AHSCS Hoot in the Holler GG results

[Fred1956]

The Arkansas State Harescramble Championship went back to full race mode after the summer break. Round 8 was a 2 hour event in Cedarville, Ar at the home of Mike & Andrea Donelson. AHSCS was there in March for Round 3 and Mike turned things around by adding some interesting trail, turning most of the rd3 course around backwards and adding a mile to the length. Temperatures were awesome with the high around 80 and a small shower early Sat morning put some moisture down that kept the dust to a minimum.

Three GasGas riders lined up for this round,
AA rider Trent Keen was on a roll early and held a solid 2nd place for most of the race until some issues with lapped riders on the tight cedar filled course pushed him back to 4th at the end but kept him in 3rd place for the series and leaves him in striking distance only 28 pts out with three rounds to go in the series

Brand new GasGas owner Jared Tyler made the trip up from Louisiana to do a 'break-in ride' on his 'fresh off the floor' 2012 EC200. Jared led the first 2 laps of the D35+ class and settled in for a comfortable 2nd place finish, a minute behind the current series leader. Jared is still a very close 2nd in series points at 11 down, and some familiarity with his new ride might just move him on up. When I spoke with him after the race he said he had bought the bike for his son but after the ride he had plans to pass his 'orange' 300 to his son.

Last but not least Fred Overstreet (me) was on hand to ride the Cedarville round as a 'seat time' race to stay in shape for the final round of the Blackjack enduro series still to come. A fifth place start left some work to be done as the current series leader nailed the hole shot and began putting daylight on the rest of the C50+ class, the tight single track course made passing difficult and opportunities had to be taken when presented and I managed to make the most of them early and after the race leader had a mishap on a slick log, I found myself in 3rd and right on the heels of the early race leader after 2nd place squeezed by on the log obstacle to take the lead. The early leader was in a big rush to regain the lead and over rode a very rocky step up ending up sideways on the course and relegated to a spot behind me...I settled in on the leader and had a comfortable pace going on the rock covered, cedar lined course. With dust being at a minimum it was easy to run close, we closed in on some back markers from the earlier rows and had to play follow the leader for about 2 miles until the Gasser's turning edge let me slip inside on one of the faster corners and I moved from 4th in the 'train' to 2nd. A bit more 'follow the the guy in front' and I spotted another inside line on a rocky corner and squirted into the lead for good. It was 'one of those days' from there, a steady aggressive pace and I managed to gain about 45 seconds a lap on whoever was in second place. After 2 hours and 7 laps I finished with a comfortable 4 minute lead over the #1 & 2 riders in the series for the win. The GasGas performed flawlessly and I was able to stay with it this time. My first win since I started woods racing in 2010.

3 GasGas on site and 2 podiums. Congrats to Jared Tyler on his new Gasser as well

[bkwdc]

Congratulations to all. Great job Fred. Give em hell in Indiana.