2008 Wonder Warthog Racing/MDK Tryouts


 Hollister, CA, may be best known as a farming community, but this week it was host to a farm system of a different type, as 13 riders met at Billy Jurevich’s practice track to try and secure a spot under the Wonder Warthog Hog Haven tent during the ’08 Supercross season.

The WWR crew has already picked several riders for their 450cc effort, including Heath Voss (who will also be doing some mentoring of the 250F riders), Spaniard Manuel Rivas, and Brazil’s Antonio Balbi Jr., but they were still hunting for five Lites privateers for each coast, and that’s what the tryouts were all about. The riders selected would supply their own bikes and gear deals, or take advantage of an MDK lease program that would net them use of an MDK Honda for the season at about half the cost of what it would take to buy one on their own. WWR will haul the bikes, and house the riders under their tent.

Wonder Warthog Racing’s Chief Altruistic Officer, Scott Kandel, was on hand, as were a host of interested bystanders from MDK, including their head honcho, Mark Kvamme. Also keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings was Dave Osterman, who was putting his years of experience to use, and helping advise the WWR crew on his picks.

During the tryouts, each rider got two 15-minute sessions on their own bike, aboard one of the MDK Hondas, or some combination of the two. They were timed using a Powerstart laptimer (http://www.powerstart-systems.com), which provided consistent timing throughout the day.

Quite a few of the riders struggled with the whoop section, since it was nearly impossible to blitz them. While some riders chose to try and hammer through them, it looked like a 3-3-3-3-2 rhythm was the fast way through. And while lap times were one of the primary selection factors, they were also being reviewed for their punctuality, preparation, social skills, teamwork and desire.

While no riders were selected during the afternoon, we’re hearing that Kevin Urquhart, Mike Horban, and Daniel Blair have the inside line among the participants in Hollister.

Check the lap times below, or look above for links to photos and a  pair of videos from the day.
















































Rider  Pract. Bike Lap #1 Lap #2 Lap #3 Lap #4 Lap #5 Lap #6 Lap #7 Avg.
Justin Rando #1 MDK 250 57.69 57.55 63.46 61.14 60.01 63.62 61.69 60.74
  #2 MDK 250 55.95 57.21 57.15   N/A   N/A   N/A   N/A 56.77
Daniel Blair #1 Yam 250 56.86 55.57 55.42 55.66 58.31 54.44 54.76 55.86
  #2 Yam 250 58.19 56.38 54.86 54.08 53.65   N/A   N/A 55.43
Kevin Urquhart #1 Hond 250 58.32 58.24 56.59 55.28 57.83 56.11 55.11 56.78
  #2 Hond 250 56.73 54.67 53.06 57.78 54.79   N/A   N/A 55.41
Vincent Blair #1 Hond 250 58.88 56.33 56.68 56.71 56.12 55.72 55.74 56.01
  #2 MDK 250 54.97 55.52 55.25 54.98 56.23   N/A   N/A 55.39
Mike Horban #1 Yam 250 58.28 57.34 56.42 56.56 56.18 55.49 58.29 56.94
  #2 Yam 250 54.97 54.87 54.41 53.98 53.71   N/A   N/A 54.39
Augie Leiber #1 MDK 250 58.65 71.62 76.65 61.21 60.02   N/A   N/A 65.63
  #2 MDK 250 57.16 57.03 56.63   N/A   N/A   N/A   N/A 56.94
Travis Bannister #1 Hond 450 59.51 56.62 56.12 58.91 56.62 57.35 57.55 57.52
  #2 Hond 450 58.39 59.44 55.47 55.02 55.61   N/A   N/A 56.78
Bradley Graham #1 MDK 250 59.38 57.04 57.98 56.45 55.77 54.62 56.53 56.82
  #2 MDK 250 56.55 56.58 57.49 54.68 54.51   N/A   N/A 55.962
Jimmy Hazel #1 Hond 250 57.65 55.59 55.29 55.43 55.95 57.25 56.17 56.19
  #2 MDK 250 57.86 56.64 56.92 55.41 54.37   N/A   N/A 56.24
Kevin Rookstool #1 MDK 250 58.31 57.01 55.41 55.78 54.48 57.01 55.23 56.17
  #2 Kaw 250 55.41 57.11 58.48 56.23 55.42   N/A   N/A 56.53
Tony Sherman #1 KTM 250 59.69 59.85 59.35 58.25 58.47 57.72 57.68 58.72
  #2 KTM 250 57.54 58.13 57.73 57.47 57.74   N/A   N/A 57.72

Fastest lap of session

 

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