U.S.D.R. / Moose Racing
California Desert Championship Round 3

“BURSON BLOWS ‘EM AWAY!”

By Dave Earll Photos by Tony Lamping/off-roadphotos.com

Red Mountain. RIDGECREST, CA. 3-30-2008

No stranger to the desert winds, Kawasaki’s Nick Burson breezed to his third overall victory of the year at Round Three of the U.S.D.R./Moose Racing Desert Series.

Heading into the third race of the series, the 2007 champion has simply been unstoppable, and due to the scheduling of a National Hare & Hound and Hare Scramble event the same weekend, some of Burson’s toughest competition would unfortunately be absent from this round. Without number two plate holder Ryan Kudla, number three Dylan Murdock, and Matt Henderson nipping at his heels, Burson looked poised to continue his winning streak and extend his point lead.

Hopes that the high winds earlier in the week would die down before race day would not come to pass as 60 mph gusts greeted the competitors and course crew on race morning.

“It’s been a difficult week,” said the U.S.D.R. race director, “we’ve been fighting the elements for the last few days, but the course looks to be in good shape for today’s race.”

While the windy conditions are often hard on the promoters and spectators it can be a blessing for the racers, especially in the dusty conditions of the southern California desert.

Wind or no wind, it was time to go racing! First to leave the line in the “timed start” pro race was the Honda of Colby Begin, followed by Burson, Jeff Trulove, and the North County Motorcycles/FMF sponsored Honda of Dylan lane, whose race would come to a quick end only a few miles into the first lap. “I hit a rock while running wide open,” said Lane, “it looks like I broke my right foot.” It was an eventful first lap, but by check three, Burson had already worked his way into the physical lead and was pulling away from the field.

By lap three Burson was already in position to put his VMC/Factory Backing/AXO sponsored KXF-450 on cruise control, however life would not be so easy for the rest of the field as the battle for “best of the rest” was just heating up. Begin was holding on to second, but coming up fast was the ever persistent senior racer Charlie Barney, whose performances this year have been nothing short of spectacular.

After racing a District 37 race on Saturday and scoring the race one victory in the morning over number one plate holder Ron Burns and the 14 year old mini expert hot-shoe Josh Smith, 50 year old Barney was ready to take on yet another 6 laps in race two. Starting from the second row back, Barney was able to get around the open and vet expert fields and work his way up to the front mixing it up with the pros. An early pit stop by Trulove would move the AV KTM/ESR senior racer into third overall just seconds behind Begin.


Lap four would see Barney make his move passing Begin for second overall, and though Burson was long gone out in the lead, there was some great racing back in the field. Erek Kudla was putting in a solid ride, and although he would also suffer a painful (foot vs. rock) injury, he was holding on to fourth followed by the KTM of Trevor Watson and the TFR/FLY/FMF Honda of Trulove.

Lap five would see the racers fighting the wind as well as their competitors. “The wind was definitely a factor in the whoops and ridges,” Said Burson, “But I’m used to it.” Meanwhile, Barney was able to keep his KTM in second for one more lap and Trulove was able to make the move on Watson, getting himself back into the fifth.

Heading into the finish, Burson would take the checkered flag for the third straight time this year. “I had a great race today,” said the U.S.D.R. champion, “no crashes and no bike problems, it was a great ride!” Begin would make the pass on the last lap to retake second putting in a great ride on his Snap-On Tools Honda. Third would go to the amazing but tired Charlie Barney, followed by the T.O. Yamaha of Kudla with Trulove rounding out the top five.


Next race May 25th, Red Mountain Ca.

U.S.D.R. / Moose Racing
California Desert Championship Round 2

“Burson scores second win”

By Dave Earll

Photos by Tony Lamping/off-roadphotos.com

Red Mountain, RIDGECREST, CA. 2-17-08

For the second race in a row, Nick Burson dominated the Pro Class and scored the win at Round Two of the U.S.D.R./Moose Racing Desert Series. Burson, who is quickly becoming off-road racings most impressive young talents, was just as fast and just as impressive as he was at the previous round, and by this time, the rest of the class has got to be wondering what they can do to stop the Kawasaki rider.

Round 2 would bring the Pro’s back out to Red Mountain along with over 250 other competitors making this the biggest and best U.S.D.R. race to date. Competition was going to be tough as a stacked field lined up for the timed start.

Drawing the number one starting position and first to take the green flag would be the Honda of motocrosser Colby Begin, racing in only his second pro race, the Snap On tools sponsored rider would have a great opportunity capitalize on the dust free conditions, and be looking to improve on his fourth place finish at round one. Leaving second and taking off in hot pursuit of Begin was Matt Henderson, followed by the rest of the pro field in 30 second increments. Forced to take final start position was the last minute entry of National Hare & Hound Champion David Pearson. “I’m out here on my honey moon and wanted to get in some desert racing,” said Pearson, but racing on a borrowed bike, and starting at the back of the pack was going to prove difficult for the Red Bull/KTM rider.

Also proving to be difficult was the race track, with the fast trails and high speed sections taking their toll on the racers as early as the second lap. First to suffer a race ending crash, Henderson was forced to exit the race while running second, just 15 seconds behind Burson, definitely a disappointment for the only rider who was able to match the speed of the leader during the day. With Henderson now heading to the pits, Burson would have some breathing room and be able to concentrate on laying down some fast and consistent laps.

With Burson’s lead stretched to two minutes, the competition would now be racing for second place. By the beginning of the third lap a great battle was developing between Pearson and Ryan Kudla. Pearson was making up some serious ground and was now in the number two position with a mere one second advantage over the T.O. Kawasaki/Maxima sponsored KXF 450 of Kudla. Justin Morrow also put in a great lap and was able to move his Kawasaki into fourth, followed by Dylan Murdock then Begin who was beginning to have some problems and would eventually call it a day on the fourth lap.

Lap four would also take its toll on another rider, as a crash would put Morrow on the sideline with an injured Knee and put an end to his charge. Up at the front of the pack, Burson was still flying with a two minute lead over Pearson, who managed to pull out a 13 second advantage over Kudla by not pitting on an early lap, this strategy would prove devastating for the KTM rider as he ran out of gas at the end of lap five and ended any chance of a top three finish.

Pearson’s bad luck was good news for Murdock who had now moved up to third position.

“It feels great to put in a good ride, and not crash!” said the Maxxis/Maxima/GPR sponsored Team Green rider, referring to his hard get-off at round one.

At the finish, it was another dominating win for the VMC/BRP/AXO/Scotts sponsored Burson who has made it two for two in this year’s series. Kudla put in another solid ride and matched his round one performance by finishing second, followed by Murdock in third, who now seems to be getting back on last years pace. The next two positions would go to some more “experienced” riders, as 39 year old Anthony Modica claimed fourth overall ahead of 50 year old Charlie Barney who made a busy weekend for himself by entering two classes on the same day. Barney began by doing what nobody has been able to do in the past year, beat Ron Burns in race # one. Not since Max Eddy did it way back in round two of last year, has another racer been able to take the checkered flag ahead of Burns. Coming off that win, the veteran KTM racer capped off his amazing day by finishing an impressive fifth in race #2.