2017 NHHA #5 | Jericho
Riverside, CA –
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, Precision Concepts’ Justin Morgan had an eventful day at the Jericho NHHA. It started when a number of riders jumped the banner drop, leaving the line early. Once Justin got going, his lines up the bomb-run were already full of riders, forcing him onto a section he hadn’t planned. Then, there was a downed rider laying unconscious on the trail about two miles into the course. Justin stopped, along with a couple other racers, to help the rider. A number of other racers then stopped as well, so Morgan decided to ride down the course to alert officials of the situation. Justin rejoined the race after passing the news along, but he was well back in the pack at that point. Despite the circumstance, Justin had a great ride on the first loop, passing up to sixth place by the end.
On the second loop, Justin unfortunately bent his brake pedal underneath the skid plate while battling for fifth. He and his crew did their best to bend it back in the pit, as the rear brake was dragging. It even took a stop on the final loop, as Morgan laid the bike over to bend the pedal out some more. He was able to get the brake dragging to cease, but had to finish the race without use of the brake. Though he stayed within sight of the top five, he wasn’t able to close the gap. All things considered, it was a good ride to earn sixth place on the day.
Photos courtesy of Mark Kariya
Justin Morgan
“It was an eventful race!” Justin said after the finish. “There was a lot of carnage off the start. I was on the left side and a bunch of riders on the right jumped the gun. Their bikes were started and going before the banner dropped. That created a wave of everybody just going. It really messed me up off the start. I ended up going far left to avoid the group of people coming up from the right. I kind of winged it and was pretty far back. Then, a kid crashed and was knocked out, so I stopped for him with Nic Garvin and Ryan Smith. I think he was having a seizure; it was pretty scary. Other riders were stopping with us, so I figured my best bet was to ride up to the next check and let them know.”
“I ended up catching and passing a lot of people,” continued Justin. “I rode alright, just didn’t flow too well. And then I bent the rear brake pedal. We tried to bend it back in the pits, but I had just passed [Nick] Burson so we rushed it. I thought the pedal was good, but I had to stop again on the third loop to bend it out some more. I still was well inside the top ten. Axel [Pearson], Nick and myself are all really close in points so that’s going to make the next couple rounds interesting. My goal is to get top three in points. I know I’m capable of getting that podium spot. It just going to take a couple rounds with no issues.”
Results
Justin Morgan – 6th place
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