November 24th, 2009 | Author: markgirardi
The last event of the 2009 AMA District 36 race at Wilseyville was awesome!!!
What a great day, perfect Fall weather and fantastic course conditions helped make the Wilseyville “09” Hare Scramble Race a true Sierra Nevada Classic.
Congratulations to the entire SNA Motorcycle Race Team:
SNA Motorcycle Race Team enjoyed the fantastic course conditions and finished up the 2009 AMA District 36 season strong!!!
p>httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7_H_Iuf81c<p
· John Fiori – 1st place “trophy” (B Senior) – John nailed the hole shot hard and fast and finished with a 1st place “win”.
· Sam Bird – 6th place “trophy” (A Senior) – Sam rode strong throughout the entire race and finished with a 6th place “trophy”
· Louis Fisher – 13th place (B Vet) – Louis finished the ’09 season with his first B class race and finish strong with a 13th place.
p>httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6H0VEMELDU<p
SNA members:
Tom “Chico” Martin – 17th place (C Vet) – Chico rode hard in the first few laps until he had trouble in the rocky creek bed but got another pin!
Nick Rasmussen – 14th place (B Open) – Nick was riding great in 2nd place until he got a flat…bummer, but didn’t give up and finished strong.
Wilseyville Hare Scramble:
If you only attend one race a year it should be the classic Wilseyville Hare Scramble.
Hare scramble is the name given to a particular form of off-road motorcycle racing that involves multiple laps around a marked course through wooded, rugged natural terrain which is what the classic Wilseyville Hare Scramble is all about. Once a year the remote Schaad Ranch opens up its private plot of land to the AMA D36 off-road racers to compete in the last and best hare scramble race in the Sierra Nevada. The historic Schaad Ranch is located in a remote section of Calaveras County at an elevation of 3,500 feet, the terrain is a mix of black oak, scrub brush, and pine forest, with many additional obstacles such as rocky creek beds, log crossings, mud and several loose rock hill-climbs which makes for a very difficult 10+ mile course known to the motorcycle enthusiast as the Wilseyville Hare Scramble.
p>httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_3upya_pA<p
Welcome to the SNA Motorcycle Race Team – it’s all about racing!!!
SNA is dedicated to bring you the latest news and happenings in the AMA D36 racing.
Contact: info@SierraNevadaAdventure.com for any questions and request an application form to find out if you qualify for the SNA Motorcycle Race Team; get any questions answered, or simply come on out to the races, introduce yourself to our friendly SNA members / racers and enjoy a fun-filled weekend of AMA D36 motorcycle racing.
p>httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zvAyx87_2Q<p
More video at; SNAmark’s youtube channel
See you at the races.
Mark – it’s all about adventure
Hey,
I looked for the SNA Team but no luck (and no shirt). Having never raced MX before and going to this race by myself, sitting on the starting line on my ’01 DRz400 (with felt markered numbers) I really felt out gunned- to be going up against veteran racers who may be desperate for final season points. I recounted my experience for my friends by email so maybe they would go next time, and read as such:
- Wilseyville Hare Scramble
If there is a cross country race to consider participating in, I would recommend is the Annual Wilseyville Hare Scramble, which I did Saturday. The race was a timed 1.5 hour, 5 mile forested -7 lap course. No preview or pre- use (all year!) is allowed. The whole track set up was perfect & had just received 1- 2″ of rain. In the a.m., kid classes were run first which served as a pre-grooming, thru the virgin forest, for the senior events in the afternoon which were run in 1 minute delayed staggered shotgun starts. There were about 5 such waves w/ about 25 racers per class.
My experience started by driving in the parking lot which was packed with rv’s and trailers, much bigger of a ‘event’ than I anticipated. It turned out to be final round of District 36 Cross Country Series. Being my first MX race, my only race strategy I had at that point was to just get off clean, avoid trouble, and not to over-exert at the beginning and avoid my chronic arm pump. That all changed at the first turn with the race dictating different and the awesome! conditions. Being on the outside line I kept it pinned to turn 2 & filed into 4th position. The race tempo was hot but the leader started to leave.
