words by STEPH VETTERLY , SEER photos by CHELSEA HOLT
Round 4 of the SEER Hard Enduro series was hosted at the Brushy Mountain Motorsports Park in Taylorsville , NC . Over 140 racers from 15 states came to compete , despite the event ' s postponement due to Hurricane Ian having touched down the week prior . Competitors were treated to a four-hour multilap race in the North Carolina mountains .
The course was challenging with multiple checks , and gnarly sections like " Smoke Valley " and " Logan ." Former NATC National Trials champion , Logan Bolopue , finished first ahead of SEER ' s 2020 season champion , Nich Fahringer , and SEER ' s frequent podiumfinisher , Rieju USA ' s Quinn Wentzel . Fahringer , who finished second overall , is the current 2022 SEER series leader going into the final round in late October .
HERE IS A SHORT RACE INTERVIEW WITH GOLD CLASS RIDER NICK FAHRINGER , WHO FINISHED SECOND OVERALL .
WHAT DID THE COURSE LOOK LIKE ? WAS IT STILL SOAKED FROM THE HURRICANE DOWNPOUR ?
The course was surprisingly dry . Mostly dry terrain aside from the creeks and a few select low spots that minor moisture .
WAS THE COURSE SIMILAR TO THE FORMER BATTLE OF GOATS ?
The course did share some familiar obstacles with the BOTG race , but the format was different . The track was shorter than the traditional BOTG main loop . Brushy Mountain Beat Down was nearly 7.5 miles long while the Goats can be 15 to 20 plus miles long .
WHICH SECTIONS WAS THE HARDEST ? WHICH ONE GOT MORE CHALLENGING OVER TIME ?
Personally , I struggled the most with Smoke Valley . I lost 12 minutes to Logan in this section on 1 lap alone ! I struggled on other laps as well . The “ V ” of the uphill valley has a rock bottom that is slick and chunky .
VOL . 7 ISSUE 11 - NOVEMBER 2022 // PAGE 141