Blais Racing Services NHHA Round 7 National Race Reports!

By: Skyler Howes, Pro (7th Overall)

After work on Friday, I loaded up the Sprinter and hit the road for the nice short drive out to Caliente, NV. I showed up just in time for the delicious spaghetti dinner and autograph signing. I always get stoked at the Southern Nevada rounds because of how excited everyone is to have races there! We headed back to the Shady Hotel room that Patty was so nice to get for the team. I was beat from work so I decided to take the evening off and get some sleep.

Skyler Howes gets another great start on his #110 Blais Racing, Kenda, TLD, Alpinestars, PMB, Bullet Proof KTM 300XC

Up early on race day for the mini races, Braydon and I walked the start and found him a good line. He got a great jump and was just edged out by Megla. He rode solid and ended up coming in 2nd Place! Cole continues to surprise me on how much he is progressing and how much fun he continues to have on a dirt bike! He rode great in his race.

We drove over to the main pits just on the edge of town. After a while of sitting in the sun, we had our riders meeting and made the parade out to the bomb run. I still had not made it over to even look at the bomb run and lucky for me, Don Meza was there and picked out a great spot for me. I packed in my line and waited for the banner. It dropped and I pinned it. I was a little nervous because of how sandy this wash is and if I could pull the 4 strokes. Without any problem, my Blais Racing Services KTM 300XC pulled and I hopped in just behind Nick Burson in 3rd overall! As we railed around the right hand bend, Ricky Brabec and Axel Pearson had a sick line and jumped right ahead of me putting me in to 5th. It got super dusty quick, I was able to battle up and pass Axel but he would quickly get me back. After that, it was all wide-open washes and freshly awesome graded roads. I was just out of the front guys dust and it allowed me to hold that throttle south, mate! It was so sick railing through the washes and banking off of the edges of the roads, such a fun first loop! Just before the pits we got into a tight wash and Jacob Argubright was able to get around me. I followed him close through all of the water crossings and in to the pit.

An awesome and quick pit thanks to Don and Patty, I was quickly back on my way with some fresh Xbrand goggles and AMS oil Dominator mixed fuel. We got right back into the washes and I dropped the hammer, feeling great flowing and sticking great in the corners thanks to my Kenda Tires. We got tight into the single track and trees and started into the gnarly rocks. I blew a corner and about fell off the edge of the world! Luckily I was able to side hill back on course but this allowed Brandon Prieto to close in on me. I was able to put a healthy gap back on him quick. In the tight trees I followed a fresh track to the right and it sent me up a hill. I quickly noticed that I lost ribbon and flipped back around quick to see Brandon still down in the ravine. I hurried back down but only to lose the position to him. Then came the rocks. The next miles were spent in the boulders, no dirt, just bowling balls, haha. I was so glad to have some great Race Tech and ESR suspension and my Flexx Handlebars to keep the ride smooth, especially my Fastway System 5 steering damper to keep the front end straight ahead. Being 6’3″ it’s a little tough to keep my head clear of the trees so I had to sit a lot and thanks to Freegun Underwear my cheeks stayed perfectly soft and smooth!

I headed down the last switchbacks of the course and into the finish, which was a shop that we got to ride through! Back through the streets and over to the local park and the podium to bench race with the buddies. Silver State Trail Blazers put on an amazing event. The course was marked perfect and it was so fun! Still to this day one of my favorite events. I’m stoked to come back to another one at the end of the break!

Thank you to all of my sponsors and the people that make this all possible. Patty and Chris Blais, Mom and Dad, Blais Racing Services, Fasst Company, KTM, Rebellious Status Clothing, ESR suspension, Race Tech, RAD Mfg, Freegun, AMS OIL, Alpinestars, Kenda, Pro Moto Billet, Fastway, FMF, Rekluse, HBD Motografx, Regina, TLD, BRP, Bullet Proof, DirtTricks, Eline, IMS, No Toil, Acerbis, Muscle Milk, Xbrand Goggles, A’ME Grips, RMOR FX and Bike Week Radio.

2014 National Hare & Hound Series Round 7

By: Ben Meza, 250A (13th Overall, 2nd 250A)

I drove up to Caliente, NV Friday morning with my teammate, Brendan Crow. I was really looking forward to the race although I knew it would be dusty! That day we did some testing, signed up, and then signed a few posters.

