It was an excellent weekend for both the Factory Beta race team as well as the Beta/Purvines team as both scored victories in two prestigious events.
The duo of Purvine’s racers Nick Burson and Justin Morrow won the overall at the Vegas to Reno Hare and Hound beating out the 2nd place team by a mere six seconds. The race is the longest in the USA at roughly 550 miles. The team chose their trusty Beta 489 RR as the six-speed gave them the speed needed for the 100 mph plus straight sections. The team reported no issues in the famous event. The team also beat out all of the cars with them finishing roughly 12 minutes behind the Beta team. Race promoter Casey Folks stated that six seconds was the closest margin ever recorder in the Vegas to Reno event.
Justin Morrow describes his race, “I left the line at 5:45 am, in near darkness and focused on pulling an early lead. My Beta 498 RR ran flawless and I just put my head down and didn’t look back for the first 100 miles and tried to open a gap and take advantage of clear air”.
Nick Burson got on the bike at pit three and continued the charge in route to the team’s first major victory.
Also finishing first in the 30+ Pro class and sixth overall was the team of Dan Capparelli and Tim Fitzpatrick riding the Purvines Racing backed Beta 498 RR. The team finished strong with no issues throughout the race.
Team owner Ron Purvines was proud of his team’s performance as he explains, “We have worked hard all year and a win like this definitely made it all worth it. Nick and Justin rode an amazing race and the support of our pit crew kept them going to the finish. I’m proud of the entire Purvines Racing team and I want to thank all of our sponsors for believing in us.”
On the other side of the country, Beta Factory rider Cody Webb won the Tennessee Knock Out (aka TKO) held on Sunday at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, TN. with fellow Beta rider Max Gerston finishing the final in 4th. The field was stacked with talented riders including two-time TKO winner Mike Brown, Enduro Specialists Nick Farringer and Russell Bobbitt, Enduro X stars Kyle Redmond, and Taylor Robert, as well as World Enduro rider Fabien Planet.
Recent rains to the area created nasty conditions with water flowing in the creeks making the rocks super slippery. The race has a series of Knockout races to eliminate riders. These Knockout races are also designed to test the limits of the rider’s fitness levels with major rock climbs.
Webb dominated the event in every race he entered, starting by winning the morning Knockout race by more than 15 minutes over 2013 TKO race winner Mike Brown. Webb then won again in the second race building his confidence going into the main event where he had few problems and used his Trials experience and his fitness training to take the win strong margin.
“After finishing second to Brown two years in a row, I was determined to put my head down and get the win this year. I spent the majority of my time off during injury trying to stay in tip top physical shape. The work I put in definitely payed off. I qualified first in every moto of the day and ran away with the victory in the main. My bike worked awesome all day and helped with my perfect day. Everything worked together and I can’t thank the team and my dad enough for the support. Felt great to get that win off my back.” Webb Explains.
Max Gerston put in an amazing fight after a little struggling in the early races. He put his head down in the main and finished a credible fourth place. He switched from his normal Enduro X 350 RR 4 stroke to his 300 two stroke for the wet conditions.
Max describes his race, “TKO was fun for me! I had a super tough time getting up a ridiculous hill in the first Moto which weakened me for the second qualifier. My qualifier was totally stacked but I was able to come out on top in a sick battle between Russel Bobbitt and I. I was stoked to be in the main, and I had a short amount of time to get my body ready to go for the final. I had a rough sighting lap, I got stung by a nasty bee, and smashed my shoulder on a tree super hard. In the main I was able to just keep moving forward and be consistent. My Beta 300 RR was the perfect bike for the job and I was super pumped to earn a 4th place finish. Things definitely took and turn for the better during the second half of the day. Huge thanks to my sponsors for all the support!”
The weekend was the most successful ever for the Beta teams. Marketing Manager Tim Pilg was ecstatic with the results, “Ron Purvines called me seconds after the Vegas to Reno race finished to tell me the good news. I was super pumped yet not too surprised as I feel he has all of the pieces to make things happen. Nick, Justin, and the rest of his guys have the right attitude and they all love the bikes which at the end of the day makes everything worth it! Cody’s win meant allot to me as I have been trying to show trials guys that they can do well in extreme events and Cody has been the poster child of this thought. He has been training super hard (even with a broken foot) and his results are proof of this hard work. Max turned in what I feel was his best overall ride since he has been with us. It wasn’t like there was no one there, the field was stacked! We are looking to carry our momentum into the next few races to show riders out there that Beta is here to stay.”