Athlete Blog: Jacob Argubright

National Hare and Hound Race Report – Jacob Argubright

After the crash at round one, and the DNF once I returned to racing at round three, I have really began to rethink the way that my season is going for the Hare and Hound Championship.  At this point I really can’t catch the leaders for the points championship.

This weekends race was the last round before the marathon weekend of EnduroCross, NHHA, and Big Six in May, so I really needed to finish well and carry my momentum forward. Unfortunately the weather was really hot (about 100 degrees), and the ground was very dusty.

Race Day

I got up at 6:00 AM sharp with a new mentality, I’ll do how I do. I really wasn’t the most confident with my season thus far, but it was sure nice to be racing in my home territory. I burned my line in on the start and practiced some starts and everything was good to go.

I headed over to the start 45 minutes early to relax and get into the zone. There were no other riders near me, which was a big confidence boost to get a great pop off the start. The banner went up and I had my KX 450F in gear ready to go. I had my bike started before the banner was down all the way and had a great jump. I was the first to the banner truck and they were cheering me on so I had to stick my feet out to salute them in excitement.

At the end of bomb I was 5th and it funneled down into a canyon where I cruised till I could open ‘er up and pin it. When we got into the valley it was extremely dusty and I was wider then a freeway trying to find clean air.

I got behind my Purvines Racing teammate Nick Burson and followed him keying off of his bike through the dust. I tried to find ways around, but it just wasn’t happening with all of the dust. I spent some time with Kurt in the last few weeks, and I remembered some advice he had told me, so I kept pressing on through the first loop with only minor mistakes. Kurt told me to just keep the competition close, and push it where I knew that I was faster.  In the dust Nick was just as fast as I was, but I was confident that when it got tight on loop two, I could turn it up and make a run.

When we got into the pits Nick was just leaving when I got gas. As we left, I turned on the turbo boosters and went for it. We got into some gnarly black rocks and I had to bonzai through the virgin desert and got up next to Nick. We weren’t backing down we went down a hill and I had to jump a ravine and I got a better jump and enough acceleration to pass Nick finally.

I had a buzz going and I wanted to make another pass so I pressed on with my charge and about 15 miles later I was finally right behind my other Purvines Racing teammate Justin Morrow who was in 3rd. I followed him and in the midst of his dust I saw his bike spin out and him crash. I stopped to make sure he was alright where we had about a 20 second conversation and I kept on going in 3rd.

I still had some juice so I was charging. The heat and course took its toll on me though, I had 20 miles to go and I swear I was seeing mirages! My charge was well over and it turned into a trail ride from then on, it turned into a battle against the heat. The course was very challenging with the heat there were no breaks what so ever. I came off of Soggy Dry Lake knowing I was close to the finish, so I just did everything I could to hold on till the end.

A big thanks to everyone that is supporting me this season, it hasn’t been the year I wanted but its not over. The weight is off my shoulders and I’m looking very forward to the rest of the year! Being back on the podium is exactly where I had hoped to start my season, so I’m just going to treat this like I’m starting a couple months late.

Thanks to all of my 2012 sponsors Monster Energy Kawasaki, Purvines Racing, Kawasaki of Simi Valley, Off Road Support, Moose Racing, Fasst Co. Flexx Handlebars, Jett Boots, Oakley, Braking, Matrix Concepts, Maxima Oil, Mechanix Wear, Traxxas, Motion Pro, Uni Filters, Dunlop, Trick Racing, Rekluse, Dirt Digits, Omega, BRP, TBT Racing, Pro Moto Billet, Fastway Performance, IMS, and Photos by Grumpy.

My next race will be Vegas EndurCross on the Friday night before Supercross.  After the event, I am driving to Utah for the next National Hare and Hound which is the Saturday of Supercross, and then I will race the next afternoon on the way home in Primm for the Big 6 Pro event!

Results:
    •    Kurt Caselli
    •    David Pearson (Kaw)
    •    Jacob Argubright ( Monster Energy/Purvines Kawasaki)
    •    Justin Morrow (Purvines Kawasaki)
    •    Nick Burson (Purvines Kawasaki)

See you in the desert (or Vegas!)

Jake

Jacob911.com