The next day was race morning! I was really excited! The race started up a sand wash so I knew I probably wouldn’t have the greatest of starts. Before I knew it the race was ready to start! As the banner dropped I fired up my bike and was off. I got a killer jump and was running up front. I held my Blais Racing Powered KTM 250XC wide open and made it to the end of the bomb sitting in 11th Overall!

The first loop was wide open. It was perfectly groomed and was a blast! Lots of flowing sand washes with big sand berms! It was terrific. I finished the roughly 40 mile loop in about an hour and after a quick pit, courtesy of the Blais crew, I was on my way. I was sitting 12 OA when I left the pit.

Brendan Crow, Dean Crow, Ben Meza, Don Meza hanging out at the finish line.

The second loop was much more technical. I flowed through the trees, but thankfully I had my Fastway Handguards on otherwise my hands would be in some pain. I made a little mistake which allowed one person to squeeze by.

I made it to the finish sitting 13th Overall and 2nd Place in the 250A class. I’m pretty happy about the result, I’ve been pretty consistent with my finishes, and I’m happy to keep it going!

This wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for all the people backing me this season! Thank you everyone for the continued support!

By: Brendan Crow, Open A (20th Overall, 2nd Open A)

For Round 7 of the AMA Nation Hare and Hound Series, we headed to Caliente, Nevada. The Panaca, and now Caliente, National have been one of my favorite nationals of the year since their introduction to the series. One of the biggest contributing factors to this favoritism is the magnificent hospitality and enthusiasm the entire community has for the race. The entire town is ready for the race and many of the activities for the race (such as sign ups) take place within the town itself which and that is unique compared to the other locations of the series. My teammate Ben and I headed up Friday to get some seat time in the surrounding terrain before the race, as well as partake in the fantastic poster signing and dinner held at the fire department in town.

With the race not scheduled to start until 10:30 we were able to sleep in and make our way out to the staging area at the main pits, which was not far from the start. The riders meeting was scheduled at the pit for 9:45, but the minutes clicked by and no riders meeting took place. This caused some nervousness in me, the anticipation of racing and being required to sit and wait is an uneasy feeling! Sitting around idly with nothing to do doesn’t fit well into the race morning schedule. Eventually we had the riders meeting, and then it was time to head to the start!

The start was in the middle of a sand wash, and because of this I was anticipating a nice dust storm as everyone thundered through to the end of the bomb. I had a great jump off the line, finding myself very near the front as we rounded the first bend. Although I had a good start, I was met with one of my biggest enemies…dust. I knew I was going to go backwards as the dust consumed the race course, but I took it easy and made it through to the end with no issues.

The first loop went by really fast, and was really fun! It had a large variety of terrain, from the tight riding through trees, to a few wide open roads where I could really put down the massive power that my Blais Racing KTM 300 has. The course was fun, but I wasn’t feeling entirely comfortable with the extremely slippery terrain, and was having a hard time trying to up my pace. Every time I tried to push a little bit I felt myself riding in a way that did not feel safe to me. I ended up picking a pace that felt comfortable to me, and came through the pits right around the 20th position.

The second loop was the same varying terrain as the first, and I did my best to maintain my pace and limit mistakes as the race dwindled down. I could tell I wasn’t riding well as a few guys passed me, and my attitude was pretty bad as I cursed myself in the process. I simply didn’t have any fight in me. The entire course was really well marked and I rarely had to think about searching for ribbon, but something wasn’t clicking for me. The finish came abruptly, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit of disappointment yet again in my riding. I felt like I did an 80mile trail ride, not a race! Although I didn’t feel 100% I did greatly enjoy the course and must applaud all the work that was put into the race, it was amazing! I have all the necessary pieces to earn myself the Open A championship this year, and am going to continue to work towards that goal. With a large break before the next round, I will continue to the training I have been doing because it is greatly helping as I was able to maintain a Top 20 spot and 2nd Place in class while feeling mediocre. I will continue to strive to be better, and I couldn’t do it without all of my wonderful sponsors! Thanks to my Dad, Blais Racing, Fasst Co, Race Tech, ESR, AME, HBD Motografx, Dirt Tricks, NoToil, Fastway, Leatt, FMF, TLD, BRP, Xbrand, Alpinestars, Samco, Bulletproof Designs, Kenda, Rekluse, IMS, Acerbis, Eline. 

Race Results

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Blais Racing Services offers engine rebuilding and online parts for all your Motorcycle, ATV, & UTV needs.  Owned and operated by Chris Blais, former Factory KTM Dakar Rally Racer. We specialize in KTM/ Honda, but can work on anything. I do all of the engine work myself.   www.BlaisRacingServices.com