Afrigather Jacob Argubright has had probably the most profitable off-road racer careers within the final ten years. Argubright is a Nationwide Hare and Hound Champion, Greatest Within the Desert Champion, and a Western Nationwide Hare Scramble Champion, to call a number of. Rising up within the Southern California deserts of District 37, racing was second nature. Argubright grew to become a well known expertise by profitable championships on the District stage. So it wasn’t lengthy earlier than the Desert Ace competed for wins and podiums on the Nationwide Hare and Hound Sequence in opposition to racers like Kurt Caselli, Kendal Norman, and David Pearson.
In truth, Argubright is the final racer to finest the late Kurt Caselli at a Nationwide Hare and Hound occasion. In 2014, Jacob did a two-year stint with Manufacturing facility Husqvarna, grabbing the primary win for Husky for the reason that late ’80s with Dan Smith. He additionally gave Husqvarna their first Championship on the Western Hare Scrambles and BITD collection that very same yr. Nonetheless, the already achieved racer wasn’t happy, switching again to Kawasaki in 2019 with one aim: the Nationwide Hare and Hound Championship. The 2019 season was memorable, profitable five-hare and hounds and by no means lacking the rostrum to clinch his first Professional NHHA championship. It was virtually a Cinderella story; all of the years of onerous work and hardships lastly got here to fruition. Although, that wasn’t the ultimate aspiration for the Desert Racer.
If there may be one race that an achieved Desert racer needs to compete in, it’s the Dakar Rally. The Dakar is called the largest Endurance Race on this planet for not solely man but in addition the machine. It’s distinctive as a result of there isn’t a ribbon, markers, or indicators after all markings. As a substitute, it’s a race made up of navigation with a street e book for every day, a compass, and a great sense of path. This yr the Dakar Rally tallies as much as 5,000KM, equal to 3100 miles and fourteen levels all through, and can happen in Saudi Arabia. It’s the largest race on this planet, and for a great purpose, there may be nothing prefer it. Jacob has been fundraising for over a yr to perform his feat of racing this monster of an occasion, however he not solely needs to complete, however he additionally needs to be aggressive and present his abilities on a world stage. Thankfully, we rapidly spoke with him earlier than he headed to the airport for Saudi. Initially this was a podcast, however are audio acquired just a little scratched up and reduce off.
DIRT BIKE: WE HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS QUICKLY AND ON THE FLY; LET US MAKE THIS QUICK BECAUSE WE KNOW YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY OUT; FIRST OFF, WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO DO THIS?
JACOB ARGUBRIGHT: WHAT POSSESSED ME TO DO IT WAS BECAUSE IT’S THE BIGGEST MOTORSPORTS RACE IN THE WORLD, AND I WANT TO BE A WORLD CHAMPION, AND IF I WANT TO DO THAT, I NEED TO RACE WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF RACERS.
DIRT BIKE: WOW! THAT IS A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD ANSWER, AND IT SEEMS LIKE YOU’RE FOCUSED ON THIS. WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF YOUR FOCUS HEADED THAT WAY OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS. WE KNOW THERE WAS, OR THERE IS, SOME RULE YOU HAVE TO COMPETE IN AN FIM RALLY; WHICH DID YOU DO? AND HOW DID YOU DO?
JACOB ARGUBRIGHT: WELL, FIRST, I TRIED TO RACE THE SONORA RALLY IN 2021. THE FIRST DAY I WAS OUT, I BLEW UP MY MOTORCYCLE, WHICH WAS AN UNFORTUNATE DEAL FOR ME. BUT I SENT MY DRIVER, LARRY, BACK TO THE STATES TO PICK UP ANOTHER MOTORCYCLE FOR ME TO GET SOME PRACTICE IN ON NAVIGATION. THAT WAS A COMPLETE FAIL; I BLEW UP THAT MOTOR THE NEXT DAY. MASON KLEINS DAD WAS THERE WITH MASON, AND BASICALLY, THEY HAD TWO RALLY BIKES, AND THEY GAVE ME ONE TO RIDE, SO MY FIRST ACTUAL RALLY WAS A MESS, BUT I LEARNED A TON BY ONLY RIDING 3 DAYS. AFTER THAT, I WAS PRETTY HOOKED, AND I STARTED TO SEE WHAT I HAD TO DO TO COMPETE AT THE DAKAR. AND AT THE TIME, YOU HAD TO COMPETE IN ONE FIM RALLY; I SET MY SIGHTS ON THE ABU DUBIA RALLY. So I PLACED SECOND IN RALLY 2 AND GOT A FEEL FOR THE MOTORCYCLE AND THE TEAM I WILL BE COMPETING WITH.
