Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003 | 9:05 a.m.
GAME2003 AT A GLANCE
Russell Pearson isn't easily excited.
Pearson, a 23-year-old Henderson resident, is leading one national off-road motorcycle racing series and is third in another, has represented his country in international events and is rated as one of the top desert riders in America.
But mention the inaugural Great American Motorcycle Experience (GAME2003), which runs today through Sunday on the grounds of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and a trace of excitement creeps into Pearson's voice.
"It's always nice when you can get something this close to where you live," Pearson said of GAME2003, which will feature eight styles of racing as well as distance jumping and freestyle events. "It's kind of a fun event and not too much stress, but it still should be pretty good.
"It sounds like they're doing pretty good for the first year. I know a lot of times, when they do something like this the first year, it takes a little bit of time to get a bunch of people (interested) until it gets a name. It should be pretty cool. They've got all kinds of things going on."
Among the disciplines of motorcycle racing to be featured this weekend are motocross, speedway bikes, flat track, Supermoto TT, drag racing, stadium motocross, road racing and Pearson's event, the Great American Desert Grand Prix.
The Great American Desert Grand Prix, which will be on a specially constructed 5-mile track on the northeast corner of the 1,500-acre facility, is sanctioned by the Las Vegas-based World Off Road Championship Series (WORCS) and being run as a non-points event this year. The event will be on the series' 2004 schedule as a points-paying event.
With no points on the line this weekend, Pearson will be able to use Saturday's two-hour race as a tuneup for the final points races in WORCS and the AMA Racing National Hare & Hound Series. Pearson leads the Hare & Hound Series with one race remaining and is third in the WORCS Pro standings with two regular-season races remaining.
Pearson, a Yamaha Pro Factory racer, also will use the race to refresh his competitive skills after taking off much of the summer from racing to rehabilitate a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee -- the result of a racing accident.
"I had an accident at the beginning of the summer and I had knee surgery and I've been rehabilitating all summer long," Pearson said. "I'm just barely getting back on the bike. I started riding again about a month ago and I've been riding almost every day and training and I'm feeling really good.
"I'm leading the Hare & Hounds with one race left and in the WORCS, I'm still third in that series but I don't know how it'll turn out; it's a possibility I could still win that if I win the last two races because they have one throwaway event."
Pearson, the son of former SCORE motorcycle champion Lee Pearson, said he likes the format of the WORCS-sanctioned races because the smaller tracks allow fans to watch the entire race.
"(The WORCS races) are more fun for people to watch because they can actually watch some racing," Pearson said. "When you go to a Hare & Hounds race, you're running two 40- or 50-mile loops so they get to see you start, then you come through once and then finish.
"At these WORCS events, it's a 4- or 5-mile loop and you run around the loop 10 or 15 times and you actually get to watch and experience the racing and it's a lot more fun for the fans to come out and watch."
The Great American Desert Grand Prix, which features a $5,000 Pro purse, will be Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Pro-only race, Pearson's event, will start at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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