S.N.A.R.E. Race Nelson Hills 2002 Kick Off Event

Nelson Hills, Nevada

Feb. 01, 2002 By Pattie Waters

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With great anticipation, SNARE kicked off the 2002 series at Nelson Hills, Nevada, the second weekend of January. BLM set the max imum vehicles (bikes and quads) allowed on course as 60 - there were close to 60 pre-registered, but there were apparently quite a few no-shows. Total count was 18 quads and 28 bikes. The goal of SNARE is to fill these races with quads, but they understand that the entry count may not be at that level immediately, so they have opened the series up to bikes this season. Quite a few bikes are taking advantage of the opportunity for low-pressure, great fun, desert-race time.

First across the line was the bike of Russell Pearson. He and brother Nick rode 1st & 2nd the entire time, finishing 15 seconds apart. They both lapped a good share of the field at least once, and won their respective classes.

Fast quad of the day was the number 10K of Todd Hunter in the Open Expert class. He completed four laps, about six minutes after the Pearson brothers marked the official end of the race with five laps. The quad riders took quite a beating on the steep hills, narrow turns, and sharp desert foliage, and accounted for 5 of the 6 DNF's.

The Nelson Hills area is a section of BLM land open to various public uses, and full of ORV riding trails. There are numerous signs posted warning to "Use at Your Own Risk", and there are specific limitations as to what you can do on BLM land. No fireworks, open fires in certain months, firearms, etc. The SNARE race was allowed by tight BLM restrictions of safety and liability, and BLM reps were on hand to make sure the rules were followed. The race itself went amazingly smooth and well-organized for the first race of the season, and with many first-time racers. Pit meeting was on time, line ups were posted without contention, and while there were 6 DNF's, they were only mechanical, not medical. The course was designed to have portions to challenge all riders, with steep rocky hills that quads had to fight their way up and long open runs where riders could stand up and stretch it out. There were yuccas to stop you dead at the bottom of hills, cactuses to reach out and grab you on corners, and loose sand washes to gobble you up.

ORC's first rider across was 11-year-old Justin Waters on the Project Big Red, Honda 400EX. Competing in his first SNARE desert event, he took second place in his division, happy to finish at all. He wrapped his day up by running parts for dad's Raptor, a victim of a yucca plant on lap #2.

Russ Ramsey made quick work of the course with his highly modified Honda. He finished 2nd in the Open Expert class, completing four laps in 2:14:05. With the stories we'd heard about this beast, we had to take a closer look. For a peak under the plastic and a few secrets from behind the scenes, check out our feature: http://www.off-road.com/atv/features/russramseyhonda/

Fastest rider of the day was #B Russel Pearson, 250 Expert Bike with a total time on course of 1:58:05. Right behind him was #13 Nick Pearson, Open Expert Bike with a time of 1:58:19. The first quad in was #10K Todd Hunter, Open Expert at 2:05:11 (4 laps).

Team Off-Road.com was well represented, the first start in desert racing for all: #11K Justin Waters 2:00:50 (3 laps) Open Novice ATV 2nd Place #11V Todd Graham 2:25:01 (3 laps) Over 30 Novice Bike 2nd Place

#10V David Bottita 2:36:01 (2 laps) Over 30 Novice Bike 3rd Place #10P Dean Waters Over 30 Novice ATV DNF *For race coverage from the point of view of the rider, check out Off-Road.com's Young Gun column for this month!

The next SNARE race is February 23, and will be back at Nelson Hills. Dan and Terry are already working on changes to the previous course, but the start/finish will be the same general area. Contact Dan asap at Dan's ATV if you want to enter - there is still room, but please don't enter if you don't plan on actually competing. You can see full series rules, standings, schedule, etc at the SNARE Desert Racing link on the left of this page.

You can reach the Nelson Hills riding area by travelling Southwest of Las Vegas on Highway 93/95 toward Boulder City. Just past Railroad Pass, turn south toward Searchlight on Highway 95. Go about 8 miles, you will see a road going left toward the town of Nelson. If you turn left there, a good portion of the area on your right is open BLM and you will see riding trails and dirt roads taking off all over. About four miles in from the freeway, you'll see the powerlines crossing the road. That's where the access road to the race area heads in. It was well marked with bright pink arrows on race day, so you can't hardly miss it.

Our 2002 Bombardier Quest 650 is the ultimate pit vehicle - it takes us out onto the course safely and quickly between laps, and hauls all the photography equipment and gear we need.

BLM liability issues do not allow spectators out on the course during the race, so there really isn't much you'll see besides the start and finish of each lap. But if you're coming out to support a buddy, bring a comfortable chair, a cooler of cold drinks and snacks. Try to park on the side NOT backed up to the pit rope, leaving that area for racers. The pit meeting is generally about 9 am, and racing starts immediately after. Winner came in right at two hours at the first race, and most everyone has finished and course swept by noon, so you'll be out of there in time for lunch, if all goes well.