Confidence came quick and I wasn’t about to follow if I could go faster. I broke out from the pack and ran second/ third for the race. Passing many riders in the previous race wave started early on, (with track route variations), added to some placement confusion I encountered throughout. One detrimental oversight I made was to not wrap my thumbs with the sports tape I brought (which blistered bad) and was a injured rider 2/3 through. I fell on the DRZ 2 minutes from the finish, after getting cross rutted after a creek crossing uphill. Then was passed for second, unknowingly, and ended up trophying 3rd about 1minute: 13 sec. down from first.
The conditions made the whole race at full hook up, both power and brakes, always in control. The forest was typical of like Stonyford (a more open forest wide track), some straights were 55-65mph (rippin’), some areas of slow weaving in christmas trees, and with shaded cool/ wet creek and rivine areas also. Just rolling up and down and all over on perfect dirt always at a quick pace. Taking roost was almost funny. The whole thing was excellent being it had just rained . Epic really.
Totally recommend to those of interest.
Chuck- ‘C’ Senior Plus
Awesome Chuck!
Sorry we were not able to connect. There were a lot of trailers out there and it got dark fast so I can see how our SNA rig would be hard to find. We had to spend a few minutes over with Justin from WR-1 suspension getting some kinks worked out, but we did have a a much needed bbq Saturday night. Boy it was cold. We made a campfire and I had to sit so darn close to it I burned myself. Brrrrr.
Stoked to hear you trophied your race. Keep it up and you’ll be banging bars with John Fiori in the B Senior class! Well at least until he gets bumped to A this year…(fingers crossed). Schedule is not out yet, but keep in mind there are some more great races coming up in January when the AMA d36 2010 season begins. SNA will more than likely be representing in some form or another at just about all the X country and Enduros this next year.
-NCT
Hi Chuck,
You’re right the Wilseyville Hare Scramble was Epic!!!
Great to hear you made it to the Wilseyville Hare Scramble, sorry you were unable to find us.
That’s awesome to hear you trophied in your race. Like Nor-Cal Tom said, keep it up and you’ll be banging bars with John Fiori in the B Senior class! Well at least until he gets bumped to A this year…(fingers crossed). Don’t forget there’s more great races and SNA events coming up in the 2010 season.
We look forward to meeting you and riding with you soon, maybe will see you on the day “after” Thanksgiving ride at Stonyford…
Thanks: Mark – It’s all about Adventure
Wilseyville Hare Scramble 2009 was the best year EVER!! It was perfect i was in the last race on sunday so the track was nice, i was in the c-open class on my 06 crf 450x it was perfect!!! I get to ride this terrian everyday cause i live 10 miles away from the race i love riding up here!!!
Kenny,
Think you can take some of us for a ride up there. I want to ride some new trails and I like the Wilseyville trails.
Tom, Mark busted you in the video, taking a nap in the creek. Get on the bike and get ready for PCGP!
Good videos Mark!
Can the team sponsor Tom and buy his a starter for that Honda?
Thanks!
Hi Louis,
Thanks, I’m glad you liked the videos.
You and the entire SNA Race Team did an awesome job racing!!!
I’m looking forward to the 2010 D36 season.
Mark – It’s all about racing in 2010
Important notice to all off-road riders;
Schaad Ranch is privately owned and the riding area around Schaad Ranch is mostly owned by Sierra Pacific Industries “not” National Forest, it’s private property and they do not encourage riding. The local dirt roads are county maintained and the sheriff’s department regularly patrol for non-licensed bikes on Schaad Rd. Blue Mountain Rd. Bailey Ridge and Bald Mountain Rd. There are parcels of National Forest interspersed throughout the area, but most are accessible only by crossing private property.
It’s highly recommended to contact the Stanislaus National Forest to request a detailed map prior to planning any off-road riding in this area.
Questions email: info@sierranevadaadventures.com
Thanks: Mark – It’s all about adventure