GNCC Hog Waller
Palatka Florida 3-2-25
Our first Grand National Championship race in the newly offered electric class called E-Open.
The rough, sand whooped course was 13.5 mi long. This super tough race is the most dreaded for the GNCC regulars. Even for us it was gnarly, deep and rough. Thank God for Sirris suspension!
The power-robbing sand course gave us a little range anxiety, so we decided to make 2 pitstops per lap. We were allowed to pit anywhere on the track, so we decided to pit at mile 8 and mile 2. The bike probably could have made a complete lap on one battery but being our first GNCC we did not want to DNF.
The GNCC crew, not knowing how fast the electric class would be, put us on one of the back rows. I believe it was row 13. This caused a lot of work for Kaleb as he had to pass over 140 riders on the first lap and came in 3 minutes ahead of 2nd place. He stayed in the lead for the two-hour race until the checkered flag with Shawn Clark finishing a distant 2nd on his XE4.
Winning our first GNCC was an awesome feeling. We are so proud of Kaleb’s skills and effort. A special thank you goes out to our sponsors: Pivotrax sprockets, Sirris suspension, EBMX power systems and of course DirtyBike Industries.
FTR Hare Scramble #8 Dade City
3-15-2025
Round 8 was held near Dade City in much warmer weather approaching 90*. The heat took us by surprise, giving us fits with overheating problems. Our constant bike improvements have allowed Kaleb to push the bike further and further. Every time we get one challenge solved, he can push harder and that almost always exposes the next issue. This time the bike was allowing him to push harder than ever.
The start was good for Kaleb passing several people in the first few corners. He caught up to Sean Clark who was keeping a real fast pace. A couple of miles from the pit stop the smaller Amorge battery had had enough of this heat and shut itself off for a cooldown. This dropped his position to dead last. We found him in the woods being towed by a track official and installed a new battery. This got him going but soon after we got him going the air-cooled controller overheated dropping him to last again. Kaleb dumped his camelback on the controller, and it started running again. He lowered the power and continued at a slower pace to eventually finish 7th. The 7th place finish he was able to salvage was great but with Shawn Clark finishing 1st, it lost him the points lead.
The XE4s were having their own problems with heat but were able to manage it well enough to take a 1st and 4th. Derek Timm rode a solid race securing second. Brent Venderley was 8th with Manny taking 11th. Frank the tank and Brandon secured 18th and 19th respectively.
FTR Hare Scramble #9 Melon Bash
Punta Gorda, FL Final round 4-12-25
Out of a field of 28 electric racers, Kaleb Bilbrey #204 wins by oddly enough. 2:04.
The track was a lot better than we expected with a good dose of palmetto roots and a cool little hard enduro section consisting of coquina rock, and tractor tires both standing up and lying down as well as a couple of log matrixes and parallel poles. This section was packed with spectators all day long filming the carnage.
The temperature was warm in Punta Gorda but this time we were prepared. We installed our prototype EBMX/Dirtybike X-9000 liquid cooling system that kept everything cool enough so Kaleb could run as much power as needed to run at the front and run up front he did!
He got a great start running about 5th into the first turn and was able to power past the XE4s of Corey Pierce and Joey Medina in the wide-open fields taking over the lead before entering the woods. Kaleb #204 remained in the lead for the entire 1.5 hour race finishing a suspect two minutes and 4 seconds ahead of 2nd place. Hmmmm. His electric class 1st place finish time was good for 4th overall for the day out of 250 mostly gas bike racers.
Derek Timm was struggling a little and could only muster a 5th place finish. GritShift’s Justin Tassler was finally able to get his custom built YZ to finish a race and crossed the finish line in 9th. Brent Venderley was able to avoid Tassler's past takeout moves to secure 10th. XE4 founder Mark Peroni decided to race the electric class for the final round and finished a respectable 12th. Brandon Girdley, suffering through a hydro locked fork was able to eke out a 19th. He said he is "over this little bike shit" and bought an Ultra Bee for next season’s competition.
Final points standings for 2024/25 FTR series after 3 drops.
For the FTR 2024/25 hare scramble season we had a total of 55 riders entering the electric class. Shawn Clark ended up winning the electric championship by 5 points over Kaleb Bilbrey with Derek Timm 16 points back in third. Even after missing the final round Manny secured 4th place. Brent finished the series in 11th and Brandon in 13th. Frank, after missing 3 rounds still finished 14th.
I want to thank Mark Peroni and congratulate him and rider Shawn Clark for their effort. Without this rivalry we would not have pushed out bike development as quickly and this far.
End of season points standing
Saturday overall cumulative times
Sunday: “Bilbrey Bashes Melon at Melon Bash”
Kaleb’s good luck ran out in the Open B gas class. He went face first into one of Florida’s dreaded spiky palm trees with a palm branch barely missing his left eye. This left him with a mild concussion. In true Kaleb fashion, he got back on his bike and completed the first lap. Thankfully, he had enough sense to check in with the FTR medic who strongly recommended he call it a day. And replace his helmet. We are extremely relieved he wasn't seriously injured. It's a great reminder that it's a sport with inherent risks. That being said, the entire DirtyBike crew made it out of the series with all their parts still intact. The human parts anyway. The mechanical ones needed a little more help.
This sure was a fun season. We want to thank everybody who raced with and supported us. I think the whole crew got better and better every round. I also want to thank FTR for giving us our own class, I think they were surprised how fast the class grew. I hope to see even more entries next season. See you then!