MRANN headed to Purgatory Peak for the latest of its desert races. And fortunately Mother Nature mostly cooperated for the big bike race.
PURGATORY PEAK (Oct. 18.) – The desert racers of MRANN assembled here this weekend for the seventh round of their series. It was the Desert eNVy 100 at Purgatory Peak staged by the Tank Slappers MC club.
Saturday’s rains help set make the dirt perfect for the big bike race on Sunday.
“The course is awesome, most fun I’ve had racing a dirt bike in a while,” Levii Hutchings said after winning the race. “There’s rain on the backside, it’s raining pretty good. Good technical course, the downhill was fun, had some fast stuff and awesome washes.”
Then he thanked his wife Brittany, family, as well as sponsors West World Industries, FMF and Fast Company.
This time there was a twist to the usual staggered start. Riders parked their bikes then lined up about 30 yards behind them.
Dan Capparelli (6) and Levii Hutchings started side-by-side with Nathan Wright (1397x) not far behind.
Once a flag was waved riders took off, mounted their bikes, kicked them to life and took off. Dan Capparelli and Levii Hutchings were side-by-side at the expert launch with Nathan Wright almost even with them.
The amateurs run for their bikes when they started the race.
Chuck Faul got a clear hole shot when the amateur line took off and Cody Kemp was the novice leader.
Chuck Faul got the amateur hole shot.
The riders raced across a field then made a sharp turn into a wash before heading off to the eastern part of the course. Due to Saturday’s rain the course was altered so it was about about 50-miles in length.
Cody Kemp (81n) leads the novice charge when their race began.
It took the leader around an hour and 45 minutes to cover the 25-mile long course. After getting fuel he took off for his second lap.
Leviii Hutchings had a good lead when he started his second lap.
Behind him Corey Fletcher had taken second but had Dan Capparelli, who eventually took the spot, right on his back bumper.
Dan Capparelli chases Corey Fletcher (12) for second place.
Overall points leader Austin Serpa was riding a steady race but at the half-way point he was almost five minutes behind leader Hutchings. Further back was Donavyn Morris, who led the amateur charge while Alek Simone headed the Novice group.
As usual at a MRANN race a rider has to complete one lap to be classed as a finisher. Those going for good positions in their class usually ride both circuits.
From reports the first lap went pretty smooth but Mother Nature had a surprise for the riders that headed off to do a second lap.
At the checkered flag Hutchings was the clear winner with over a minute gap on second place. The battle for second went on for most of the race with Capparelli finishing ahead of Fletcher.
“The race was good, pumped up a little bit, got Levii off the start then he passed me back,” Capparelli said. “Tried to stay with him but pumped up too much so had to take a break and that’s when he pulled some time on me. And the race was awesome, the course was marked great and the dirt was perfect.”
Then he thanked his wife and supporters Sierra BMW, FMF, O’Neil, City Boots, Motor X and TBT Suspension.
Third place Fletcher then said, “The first lap was really good, nice and moist then it started pouring on top and I couldn’t see. Chased him (Capparelli) for a while as we were battling back and forth, that was really fun.”
Then he thanked his parents, RMS and all the sponsors that support him.
A shot time later Serpa arrived to take the checkered flag and he too had problems with the rain, a down pour actually on the east side of the course.
“I don’t think I know how to ride on wet dirt any more,” he said. “It started raining over there pretty heavy. If you lose momentum going up hill and it’s slippery you lose traction and it just makes for a bad situation. I didn’t mind the rain as I was getting kind of overheated but I had to take my goggles off because I couldn’t see through them.”
Then he thanked sponsors and supporters Carson Motor Sports, Jamie at Tech One Designs, Tony at Parts Unlimited, Adam from Kreft Suspension, X Brand Goggles and Lamson Motocross.
When he finished Serpa didn’t know if he clinched the overall points championship but said, “…that would be awesome.”
The battle for 10th and 11th place was a family affair with Josh Wilson besting his son Austin.
Donavyn Morris was the first amateur to complete both laps.
Further back in 19th place was Donavyn Morris, the first amateur to finish both laps. He also spoke of another treat Mother Nature had in store for the riders.
After taking a breath he said, “It was good, it was long but it was technical too. There were a lot of waterfalls and my favorite was probably all the ridgelines and some downhill waterfalls. And there was hail back here, a lot of hail, sounded like I was getting roosted 100% of the time.”
Then the thanked his family, Ed and Lisa Sellers as well as sponsors Morris Ag Air and CMS.
Alek Simone was the first novice to complete both laps.
The first novice to complete two laps was Alek Simone.
• On Saturday the Pee Wee’s, Mini Bikes, Women and Bombers ran short courses.
In the junior set Jesse Miller, Jordan Mass, Genevieve Miller and Lukas Dean won their respective classes. The Mini Bike winners were Alek Simone, Sean Dingley and Riley Wood, with Ryder Thomas taking the 65cc amateur win.
A bit later the women took their turn, and those winners were Chrystal Ponsock, Kohlette Duray and Jessi Abplanalp. Topping the Bomber class was Scott Martin.
Now everyone has a rest until the weekend of October 31/November 1 when MRANN stages the final race of their season outside of Winnemucca.
