Beta USA's team competed in four different events this past weekend. USA Factory rider Max Gerston and Beta support rider Kyle McDonal both finished second place at the AMA National Hare Scrambles East and West championships respectively while Morgan Tanke finished 6th in the Ironman (Ironwoman!) class at the Glen Helen 6-hour endurance race. Drew Higgins finished 12th at round 2 of the AMA National Enduro series held in Florida.
Max Gerston explains his race, "I got off to a crummy start but was able to make some quick passes on the motocross track and worked my way into second quickly. The course was fast, slick, and flowy which perfectly suited the Beta 390. Once I learned the course I was able to put down some better lap times but it wasn't enough to get the win. I am happy to finally get the ball rolling in the series and carry this momentum into the following rounds. I had a lot of fun and ended up second place."
Drew Higgins had an off day overall, "The day started off pretty good for the first test as I ended up 9th. Second test was amazing, the trail flowed and the markings were really good. The third test was a struggle for me, many of us got lost, and I ended up getting turned around on the trail and rode the same part of it twice. I figured they would throw it out so I kept pushing the rest of the day knowing my day wasn't over. The fourth and fifth test were similar in terrain, and the sixth was very tight. I felt good in the tight stuff and could pick up a few seconds for my overall finish. The end result was 12th on the day, and I'm ready to improve on that result at the next round."
Kyle McDonal comments, "The race was a lot of fun, I definitely had to take my time through some sections and pick good lines. I made the pass for second about three quarters of the way through the first lap and Wally (Palmer) had a good lead already. He was riding too good for me to make up any time on him. Overall it was a good race for points at only the 2nd round of the championship. I feel really good about the race and can't wait to show my progress in the upcoming races."
Morgan Tanke had a fun yet enduring race, "Racing for 6 hours straight is no joke! The first half of the race seemed to go by pretty quickly but the 4th hour started to take its toll on me when the track was deteriorating. I was able to ride a steady pace and regain some energy to put on a charge at the end. Finally the end was near with an hour to go, I picked the pace back up and finished strong beating out 18 other riders!"
This weekend the Factory Team's schedule is round three of the GNCC held in Sparta, Georgia with riders Jordan Ashburn (XC1) and Drew Higgins (XC2) filling in for injured Nick Davis. In the West, Justin Wallis will be racing in the round six of the WORCS series held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo by Kato