For Immediate Release - Raleigh, North Carolina, August 7, 2009 BAJA WINNER SCOT HARDEN TO RACE BLACK RIVER STAGES IN NEW YORK One of the most accomplished men in off road racing, Scot Harden, will be taking two wheels to the dirt and gravel this fall in upstate New York. September 19 and 20 will find Harden racing at the Black River Stages Rally based in Lewis County. No stranger to running in the most difficult of conditions, Harden will race well into the night against the series regulars on his Husqvarna 510. Harden's resume reads like a dream list of racing events. He has won the Baja 1000 overall, the Baja 500, and is a SCORE overall champion. Successful trips to the Dakar Rally, both as a racer and manager, are under his belt. A national motorcycle enduro champion and Best in the Desert champion, Harden was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2008. Currently he is the National Sales and Marketing Manager of Husqvarna Motorcycles North America. Bobby Wooldridge, from the BMW/Ducati/Husqvarna Motorcycles of Atlanta dealership in Georgia, will be supplying the vehicles and infrastructure to support Harden during the event. Wooldridge, who competed at Black River Stages last year, reports that planning for schedules, bikes, and spares began months before the event. Last year's second overall finish gives Wooldridge plenty of experience to start the setup and tuning of the bikes. Defending winner Mike Gilkey is very excited for the chance to go bar-to-bar with Harden. Gilkey, a former pro racer who previously toured Europe racing flat track events, could barely get out a “Wow!” when told that Harden would be at the start line with him. “You always want to race against the best.” said Gilkey. The format of the race, sanctioned by NASA Rally Sport, will be familiar to Harden, who has raced in a wide variety of rallies. Multiple racing sections, each called a 'stage', are connected by 'transit' sections. The stages are closed gravel roads with flat out, full speed racing. The transits are on open public roads, where the street-legal motorcycles are given plenty of time to leisurely make their way to the next closed, timed racing section. Spectators wanting to come out and see the legend race should get more information at BlackRiverStages.com. There will also be time to meet the riders just before the racing starts on Saturday at the American Maple Museum in Croghan, NY. Note to editors: Black River Stages is the finale for the Atlantic RallyMoto(tm) Cup The event is sanctioned by NASA Rally Sport http://www.nasarallysport.com More information is available at http://www.blackriverstages.com Pictures from the 2008 Black River Stages Rally are available at http://www.blackriverstages.com/2008/pictures.php For media support contact Amy Feistel, 919.434.3267, amy@nasarallysport.com
Black River Stages in NY? I thought that was rally or adventure ride? I know a bunch of Dualsport guys that go up every year from New Jersey and I was under the impression it's a fun dual sporty event with a trophy at the end. Hey... maybe I'll make it this year. BlipBlip
It's a hoot, very fast and a couple of stages you have the opportunity for massive air if you're willing to hit a blind crest with faith. Saw 99mph indicated on a couple of stages and average speeds for the top few guys was just under 70mph on alot of stages. If you decide to come up make sure to let them know who reffered you!
The reason dualsport guys race these events is that this is the type of bike best suited for the terrain. Bikes typically racing are: BMW HP2 KTM 950 SE KTM EXC's BMW G450 Suzuki DRZ Aprillia RXV X Challenge TE 610 Honda XR BRS rally is a race not a gathering as most people think when they hear rally. Racing is on public roads in stage format. Sections of roads are closed to the public with transits on open road. Transits are given a specific time so there is no racing the transit but you must check in on your minute. http://blackriverstages.com/2009/ That being said,,, the organizers are planning an "adventure rally" in conjunction with the event this year. http://blackriverstages.com/2009/bike-rally.php
Harden didn't make it due to the death of a friend so I was the only Husky competing. 6th over all and 3rd in Medium Stock.
Thanks,, I ran the crap out of the Husky and was wishing for more motor a number of times. What happened to you guys??? I thought you were coming up??
Yup,,,, Bobby took first in the Medium Stock class and the overall. I tied him on 2 stages and beat him by a couple seconds on another but he was on rails the rest of the time.
ALRIGHT BOBBY I'm going to call your punk-ass out!!! You travel all the way from Georgia to NY State to compete in an event and yet you won't race with us down here in Dixie??!? WTF is up with that?? Makes no sense to me
Oh man we were. I'm sooo upset we missed BRS. Our, ahem, PR guy double booked us for a charity event the same weekend. Sorry we missed you guys but rest assured we will be there next year for sure. Again, good job on wringing the mighty 610 out.
Well ya missed a good time.....plans are already in the works for Sandblast in February. I thought I had the jetting figured out but looking back I'm not sure. I'm going to let the new Team Ghetto mechanic have at it and see if we can squeeze a little more from the motor. He was able to eek a little more out of both 950 SE's on our team. My biggest thrill of the weekend was chasing down the HP2 I started behind on all 3 night stages and passing him about midway on one of them!!