RESULTS
MRANN – Round 7
Desert eNVy 100 at Purgatory Peak
• Sunday, Oct. 18:
Big Bike Overall: 1. Levii Hutchings, 2. Dan Capparelli, 3. Corey Fletcher, 4. Austin Serpa, 5. Reece Honea, 6. Nathan Wright, 7. Jacob Kinkel, 8. Adam Thissen, 9. Wyatt Brittner, 10. Josh Wilson, 11. Austin Wilson, 12. Sean Jones, 13. Matthew McKimmy, 14. Alan Cameron, 15. Titan McKibben, 16. Chris Maas, 17. Randy Wood, 18. Paul Ziegler, 19. Donavyn Morris, 20. Jesse Richardson, 21. Phil Fell, 22. Kurtis Gray, 23. Dave Rennie, 24. Chuck Faul, 25. Dan Rankin, 26. Dillon Boyson, 27. Daniel Lawson, 28. Jimmy Graham, 29. Jeff Shepard, 30. Steve Huffaker, 31. Alek Simone, 32. Tim Lambert, 33. Jason Steel, 34. Thomas Duncan, 35. Brendon Driscoll, 36. Tyler Bogan, 37. Dallas Serpa, 38. Clint Vonlisovic, 39. Jacob Beck, 40. Jim Furia, 41. Ed Sellers, 42. Ryan Pedersen, 43. Ray Sbriglia, 44. Keith Serpa, 45. Devin Walker, 46. Aaron Hawkins, 47. Jim Gray, 48. Philip Rhodes, 49. Robert Christian, 50. Ron Honea, 51. Wyatt Konen, 52. John Boyson, 53. Frederic Pierrel, 54. Brian Cameron, 55. Kyle Banta, 56. Tom Beard, 57. Cody Kemp.
Class Finishes:
0-60: 1. John Boyson
0-50:
Novice: 1. Jim Furia, 2. Frederic Pierrel, 3. Tom Beard.
DNF: Rick Gruber.
Amateur: 1. Jeff Shepard.
DNF:Todd Tremble, Chris Sunderland.
Expert: 1. Ray Sbriglia.
0-40:
Novice: 1. Tim Lambvert, 2. Brian Cameron, 3. Troy Duffy.
Amateur: 1. Chuck Faul, 2. Steve Huffaker, 3. Keith Serpa, 4. Jim Gray, 5. Ron Honea.
Expert: 1. Alan Cameron, 2. Titan McKibben, 3. Randy Wood, 4. Paul Ziegler.
DNF: Jack Reader.
O-30:
Novice: 1. Jason Steel, 2. Jacob Beck, 3. Ryan Pedersen, 4. Wyatt Konen.
Amateur: 1. Jesse Richardson, 2. Phil Fell, 3. Dave Rennie, 4. Aaron Hawkins, 5. Philip Rhodes, 6. Robert Christian.
DNF: Jake Hemphill
Expert: 1. Adam Thissen, 2. Josh Wilson.
Open:
Novice: 1. Brendon Driscoll, 2. Clint Vonlisovic, 3. Cody Kemp.
DNF: Conan Savage
Amateur: 1. Daniel Lawson, 2. Jimmy Graham.
Expert: 1. Levii Hutchings, 2. Reece Honea, 3. Wyatt Britter, 4. Sean Jones, 5. Matthew McKimmy.
4-Stroke:
Amateur: 1. Donavyn Morris, 2. Thomas Duncan.
Expert: 1. Dan Capparelli, 2. Jacob Kinkel, 3. Dan Rankin, 4. Ed Sellers.
200cc:
Novice: 1. Alek Simone, 2. Kyle Banta.
Amateur: 1. Kurtis Gray, 2. Dillon Boyson, 3. Dallas Serpa.
Expert: 1. Austin Wilson, 2. Chris Maas.
250cc:
Novice: 1. Tyler Bogan.
Amateur: 1. Devin Walker.
Expert: 1. Corey Fletcher, 2. Austin Serpa, 3. Nathan Wright.
• Saturday, Oct. 17:
Pee Wees:
6 & Under: 1. Jesse Miller, 2. Peyton Maas, 3. Wyatt Rankin, 4. Tucker Whitworth, 5. Shea Zastwinak, 6. Jesse Richardson, 7. Hannah Engelice, 8. Devan Tichenor.
7 to 9: 1. Jordan Maas, 2. Landen Williams, 3. Seth Rigsby, 4. Jacob Engelice, 5. Destry Rigsby, 6. Christa Ponsock.
4-Stroke: 1. Genevieve Miller, 2. Hayden Hemphill, 3.Tyler Davenport, 4. Kyre Tichenor.
65cc:
Novice: 1. Lukas Dean, 2. Blake Crane, 3. Austin Hough, 4. Garrett Dean.
Amateur: 1. Ryder Thomaselli, 2. Colby Booth, 3. Lawson Williams, 4. Carson Calder, 5. Anthony Braun, 6. Brooke Davis, 7. Chase Furia.
100cc:
Novice: 1. Riley Wood, 2. Arie Furlong, 3. Zach Geddry, 4. Camie Ingram, 5. Elliette Kennedy.
Amateur: 1. Sean Dingley, 2. Henry Anderson, 3. Gary Hamrey.
Expert: 1. Alek Simone, 2. Kody Gray, 3. Ezra Belingheri*, 4. Bryce Tremaine*
Women:
Novice: 1. Jessi Abplanalp, 2. Denielle Hornema, 3. Kelly Miller, 4. Johanna Stone, 5. Sarah Gley, 6. Megan Ross, 7. Kayla Faul, 8. Melinda Chattin, 9. Shean Ferrars, 10. Alyson Wilson.
Amateur: 1. Kohlette Dubray, 2. Angie Figg, 3. Tina Bodden, 4. Brittany Hutchings, 5. Mackinze Dingley, 6. Amanda Ross, 7. Denise Schwarts*
Expert: 1. Chrystal Ponsock.
Bomber: 1. Scott Martin, 2. Garry Moore, 3. Curtis Calder, 4. Michael Furlong.
