“C” Championship National Enduro

The NEPG has announced the creation of a “C” rider overall points championship for the 2010 season. Starting at the first event in SC on Jan. 31st, the NEPG along with Moto-Tally event scoring software, will keeps points for the top 20 overall “C” riders at each event. Points will be tabulated at each event of the ten round series to establish the top three “C” riders of the series’, these top three riders will receive awards at the year end NEPG party held after the last event in Indiana.

Brad Bakken and Paddy Holoway Off-Season Training

Check out this video of KTM riders Brad Bakken and Paddy Holoway getting in a little testing during the off-season.

Cole Kirkpatrick Wins Ozark 100 Miler

Cole Kirkpatrick is two for two at the Ozark 100 Miler – Missouri’s answer to extreme off-road racing. For the second year in a row, the Texas KTM rider topped a formidable lineup of Pros, including Colorado’s Ian Blythe, 17-time Missouri Hare Scrambles Champ Steve Leivan, Supercross racer Dennis Jonon and up-and-comer Kole Henslee, to grab the top prize, which this year amounted to just over $1000.

The “100 Miler”, now in its second year, is a 100 mile race (duh) that is similar in format to the Red Bull Last Man Standing race, although not nearly as radical. The Ozark 100 Miler features a three-moto format and a percentage of the riders are eliminated after the first moto. In addition, the first two motos are set on a rocky 25-mile course that is easily negotiated by a C club rider, although at a reasonably slow pace. The final moto is run after dark, and it is in this moto that things get interesting. Several “elements” are set around the course which are lighted for the spectators, and it is here that the going gets tough! It was also in the night segment that Kirkpatrick took the advantage and eventually won the race.

In the first moto (two laps of a rocky 25-mile course), Kirkpatrick took a four-minute victory over Blythe, with the 16-year-old Henslee, Aaron Shaw and Leivan rounding out the top five. In the second moto, Blythe grabbed the holeshot and rode the entire race with Kirkpatrick on his rear fender. The two KTM riders outdistanced third through fifth-place finishers Leivan, Jonon and Shaw.

Heading into the final moto - the night segment - Kirkpatrick and Blythe were tied with one moto win each (the Ozark 100 Miler uses the old three-moto motocross scoring format with one point for a moto win, two points for a second, etc. And the lowest score wins). Blythe again grabbed the holeshot but Kirkpatrick was able to sneak by on a fresh part of the trail that split in two paths. Blythe went one way with Kirkpatrick going the other and when the two trails came back into one Kirkpatrick emerged with the lead. Blythe pulled even with Kirkpatrick on the super-tough “Something Special” element, but the two riders got stuck in the same spot and Kirkpatrick was able to get going first. Kirkpatrick eventually finished the race with a five-minute lead over Blythe, with Nick Plesa, Henslee and Leivan finishing third though fifth.

Overall, the order was Kirkpatrick, Blythe, Leivan, Henslee and Shaw. Look for an in-depth report in the January issue of Trials and Enduro News!

Photos: Top - Cole Kirkpatrick navigates the "VW" section during the second moto. Below- Kirkpartick (right) and Ian Blythe side be side in "Something Special".

KTM 350 SX-F Factory Racing

Although it won’t be available in off-road trim for the 2010 season, nothing is keeping the privateer from taking one of the new KTM 350 SX-F and throwing barkbusters on it. The following is a statement about the new bike from the factory:

By presenting a 350cc pre-series racing bike, KTM illustrates the determination of the Austrian company to go its own way. Among the new models features are fuel injection and linkage and of course its unique 350cc engine. While the company’s 250 SX-F and 450 SX-F models have been successful and oriented to suit the specific displacement of the sport’s regulations, now KTM is the first manufacturer in the world to present a 350cc displacement bike for the sport of Motocross. Multi-time World Motocross Champion Stefan Everts has contributed greatly to the development of the bike in Europe while numerous tests have been ongoing in the US to make sure the bike is suitable to all markets. A concrete date for series production of this already very mature prototype has not yet been decided.