David Pearson Wins Lucerne Hare & Hound Round 9
FMF/KTM
rider David Pearson ended his season on top of the podium after
nabbing the win at the final round of the series at Johnson Valley
OHV Park.
Pearson had a poor start after his bike didn't fire on the first
kick, but quickly made up for it as he moved into 6th by the end of
the bomb run. At the end of the first 29 mile loop Pearson had
moved up to 3rd place behind race leader Kendall Norman and 2nd
place runner Destry Abbott. Pearson's teammate, David Kamo, was not
far behind running inside the top five.
Leaving the pit area after the first loop, Pearson made a pass on
Abbott to take over 2nd place. He continued to charge forward on
the second loop to come within 10 seconds of Norman. On the third
loop, Pearson had Norman in his sites and began to close the gap
for the lead. He made a pass on Norman through the rocks about
halfway into the loop. Norman followed for a short period before
passing Pearson back and the two remained in battle through the end
of the loop.
Now on the final loop, Pearson
was sitting in 2nd place just a few seconds behind Norman looking
for a way to pass. "I knew I needed to pass him and get it done
fast so I just tightened my chin strap and pushed hard," remarked
Pearson. Approximately 6 miles into the final loop Pearson was able
to pass Norman and led for the next 2 miles before he missed a
corner and allowed Norman back by. "I missed a ribbon and soon
ended up off course. Norman saw me turn around and got by me."
Norman continued to lead until a big rock hill at the final miles
of the loop. "We were riding two different lines up the hill both
wide open. Norman made a bobble and it gave me the edge I needed to
make the pass for the lead stick. I moved around him and hung on
for the win." Pearson took the win over Norman by 15 seconds.
Pearson's teammate, Kamo, finished the race in 4th position.
"It feels really good to get a win here today. We are putting a
pretty big effort into the Baja race this year and this win gives
me the confidence I need to head into that race. I am bummed I
couldn't have earned more wins this season but it definitely feels
good to end the season on top of the box," stated Pearson.
Overall Results
1) David Pearson - KTM
2) Kendall Norman
3) Destry Abbott
4) David Kamo - KTM
5) Quinn Cody
Overall Points
1) Kendall Norman - 234
2) David Kamo - 176
3) David Pearson - 170
4) Destry Abbott - 137
5) Jacob Argubright - 125
