Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1521336
14 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Let's Go Racing! Let's Go Racing! A Summary of the First Three NETRA Hare Scrambles A Summary of the First Three NETRA Hare Scrambles By Gavin Bacon By Gavin Bacon Photos By Paul Bickford Photos By Paul Bickford The sweet smell of Mayflowers wa s gently through the air. White, puffy clouds loom over- head and dri slowly across the sky. And the sweet, burning smell of pre-mixed gas fills my nostrils. Spring has finally sprung and with it, the NETRA Hare Scramble series kicks off. Those cold long winter night dreams of greener pastures have finally come to frui on. Ironically enough, that is where the opening round kicks off. A vibrant green pasture on the outskirts of Bozrah, Connec cut. A ghtly packed village of campers and trailers overrun the dairy farm for one weekend only in late April. Racers and club members were both equally excited to be back here a er a last-minute cancella on occurred last year due to tremen- dous rainfall. I think the turnout this year really conveyed how much people missed this race with 346 racers in the morning class and 154 races in the a ernoon. The racing in the AA class was electric, to say the least, many interes ng storylines were going into this season and many, like myself, were excited to see how they would begin. A er last year's cham- pionship winner Olin Daniels announced he would be pursuing the GNCC series, a lot of people were wondering who would be crowned the next cham- pion. Finishing runner-up to Olin last year, veterans to the class Jonathan McDougal and Dennis LeBlanc finished second and third respec vely with only a single point separa ng the two. Both have crawled their way to the top, slowly progressing year a er year. Although they were very close in points, the two couldn't be further apart in riding styles. Jon, a very loose but blazing fast rider o en races with more heart and determina on than any other rider on the AA line. Dennis has more of a calm and calculated style. Not the flashiest rider, but quietly one of the most efficient riders in New England. There weren't any doubts that these two would be strong heading into the opening round, but could it be another AA rookie to take the early charge? Ty- ler Rocha, Aus n Brouille e, Adam Lewis, and Ryan James all had thrown themselves into the mix last year stepping up from the A-class and were looking to make a name for themselves the same as Olin had last year a er he won his very first AA race.