Wind, dust, and determination
Rocky’s Last Stand off to a smooth start
Staff writer
Rocky Hett’s rock quarry took on new life Saturday and Sunday as a motorcycle hare scrambles haven.
Sunday’s “Rocky’s Last Stand” race, organized by local volunteers and Forward Motion Hare Scramble Championship, was named in honor of John “Rocky” Hett, who died in July. It was Forward Motion’s 13th of 14 races this season.
Racers, many of whom knew each other from earlier competitions, came as early as Friday to set up camp, ready their motorcycles, cook out, and visit with friends old and new.
Eric Wessel, Marion, didn’t have far to drive to get there. An avid racer, he previously raced his Husqvarna at the Florence Grand Prix.
Waiting to run a few practice laps, Wessel visited with Susan Weissbeck of Valley Center, whose husband also competes.
Other racers gathered under canopies mounted in parking and camping areas.
Winds were an agreeable 19 mph in Marion, but stiff enough at the quarry to make walking and holding up banners difficult.
Flags enthusiastically billowed in the wind.
Junior DaSilva, 3, Raymore, Missouri, drove his miniature motorcycle around a peewee course while his mother, Hailey DaSilva, watched him and visited with friends under a canopy.
Hailey DaSilva’s husband is a motorcycle enthusiast, she said, and Junior, who wants to be just like his dad, has ridden a miniature motorcycle since he was 1.
Hare scrambles — also called cross-country racing — are a popular form of off-road competition.
Scrambles are in a format similar to grand prix races, but in hare scrambles, all motorcycle classes run simultaneously instead of in different sessions for similar classes, as is done with grand prix races.
Hare scramble courses typically run several miles through woods or desert and over rugged natural terrain, including tight, single track, long climbs and descents and high-speed open fields.
Racers have a set amount of time to ride as many laps as they can complete, said Amelia Schroeder, co-owner of FMHSC along with her husband, Darryl, said. The racer who completes the most laps wins.
If more than one racer completes the same number of laps, the racer who completed them fastest is the winner.
Rocky’s Last Stand is the furthest west FMHSC has spread, Schroeder said.