IN
THE
WIND
P46
ALL SUTHERLIN AT SNOWVILLE
W
hile the record books will
show FMF KTM support
rider Gary Sutherlin dominated
round six of the Kenda/SRT AMA
Hare & Hound National Champi-
onship Series, simple statistics
don't tell the entire story.
Equally as important in the
big picture was the DNF by
defending series champ Ricky
Brabec. While vying for the lead
in the early miles of the X-12
Virgin Ground Hare & Hound, he
crashed hard, suffering a broken
foot, broken hand, broken col-
larbone and broken neck (C4).
The broken vertebra apparently
didn't affect his spinal cord,
though, and the THR Motor-
sports/Precision Concepts/
Bonanza Plumbing racer was
released from the hospital later
that night.
The first race to be held us-
ing Darin Peterson's ranch as
a base lived up to its name, but
the lack of whoops didn't mean
it was smooth sailing for anyone.
Despite a big storm the day
before, dust played a significant
role, at least for the first hour or
so. FMF KTM Factory Off-road
Racing's Ivan Ramirez enjoyed
clean air for a while after nab-
bing the holeshot, but he didn't
feel comfortable with the rocks
hiding in the brush, especially
after getting passed and having
to deal with riding in the dust.
"I just wanted to keep it on
two wheels and not risk any-
thing," he admitted.
On the other hand, Sutherlin
felt a bit more urgency after
crashing out of round two and
missing round three as a result,
putting him far back in points.
"I had a really bad start—I
think I was out of the top 10
right at the end [of the bomb],
but luckily I kind of hairballed
For the third time this season,
Gary Sutherlin finished first,
but after scoring no points in
two races due to injury, he's
not in realistic championship
contention.
