Results: 12 Hours of Santos; USAC Ultra-Endurance National Calendar #2

Written by: Greg Gibson
Photos by: Wes Lamberson

12 Hours of Santos; Ocala, Florida
Race #2 on USA Cycling Ultra Endurance National Calendar

The start finish and most of the pits for the 12 Hours of Santos were located down in what looks like an old stone quarry. The race was held on the Vortex trail system which consists of a super technical inner loop and a flat fast flowing outer loop. The inner loop wound in and out and up and down around the cliffs surrounding the old quarry. Racers could hear the announcers and the music and during the night hours everyone could watch the lights swirl around the outside of the venue. The course was shorter than average, (about 40 minutes for the leaders) this made it great for spectators and some close racing . The late morning start gave racers plenty of time to cool off, rehydrate a little, and race with their lights .

In the main event it was Harlan Price(Independent Fabrications) who stole the show. From the start he put himself out front with a group of local pros entered in the six hour event, and rode away from them off the front. Harlan repeatedly put down the dayʼs fastest laps even with his pit stops. Rob Lichtenwalner (VisitPa/Cannondale) hovered a few minutes back all day having a consistent race ready for Harlan to crack. Ernesto Marenchin (Speedgoat ), a regular at endurance races around the country , also had a consistent day finishing a strong third. The three men where the only solo riders to complete 16 laps.

The womenʼs race was won by Rita Jett Borelli (unattached) ,completing 12 laps. In second place independent rider Annette Lamberson finished 

strong on the same lap ahead of seasoned endurance racer Sandra Tomlinson (Open Road), who finished a lap down due to a light failure.

The park had more to offer than just the xc trails, less than a stones throw away is huge dirt jump park and the entire local is filled with jumps, bridges, teeter totters, drops, and free ride lines down the quarryʼs cliff walls, not exactly what I would have thought I would find in Florida.

Dave and Terry, the race promoters from GoneRiding.com, as usual, put on a flawless event. Accurate results where always updated quickly. There was plenty of free food and plenty of schwag to go around. Specialized and GT where onsite with a fleet of high end bikes for the public to thrash test. Cheers to an awesome weekend of racing.

Open Men
1, Harlan Price 16 laps
2, Rob Lichtenwalner 16 laps
3, Ernesto Marenchin 16 laps
4, Kevin Hofmann 15 laps
5, Mike Christpher 14 laps
6, Russell Peelman 13 laps
7, Scott Summey 11 laps
8, Harvey Minton 10 laps
9, John Moorhouse 9 laps
10, Adam Dewitt 6 laps

Open Women
1, Rita Jett Borelli 12 laps
2, Annette Lamberson 12 laps
3, Sandra Tomlinson 11 laps
4, Carol Clemens 9 laps
5, Kristy Coale 7 laps
6,Tracey Wallace 5 laps
Click Here for full results

Current Standings; USAC Ultra-Endurance National Calendar

Pro Men

1-tie, Bryan Fawley-60 points
1-tie, Harlan Price-60
3-t, JT Cody-40
3-t, Ernesto Marenchin-40
5-t, Sean Sindt-30
5-t, Kevin Hoffman-30
7-t, Rick Wetherald-25
7-t, Michael Christopher-25
9-t, David Hanes-20
9-t, Russell Peelman-20

Pro Women

1-tie, Rebecca Rusch- 60 points
1-t, Rita Borelli- 60
3-t, Alice Pennington- 40
3-t, Sandra Tomlinson- 40
5-t, Claire McKenna- 30
5-t, Tracey Wallace- 30
7, Melanie Etherton- 25
8, Danielle Musto- 20
9, Sara Krause- 18