American Beta’s race teams have been hard at it these past two weeks with many different events.
Factory Beta ace Cody Webb won the King of Motos extreme off road race last weekend held in Johnson Valley. The 160 mile event was designed by moto-journalists and all around extreme guy Jimmy Lewis so it was nothing but nasty. The race was filled with major rock canyon sections that tested riders to their limits. Webb battled with last year’s winner Graham Jarvis for most of the race. The two separated themselves from the rest of the pack and set themselves up for a showdown in the last few miles. Both riders had rear wheel bib issues however Jarvis’ let loose first which allowed Webb to take his Beta 300 RR 2 stroke to its (and Webb’s) first major win for 2013.
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| Cody Webb leading the King of Motos (photo by Scott Hoffman) |
“Everything fell into place for me at this year’s King of Motos. I had some issues last year and learned from my mistakes and prepared as much as I could for this year’s event. Luck favors the prepared and it helped that I rode consistently all day. The new 300 RR was phenomenal out there in the extreme terrain and the fast whooped out desert. It was the perfect bike and got the job done. Thanks to all my sponsors for their support. This was a big win for me and the team!” Webb explains.
Beta racer Max Gerston also rode the new 300 RR to a solid 10th place finish despite running out of gas.
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| Webb and his first major off road victory. (Photo Scott Hoffman) |
Purvines Racing also showed that they are a team to contend with by having five riders in the top 20 at Round 1 of the AMA National Hare and Hound series. Nick Burson, TJ Hannifin, Justin Morrow, and Axel Pearson finished a solid 4th , 5th , 8th , and 20th respectfully. Dan Capparelli won the highly contested Vet A class and finished 17th overall.
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Nick Burson and his Beta at Round 1 (Photo by Kato)
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Burson describes his race, “The race started at 10am and I had worked on my line for about an hour earlier that morning. Well all that practice went out the window when I got a two-kick start and didn’t get the line I wanted. Luckily for me the dirt was still wet from the rain we got on Friday and there was no dust, which allowed me to be able to see where I was going. I hopped in behind Justin Morrow and Jake Agubright and followed them down the bomb. I guess all of us picked the wrong line because it seemed everyone to the right of us beat us to the trail and we were left around 15th– 20th place or somewhere close to there. Again we were lucky it was wet dirt and there was no dust. From the end of the bomb for the first 15 miles it was a crazy mad dash to get past people. Racers were all over the place and just really hanging it out. I actually ended up going backwards for the first 10 miles before I regrouped and got in a rhythm. From there on I just put my head down and started picking people off. I ended up making it all the way to 3rd overall and right behind Jake who was in 2nd as we came into the pits. I think 2nd thru 5th were in the pits at the same exact time. I felt good about how I was riding on the new Beta 450 RR and thought today was the day I would be on the podium for sure. Heading out on loop 2 they put us in probably the hardest section we had all day, which was a nasty rocky wash, and I just made a small mistake and tipped over. It enabled Kamo to get by me and put a little gap on me by the time I got going and got back in a flow. The whole 2nd loop I could see Kamo and Jake just up ahead but I could never make up the gap. I pushed hard and had a few close calls halfway thru the loop and at that point I just settled in my pace and decided to bring it home with a solid top 5 finish. For me I was happy with how I rode and happy to be up battling for a podium this early in the year with little time on the new bike. I’m really excited for the next round because it’s my hometown and I’m ready to put the Purvines Racing Beta 498 RR on the podium and hopefully the top step of that podium!”
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TJ Hannifin on his Beta 498 RR (Photo by Kato)
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The Purvines team will be at round two of the National Hare and Hound this weekend flying the Beta flag once again. The team has put in more testing in between the two rounds and is more ready than ever.
Sode describes his race, “The opening round of the AMA National Hare Scrambles went pretty well. I got a horrible start, starting at the end of the pack. The track was pretty tight, which made passing a little hard. By the end of the first lap I made my way into the top 5, and just continued to ride a smart race. The track got very rough towards the end of the race with a lot of breaking bumps and whoops. On the final lap I was able to catch the leader and make my way around him winning the 250A class. My bike performed amazingly! With the bottom end power to lug it around with all the top end power you would ever need! The bike is very lightweight and handles awesome, with a very low center of gravity. I feel right at home on the 2 stroke and believe 2013 will be a great year!”
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Justin Sode on his factory-backed Beta 250 RR (photo by offroadviking.com)
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