March Revs Forward For Husqvarna Racing Team
March 26, 2010, 2:51pm
Woodcliff Lake, NJ - Husqvarna racers beat mother nature and long odds to bag a couple top 10 finishes. U.S. Desert Racing Association #1 plate holder Nick Burson battled a bad three-kick start and extremely dusty conditions near Murphy, Idaho, while Glenn Kearney was in the woods for a very muddy GNCC round this past weekend. When all was said and done, Nick nabbed ninth in the AMA National Hare & Hound and Kearney overcame a mid-race collision to come back up to sixth in round #3 of GNCC series at Steele Creek, West Virginia.
Despite a three-mile detour in the middle of the race, Burson managed to fight his way back into the top 10 by race's end. "The dust was really bad, so I knew that getting a good start was going to be important," says the Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna teamster. "Unfortunately I was caught a little off guard and ended up getting a three-kick start. From what I was told, I was about 35th at the end of the bomb run."
Burson put his head down and wicked up the throttle on his TXC 450, picking off clumps of three or four riders at a time. "I just tried making as many passes as quickly as I could. Then about halfway through the first loop I was following two guys really closely in their dust and all of a sudden they turned around and headed back in the opposite direction! It was so dusty then that I couldn't even see the course markings so I was just following them."
Unfortunately the trio was chasing a three mile dead-end. "I was really bummed because I had been moving through the pack really well... I ended up back on course behind about half the guys I had already passed," explains the disappointed desert master. "I put my head back down and really took off after the detour." His hard-charging ways put Nick back inside the top 15 by the pits, and he worked his way past more riders on the second lap when the dust would clear.
"I ended up 9th overall, which isn't what I would want, but considering my day, it was pretty good," Nick notes. "I was surprised that I caught up as far as I did given how dusty it was." The long loops made it possible for Burson to stretch his 450 Husqvarna's legs and run down the racers who had gotten back by during the detour. "The course was really fun and I liked the fact that it was really long and contained sections of the rocky technical terrain that I love!"
If anything Glenn Kearney's hard fought sixth place in the GNCC may have been even tougher than Nick Burson's top 10 Hare & Hound ride. "I didn't get the start I wanted," explains Kearney, "but I still managed to work my way up through race traffic, advancing into 6th place." All Glenn's hard work nearly went for naught near the halfway point as a torrential downpour really played havoc with the race. "The conditions were awesome in the morning, but the rain really started to become a problem midrace."
Things went from bad to worse with the rapidly deteriorating conditions. "I got to slipping and sliding in the mud and smashed into a tree which resulted in splitting my gas tank and causing some problems," admits the affable Aussie. Glenn managed to get back into the hunt after his accident, but conditions became progressively worse to the point where the race was called off a lap early when due to a huge bottleneck along the course. "Too bad, because I was working my way up through the pack pretty well."
Kearney is ready for the next GNCC round in Union, South Carolina on April 10th, though. "My plans between the races are to work on better starting techniques so that I can get out early and run up front instead of having to battle to get in front of slower riders." Glenn attributes his early season success to his Husqvarna... and his brother Ben who is tuning his TXC 250. "My bike has been running well and I haven't had any mechanical issues this year," Kearney claims. "Having Ben as my tuner makes me happy as we make a great team and communicate as only brothers can." This close communication combined his Husqvarna's reliability has propelled Kearney into the top 10 overall through three rounds of GNCC competition.
Despite a three-mile detour in the middle of the race, Burson managed to fight his way back into the top 10 by race's end. "The dust was really bad, so I knew that getting a good start was going to be important," says the Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna teamster. "Unfortunately I was caught a little off guard and ended up getting a three-kick start. From what I was told, I was about 35th at the end of the bomb run."
Burson put his head down and wicked up the throttle on his TXC 450, picking off clumps of three or four riders at a time. "I just tried making as many passes as quickly as I could. Then about halfway through the first loop I was following two guys really closely in their dust and all of a sudden they turned around and headed back in the opposite direction! It was so dusty then that I couldn't even see the course markings so I was just following them."
Unfortunately the trio was chasing a three mile dead-end. "I was really bummed because I had been moving through the pack really well... I ended up back on course behind about half the guys I had already passed," explains the disappointed desert master. "I put my head back down and really took off after the detour." His hard-charging ways put Nick back inside the top 15 by the pits, and he worked his way past more riders on the second lap when the dust would clear.
"I ended up 9th overall, which isn't what I would want, but considering my day, it was pretty good," Nick notes. "I was surprised that I caught up as far as I did given how dusty it was." The long loops made it possible for Burson to stretch his 450 Husqvarna's legs and run down the racers who had gotten back by during the detour. "The course was really fun and I liked the fact that it was really long and contained sections of the rocky technical terrain that I love!"
If anything Glenn Kearney's hard fought sixth place in the GNCC may have been even tougher than Nick Burson's top 10 Hare & Hound ride. "I didn't get the start I wanted," explains Kearney, "but I still managed to work my way up through race traffic, advancing into 6th place." All Glenn's hard work nearly went for naught near the halfway point as a torrential downpour really played havoc with the race. "The conditions were awesome in the morning, but the rain really started to become a problem midrace."
Things went from bad to worse with the rapidly deteriorating conditions. "I got to slipping and sliding in the mud and smashed into a tree which resulted in splitting my gas tank and causing some problems," admits the affable Aussie. Glenn managed to get back into the hunt after his accident, but conditions became progressively worse to the point where the race was called off a lap early when due to a huge bottleneck along the course. "Too bad, because I was working my way up through the pack pretty well."
Kearney is ready for the next GNCC round in Union, South Carolina on April 10th, though. "My plans between the races are to work on better starting techniques so that I can get out early and run up front instead of having to battle to get in front of slower riders." Glenn attributes his early season success to his Husqvarna... and his brother Ben who is tuning his TXC 250. "My bike has been running well and I haven't had any mechanical issues this year," Kearney claims. "Having Ben as my tuner makes me happy as we make a great team and communicate as only brothers can." This close communication combined his Husqvarna's reliability has propelled Kearney into the top 10 overall through three rounds of GNCC competition.
