Dual Sport and Rally Riding Meet in Pioche, NV

[Tawmass]

OFF-ROAD - Dual Sport and Rally Riding Meet in Pioche
Posted by Kit Palmer
Dual Sport Rally 8/20/2004

The following is a release from Harden Offroad -

Scot Harden and Casey Folks recently announced they will be hosting, The Nevada Rally Experience (NRE) - a two day non-competitive GPS and Roadbook style Rally, October 22-24, 2004. "We've designed the Nevada Rally Experience to be as close to competing in an actual "marathon" Raid Rally event as you'll find anywhere this side of Dakar," stated Harden.

The NRE re-traces the route of the only marathon raid rally event ever held in the United States, the Nevada Rally. (The Nevada Rally was promoted by Acerbis and Best in the Desert from 1993-'95.) The NRE selects a different stage each year from the old Nevada Rally as its theme. Entrants will be provided a Roadbook and GPS route to navigate the stage. It is not a timed event. It is not a race. It is highly organized and well laid out navigation and riding experience limited to a small group of 50 rally enthusiasts.

For its first year, the NRE revisits Stage One of the 1993 Nevada Rally from Mesquite to Pioche, Nevada. It's a looped event with return to Mesquite at the end of Day 2. The length of the course each day will be 150 miles (approx.).

The Rally will bivouac in Pioche. Entrants have the option of "moteling" it in town or camping under the stars in the desert in an authentic bivouac setting. Like a true Rally the course has been designed to accommodate 700cc and up Dual Sports like the KTM 950 Adventure and the BMW GS.

The event is designed and produced by off-road legends Casey Folks and Scot Harden. Folks has over 40 years of experience promoting off-road events through his world famous organization, Best in the Desert. His working knowledge and intimate involvement in Rally events like the Incas Rally (1987) and the Nevada Rally (1993-'95) put him in a class of his own in terms of putting on events of this type. More recently Casey promoted the new millennium ultra marathon off-road event, the Nevada 2000, the longest off-road race ever held in the United States.

Scot Harden is an off-road and Rally legend in his own right. Winner of almost every major off-road event held in North America, including three Baja 1000 overalls, and is one of only a small handful of Americans to ever achieve success on the world rally scene. With podium finishes in events like the Incas and Atlas Rally and an overall win in the 1987 Djerba Rally, no American has more Rally experience than Scot. More recently Scot grabbed the attention countless U.S. off-road fans with his outstanding performance in the 2004 Dakar Rally. Through his company Harden-Offroad, Scot conducts adventure camps off-road riding schools where he trains everyone from beginners to the most experienced riders around in the art and science of on and off-road adventure riding.

The Nevada Rally Experience is unlike any other dual sport event. It combines the unique aspects of on and off-road riding, while adding the element of the Rally format. It is a fun event, designed to challenge but not intimidate the rider. Most important of all, the Nevada Rally Experience is about the shared camaraderie that can only be experienced during an actual Rally.

"With the increased awareness and interest in Rally style events, we wanted to let Americans see what it is all about," Harden said. "This event is very authentic and will be used as a training run for the 2005 Red Bull KTM U.S. Dakar squad. The course is awesome. The challenge will be to navigate the route using roadbook and waypoints from the start to finish."

For more information on the NRE visit the official Harden Offroad website www.harden-offroad.com or call 951-704-6370.