23.01.2022

TAYLOR ROBERT MAKES A STATEMENT RETURN TO NATIONAL HARE & HOUND CHAMPIONSHIP WITH ROUND 1 VICTORY

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Round 1 - AMA National Hare & Hound Championship
LUCERNE VALLEY, Calif. – Taylor Robert and the FMF KTM Factory Racing Team made their highly-anticipated return to the 2022 AMA National Hare & Hound Championship this weekend, delivering a race-winning performance at the opening round in Lucerne Valley, California.
 
Robert, who last raced the series in 2018 where he won all three of the rounds he entered despite being plagued with injury that season, will contest the full series in 2022 in hopes of earning his first and KTM’s first Pro class title in the AMA National Hare & Hound Championship. Off to a great start at Round 1, Robert powered his KTM 450 XC-F into second-place by the end of the mile-long bomb and he wasted no time overtaking the lead early on. By the end of the first loop, Robert had charged his way to a comfortable 38-second lead as he exited the pits for the start of the second 40-mile loop.
 
The second loop featured more technical terrain and Robert felt right at home as he maintained a steady pace through the tight sections. However, the Arizona native found himself a little complacent in the wide open part of the course, which allowed the second-place rider to make up solid ground as the race went on. He ended up making a costly mistake that sent him to the ground late in the race and he was forced to push through the last 15 minutes of the race with a broken clutch perch. Racing sans a clutch, Robert hit his marks to the best of his ability and he was able to maintain his lead to secure an eight-second victory at the opening round.
 
Taylor Robert: “I couldn’t be happier to get back out there today! My heart is in offroad racing and it doesn’t get much more offroad than this. The whole Desert MC crew was awesome and I had a blast out there. I was able to get into the lead pretty quick and then just kind of rode my own race, keeping an eye on the guys behind me for a little while. The first part of the second loop was really technical, so that was super fun, and then it kind of opened up and I got to stay on top of my desert game. When you don’t have anyone ahead of you, it’s easy to just start trail riding and I think that’s what happened because all the sudden I glanced behind me and Joe was right there. We had a killer battle all the way back to the finish but there was one point towards the end, I missed the turn and dropped my front-end into a hole and it broke my whole clutch perch off. I had to ride pretty aggressively to the finish – that last technical downhill was a little tricky because I couldn’t stop or pull the clutch in – but I had to keep it rolling and was able to get it done.”
 
In the Adventure class, it was KTM North America’s very own Quinn Cody taking the opening round victory aboard his KTM 890 ADVENTURE R. Cody grabbed the row three holeshot and put himself out front early on, never looking back en route to a dominant victory in his class.
 
Round 2: March 20 – Murphy, Idaho
 
Pro Class Results – Round 1
1. Taylor Robert, KTM
2. Joe Wasson, BET
3. Preston Campbell, HON
 
Adventure Class Results – Round 1
1. Quinn Cody, KTM
2. Daniel Elkins, KTM
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Images (6)

FMF KTM FACTORY RACING - RD 1
2 760 x 1 840 © Mark Kariya
FMF KTM FACTORY RACING - RD 1
2 464 x 1 640 © Mark Kariya
FMF KTM FACTORY RACING - RD 1
2 464 x 1 640 © Mark Kariya
FMF KTM FACTORY RACING - RD 1
2 464 x 1 640 © Mark Kariya
FMF KTM FACTORY RACING - RD 1
1 840 x 2 760 © Mark Kariya
FMF KTM FACTORY RACING - RD 1
2 760 x 1 840 © Mark Kariya

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