RACE REPORT: WHS #7 | Ocotillo

By Precision Concepts | October 5, 2016

MORGAN HAS BREAK OUT RIDE IN OCOTILLO

Riverside, CA (October 5, 2016) –

The seventh round of the 2016 West Hare Scrambles championship headed to desert of Ocotillo, CA, which was somewhat of a homecoming for Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, Precision Concepts, Maxxis Racing’s Justin Morgan, as he lives just under an hour away. The racecourse was a mix of high-speed sections, sand dunes and tight, rocky canyons, and with temperatures around the one-hundred-degree mark, the two and a half hour pro race was going to be a tough physical and mental test.

Justin lined up far to the outside of the line for the dead-engine start and though his bike didn’t fire up on the first-kick, Morgan was quick to pass the entire field and the lead the race down the first fast straight. Said Morgan of the start, “I just squared them up. That was my plan if I didn’t get a good jump. I didn’t think it would get me out front, but it worked out really well.”

Justin lead a national for the first time this year, holding the advantage for the first forty minutes of the race. “The first lap, I pumped up a lot towards the end, and into the second lap because I was trying so hard not to make a navigational mistake.” Said Morgan, “I’d never lead a national with all of those fast guys behind me so it took a lot of concentration.”

Just as the second lap came to a close Jake Argubright had managed to close the gap on Justin and the two began a back-and-forth battle through the desert that lasted nearly an entire loop. Morgan commented on the battle, saying, “That was pretty intense. We were going all out for a while there. He’d get by and then I’d find a nice smooth line and reel him in. It was pretty cool.”

Unfortunately for Jake, he would suffer a mechanical failure and have to pull out of the race, which left Justin alone in the lead as the two had built up over two minutes on the rest of the field. Once Justin learned of his lead he backed it down to a smooth pace not to take any risks in the hot and fast conditions and brought it all the way to the checkers, taking the first AMA West Hare Scramble win of his career. “It felt really good to have a lead and to get the win,” Morgan said after the race, “It was definitely nice to know the area, knowing what to look for and how to read the terrain, but that’s what’s cool about this series, [it travels enough] so that everybody kind of has their home track advantage at some point. It makes it a well-rounded series.”

The win moved Justin up inside the top ten in the standings for the first time this year as he sits eighth, just nine points out of fourth place with one remaining round. Justin’s next event will be the finale of the National Hare and Hound championship in Lucerne, CA on October 23.