The SERA harescramble hosted by Memphis Motorcycle Club held at Burton’s Sugar Farm in north Mississippi, just a short distance from Memphis, proved to be a sweet retreat for some of our local competitors but deemed to be a little sour for a few of them as well.

Just south of the campground there was plenty of water standing in the fields along side the highway, but it seemed as if it had not rained there in the actual area of the race in a long time. The conditions for racing were hot, humid and dusty – for racers and spectators alike.

Just prior to the start of the race there was a still silence except for the sound of portable generators to keep the RV’s and toy haulers in the campground cool. The only disadvantage in this situation is the cool RV’s do not provide any relief when you’re in the middle of a field trying to watch the race and it is 90+ degrees outside. They are a good resting place though when there is no racing going on.

The action all got started around 8 on Sunday morning with the Kids races taking place. In the Beginner Pee Wee class, our hometown hero Austin Anz once again took home top honors racing for four laps on a course that was about a mile in length.

The Intermediate Kids class had a 3.5-mile course on which they raced for 45 minutes. There were 10 youngsters in this class with Jackson Davis coming in third and Preston Phillips fifth.

The Vet Kids class is where some fishing took place for the day. There were 19 competitors in this one with Jared White getting the hole shot and Jacob Davis leaving the starting line ahead of only one person.

Lap by lap Davis was reeling in the competition needing a large net to catch and pass 17 guys and gals in the short amount of time allotted and wound up winning this one by a fairly large margin of time.

Neal Ousley came through the pack as well to finish sixth, White seventh and Landon Barrett 15th. These guys raced the same 3.5-mile course as the Int Kids and also raced for 45 minutes totaling 4 laps.

All of our local young guys have shown much improvement as the season has progressed.

The adult race started a little after 11 with 139 guys in the field of contention and a little fishing going on in this one as well. And all of this fishing took place without there even being any water of any kind in sight.

Cliff Ousley on his KTM300 was second off the line with Steven Reed getting the holeshot, but it didn’t take Ousley long to reel in his catch and ride away with the overall win by 2:32 over Reed. Frank Davis finished the day at fourth overall and 4th in AA.

In the Open A class Tyler Carter grabbed the holeshot and had a good day going for him until things went sour and an unfortunate crash took him out of contention. He finished his day making two laps out of the 4 needed to be in the hunt for a good finish. Dustin Stevens would go on to win this class and finish sixth overall.

Will McConnell finished third in class and eighth overall. Adrian Gervais had a great ride in the Vet A class and finished first in class and 10th overall. Phil Williams aced the Masters class and Beau Burnett would finish fourth in the Jr. class.

The Lites B class also had some fishing going on in it. Jordyn Dubose got the holeshot and was around the first turn before Kevin DeLoach even left the starting line. There’s something about the Kawasaki he’s on that just doesn’t seem to want to cooperate on the starting line and it wouldn’t crank on the first kick.

There were nine in this class and DeLoach reeled ‘em all in before the end of the first lap. DeLoach would go on to win first in class and 15th overall- his best ride of the season, thus far. Dubose’s KTM wasn’t functioning at 100% for the race either but he rode strong to finish second in class. Ted Anz grabbed the holeshot in the Vet B class and would finish the day in 4th.

The following competitors had a somewhat sour day at the Sugar Farm – Hunter Sanders – Open B, became sick during the race: John Huggins- Vet B, foot injury: Alex Price – Jr., bike malfunction: Jonathan Seales-Lites B, became sick during the race but still finished 6th: Chris Aultman- Vet B, also became sick: Zach Steele- Lites B, bike failure: Carey Steele, Jr., bike failure: Gerrold Bramlett, bike failure.

This observer can understand and relate to some of the riders becoming a little “ooky” feeling because it was unbelievably hot and humid for the adult race.

The next scheduled SERA harescramble is the weekend of Sept. 21 in Clanton. However, the fourth annual Watermelon 50 buddy harescramble is at Reynold’s Pasture this Saturday at 4 p.m. There are 4 classes – A, B, C, and Family. Bring your own partner.

There are separate courses for the A, B and the C, Family classes. No AMA membership is required. A and B course is about seven miles long with the Family and C course being about 3.5 miles. For more information, contact Bill Patridge at Dirt Bike Supply at (205) 664-3800.