Russell Bobbitt of Fayetteville knows how to leave them in the dust. On his dirt bike, that is.

This 20-year-old Fayetteville native has been following his passion for racing for 10 years. He started riding when he was four years old. The type of racing he does falls into a couple of categories: enduros and what is known as hare scrambles or cross country.

Enduros were so named because of the endurance needed to complete them. Riders follow a course which can include tight woods, uphills, creeks, rocks, mud, steep downhills, and so on, all which must be ridden at an average of 24 miles per hour. Riders are timed and reach unannounced checkpoints where they must be precisely on time, or they gain points. In this sport, points are not good. Hare scrambles/cross country events also involve following a course, but riders make multiple loops on the same course as fast as they can go. The same challenges in terrain apply.

Bobbitt recently was named the overall champion of both the Enduro Series and the Hare Scrambles Series for the South Eastern Enduro and Trail Riders Association, an organization of over 1,000 riders who ride events in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. He is also the overall champion of the Enduro Series in the Florida Trail Riders Association.

In addition, Bobbitt is currently in the lead of the American Motorcyclist Association FMF Racing National Enduro Series, an 11 round series including locations in California, Missouri, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey and Delaware. His “support crew” is primarily his dad, Bo, whose time is spread among his business, Cycle Specialty, working on bikes to prepare them for the events, and going to the races. The schedule is daunting at times, as it has been recently with a World Enduro Championship event in Hancock, NY, followed by two National Enduros in Michigan on subsequent weekends.

The event in Hancock marked the first time the World Enduro Championships were held in the U.S. Top riders from around the world converged to ride for two days, 130 miles per day over extremely rocky terrain, in the rain on the first day and heat on the second. European journalists took notice when this US rider came in fourth in the Junior Enduro Class. The Bobbitts saw this as good practice for the International Six Days Enduro, to be held in New Zealand in November.

Bobbitt will represent the United States on the U.S. Junior Trophy Team in New Zealand. The team was selected based on the riders’ performance at two or more qualifiers held earlier this year. Last year, Bobbitt was on the U.S. Junior Trophy Team in Slovakia and in 2003, in Brazil. Considered equivalent to the “Olympics of Off-road Motorcycling,” the ISDE is extremely challenging, covering some of the most difficult terrain in the world, with riders riding up to 120 miles per day and being required to do all their own maintenance during a period of only half an hour each day.

Bobbitt will be riding a KTM 250 XC. His sponsors include Cycle Specialty in Fayetteville, KTM USA, Scott Goggles, Enduro Engineering, Maxxis Tires, E-Line, Regina Chain, FMF Racing, Air Cell Fork Control System, S.R.C. Thor Apparel, Sidi Boots, and Troy Lee Designs Helmets.

When he’s not racing, training or practice riding, Bobbitt attends the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.

Information about the racing series mentioned above can be found at www.setra.org, www.amadirectlink.com/amrace/amasports.asp, www.abc-wec.org, www.isde06.com, and www.amadirectlink.com/amrace/2006/isde/index.asp.

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