Hibbert Wins the Monster Energy Canadian MX2 Trans Can Shootout
Thief River Falls, Minn. (August 20, 2007) – Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki’s Tucker Hibbert finished his motocross season with a bang by taking the overall win at the Monster Energy Canadian Motocross Nationals East/West Shootout in Walton, Ontario. Hibbert went 2-1, in a two moto format, to take his career-second overall win at the final race of the series.
In moto one, Hibbert got a mid-pack start but by the third lap he charged all the way to second place. With leader Phillip Nicoletti in sight, Hibbert put his head down. Nicoletti made a mistake and went down on lap ten giving Hibbert the number one position. Nicoletti quickly picked himself up and the rest of the race was an all out battle between the two riders. Nicoletti passed Hibbert back with two laps to go and crossed with finish line with only a 0.307 second gap over second place Hibbert.
After losing the first moto by only a bike length, Hibbert was determined to win the second moto but another poor start left him fighting through traffic. He quickly made up time and passed second place Nicoletti on lap three positioning him six seconds behind the leader and last year’s shootout winner Michael Willard. Hibbert put the hammer down, gaining over a second every lap and made the pass for first on lap eight. Hibbert crossed the finish line nearly 12 seconds ahead of Willard for the moto two win and the Battlefield MX2 Shootout title.
This marks Hibbert’s last scheduled motocross event of 2007. Hibbert recently signed with Team Arctic Racing to compete in the first half of the World PowerSports Association’s Snowmobile Tour and ESPN’s Winter X Games. He will continue to ride motorcycles throughout the snocross season to prepare for his fifth American Motorcyclist Association’s East Coast Lites series. To keep track of this crossover athlete’s wild schedule and life check out www.tucker-hibbert.com.
Trans Can Shootout Results:
• MX2 Overall: 1st Place
• MX2 Moto 1: 2nd Place
• Fastest Lap Time: 2:05.472
• MX2 Moto 2: 1st Place
• Fastest Lap Time: 2:06.183
• For complete lap times, log on to www.cmrcracing.com.
Tucker Hibbert – #103 Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki
Moto 1: “I got a bad start so I spent the first few laps battling through traffic. I made my way into second place on the fourth lap and started charging to catch the leader. I got fortunate when he [Phillip Nicolettli] fell but he got back up right behind me. We battled for the last six laps and I ended up finishing only a bike length behind him for second place.”
Moto 2: “I knew I had to get a better start and learned some really good lines from the first moto that could get me to the front. Unfortunately I got another bad start so I put the hammer down and started my charge to the front. I passed Nicoletti for second and saw Willard out front with a pretty big gap. I knew it would be a lot to work to catch him. I tried to be really consistent and started reeling him in. I got a lot of momentum going through one of the sections and went into the next corner side by side with him telling myself that I was going to pass him in that corner. I did and ended the race with a good lead.”
Overall Win: “It was awesome to win the overall this weekend for myself and the entire Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki team. The shootout is a really big race with all of the East and West riders coming together. There were a lot of fast guys that I haven’t raced this year. Taking the overall makes me feel a lot better with how hard we worked this year. I want to thank the entire team and sponsors for their support this year.”
