The following press release is from the AMA U.S. Hard Enduro Championship:
Round 2 of the AMA National Hard Enduro Championship, presented by IRC Tire, was the Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. With the season kicking off in the arid Southern California desert at the King of the Motos last month, the second round brought the complete opposite conditions in Hawaii, with rain all week setting the stage for a brutal showdown in the steep jungle terrain. This is the third Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro that the Garden Island Motorcycle Club has put on, but this legendary club has been hosting these off-road races since 1945 here on Kauai.
Located less than 10 miles away from one of the wettest places on earth, Mount Waiʻaleʻale, there was over one week of heavy rains that soaked the Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro course, which brought a range of feelings from the racers. This race was fairly wet in 2024, but very dry last year, so many were hoping for a chance at this race with more rain. Hawaiians are well-known for their ability to ride in very wet and muddy conditions, whether it be up steep lava-formed mountainsides or rushing creeks. A normal trail ride in Hawaii is considered a hard enduro ride for most people on the mainland, due to the tropical conditions and thick jungles. The GIMC’s signature event, the Labor Day Hare and Hound, has been running for 71 years, and could be considered the longest running extreme race in the world. The past two Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduros have been won by Kawelo Huddy, a local football star turned hard enduro phenom. The pressure to perform on the home stage was on for Huddy and his other Bullet Proof Designs KRD Hui teammates, Kamakana Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna and Ryder Guest.
Day 1 consisted of the Pro and A class Prologue, which took place on a rarely ridden area. Ninety racers took off one at a time one minute apart, winding through muddy virgin trails and slick creek beds. Ryder Guest scored the fastest time of the Prologue, which decided the start position for the Main Race, with a 17 minute 15 second time. His two teammates finished in second and third for the qualifying race, less than 30 seconds behind. Rounding out the top-5 and front row of the Main Race was FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart, and local legend Chris Satterfield with KRD Hui.
The Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro Main Race consisted of four courses: Pro, A, B, and C. This allowed for racers to be on their respective skill-based course and for traffic to keep flowing safely. The Pro course was approximately 21 miles and took racers through some of the hardest trails in Omao, with a 5-hour time limit to complete it. Omao is a riding area on Kaua’i, where knowledge of the terrain and how to manage the conditions plays into the hands of the locals. The front row took off, with rows behind starting a minute apart. The first third of the course went back to where the Prologue was and is also where the most close battling took place. Huddy took the lead at the first checkpoint, towing the front pack back into the start area for the gas check, before they went into the Omao mountains. The rain really started to come down at this point. Huddy and Kamakana were within seconds of each other for nearly half the race, but Kana’s bike started to lose a clutch and had to return to the pits about ¾ through the race, losing his proximity to the front spot. Huddy checked out after Kana had to pull off, riding a smooth race and taking advantage of first tracks in the mud.
The battle for a podium spot was between Ryder Guest, Hart, Satterfield, South Africa’s Matt Green riding for Champion Brick Racing, and Rocky Mountain ATV Yamaha’s Cody Webb. All of these athletes were going back and forth depending on the section. On the infamous 5 Minute Hill, four of them were battling up it and trying to get through the deteriorating trails, and even saw Webb and Green helping each other up certain sections. This hill ended the race of many of the Pro division, as it got worse and worse. Guest, the winner of the Prologue, lost a clutch and had to pull out of the race in the first half of Omao. Hart was pushing hard, but also seemed out of his comfort zone, allowing Green to pull ahead for the third position and Webb to pass on a hill. Kana, who had to return to pit to fix his clutch, was losing a crank seal and returned to the spot he left the course on, still in 2nd. Green noticed that Kana was close but couldn’t quite catch him.
Kawelo Huddy pulled such an immense gap on the rest of the field, that he finished the 8-checkpoint single lap race in 3 hours 31 minutes. His finishing time was about when Hart, Green, and Webb were battling near checkpoint 5. Kana came through the finish at 5 hours 25 minutes, with Green just squeaking a third place in before the cutoff at 5 hours and 29 minutes, also the third and final finisher of the race. Huddy’s 1 hour 54-minute gap to the second place finisher was jaw-dropping, as it was a lead that isn’t common in most forms of motorcycle racing. His confidence and experience in these brutal conditions truly showed during his third consecutive Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro victory.
In the A Class division, Champion Brick Racing’s Makana Barger had a dominant lead from the beginning to the finish, where he completed his 19-mile course in 4 hours 59 minutes. In the Pro Women’s class, Oahu’s Pebs Madolora was leading at all three of her checks and won in 4 hours 36 minutes.
The AMA National Hard Enduro season returns to the desert in the mainland for the Grinding Stone Hard Enduro in Page, Arizona on March 20-22.
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