DIRT BIKE: YOU MENTIONED THE TEAM YOU WILL BE COMPETING WITH; HOW DOES THAT WORK FOR SOMEBODY LIKE YOU WHO DOESN’T OWN A REAL RALLY MOTORCYCLE AND LOGISTICS TO DO THIS THING?
JACOB ARGUBRIGHT: I’LL BE COMPETING WITH THE DUUST RALLY TEAM. THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT IS THAT YOU PAY FOR AN ALL-INCLUSIVE PACKAGE. THAT INCLUDES THE MOTORCYCLE, THE MECHANIC, AND THE TRUCK THAT DRIVES THE DAILY ROUTES. IT’S A BIG STRESS OFF YOUR BACK WHEN YOU WANT TO COMPETE AT THIS THING. I HONESTLY CAN GO TO THIS EVENT KNOWING I HAVE A GREAT TEAM GREAT BIKE, AND ALL I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IS RACING. A TEAMMATE OF MINE RENTED A MOTORHOME TOGETHER, WHICH WILL BE TRANSPORTED EVERY DAY AS WELL WITH THE TEAM, SO WE HAVE A COMFORTABLE PLACE TO SLEEP EVERY NIGHT. IN ABU DUBIA, I TENT-SLEPT, WHICH WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I LEARNED. IT WAS 90 DEGREES AT NIGHT, UTV TEAMS WERE UP ALL NIGHT WORKING ON THEIR CARS, AND IT FELT LIKE NOBODY WENT TO SLEEP. IT WAS TERRIBLE.
DIRT BIKE: THAT’S PRETTY COOL THAT YOU CAN SET THAT UP WITH TEAMS ACROSS THE GLOBE TO RACE AT WORLD RALLIES. I GUESS THE NEXT BIG QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS?
JACOB ARGUBRIHT: I SEE MYSELF BEING HAPPY AND ACCOMPLISHED IF I’M ANYWHERE BETWEEN THE 5TH-15TH MARKS. I BELIEVE THAT IS AN EASY GOAL THAT CAN BE DONE IF I NAIL MY NAVIGATION. THAT IS WHERE I FALL SHORT WITH THESE GUYS. MY SPEED IS NOT A PROBLEM, BUT MY KNOWLEDGE OF NAVIGATION AND THE SMALL EXPERIENCES I HAVE WITH IT ARE WHERE MY WEAK POINTS ARE.
DIRTBIKE: THOSE ARE ALL GREAT ANSWERS AND VERY REASONABLE. WE WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK. AND KNOW YOU’RE IN A RUSH TO GET OUT OF HERE. IS THERE ANYONE YOU WANT TO THANK?
JACOB ARGUBRIGHT: ABSOLUTLEY, EVERYONE THAT HELPED DONATED TO ME AND GOT ME TO THIS RACE. FROM THE SUMMER PARTY, DONATIONS, SHIRTS, STICKERS, DESIGNS, AND ANYTHING THAT ANYBODY DID FOR ME, THANK YOU. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE!
MY WIFE, I KNOW THE LAST YEAR HAS BEEN HECTIC, BUT SHE IS LETTING ME CHASE MY DREAMS, AND NOT MANY PEOPLE CAN’T SAY THAT. MY BIGGEST SPONSOR IS RON PURVINES. I RODE FOR RON YEARS AGO, AND FOR HIM TO STEP UP NOT ONLY FOR ME AT THE DAKAR BUT ALSO TO CHASE WORLD RALLY IS CRUCIAL. I CAN’T THANK HIM ENOUGH FOR THE SUPPORT; WITHOUT IT, I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A TIGHT SITUATION. THE LIST OF SPONSORS THAT FOLLOW PURVINES RACING, DC YAMAHA, CITY SERVICES PAVING, FLY RACING, S.W. ROBERTS CONSTRUCTION, RHYNO BUILT, NATIONAL HARE & HOUND ASSOCIATION, 100’S MC, DESERT MC, RICKS CUSTOM SHUTTERS, PRO MOTO BILLET/FASTWAY, FLOW VISION, BENTLEVER.COM, REGULUS PERFORMANCE, IMS PRODUCTS, DP4 RACING, FNF RACING, RALLY MOTO SHOP, BAJA BOUND INSURANCE
You may comply with Jacob Argubright and different Individuals like Ricky Brabec, Skyler Howes, and Mason Klien on their Dakar experiences by downloading the Dakar cell app. It’s simple to make use of, and you may monitor his every day progress. Or you may go to https://www.dakar.com/en, the place Dakar retains you up to date on every little thing at present.
