neck Brace, but I'm still going to spend some time to make sure that I am used to it before I race with one. The brace I have is made by Omega, and I'm sure that we will have more info on it in the near future.

My Trainer Jason Johnson, who is soon to become an "Ironman Triathalon Champion," and I have been working really hard. We work out here at Bodies in Motion in Northridge, and they have been really great and supportive of me and my racing! Jason has actually inspired me to become a personal trainer, so in the near future, if you need a trainer, you know who to call!

Here is his site if you're interested in training with the guy who has been so instrumental to my performance this last year.

Lastly, if you were lucky enough to make it by the Off Road Support Truck you will see that Kal-Gard has really stepped up and stocked out truck full of everything you need to keep your bike running and looking good. We have been using the products for the last couple months, and from here out we will have them available at all of the desert races.

There are some really great products under the Kal-Gard tent, and I'm proud that we are able to represent them as they help us with the Off Road Support team for 2011. Come see Ed or Ryan if you need oil or any other chemicals out in the desert.