British rider Russell Marmon, who was sponsored by JSU.be and Boss Gloss, participated for second time to Mark Hahn 300 race and he tells us all about this unique experience: This year was my second attempt at the Mark Hahn 300mile race was on a completely different make and model of machine that I am used to, as an official Sea-Doo factory pilot from 2003 to 2008 I always kept loyal to the brand, this year thanks to Chris Maccluggage sourcing the amazing new Kawasaki Ultra 300X I finally jumped ship and would be using this as my 2011 seasons race machine and I was not disappointed. The Mark Hahn 300 mile day race is a challenge to rider and machine but mainly the machine as we can change riders at every fuel stop which means every 50miles or 45 minutes but the machine has to withstand around five hours with the throttle squeezed hard against the handlebars, which on the Kawasaki you could do this even in the roughest stretches of around 6 miles of the 10mile lap circuit on the opposite California side of the lake where the machine would be punished the most in the waves jumping clean out the water, its very deceiving from the start finish shore line at the crazy horse camp site, the water here always looks and really is quite smooth, but across the other side where there is no shelter from the wind the water really gets choppy and rough which is great otherwise it would not be very challenging and a little boring to ride on. This year my team mate and good friend Peter De Smet from Belgium started the race but twisted his leg in the footwell and had to come in far earlier than expected not to refuel but to change riders, I was not ready at this point as the race had just begun and was parking the quad bike outside the pits, so valuable minutes where lost at the very beginning of the event and we were last at this point, a lot of work was ahead to catch up, I finished practically the rest of the race myself and really enjoyed the Kawasakis precise handling, turning and power delivery it is an amazing machine that really flatters the ability of the rider, super predictable in all conditions, I was most impressed in the turning ability of the new 300x its not like the old 250 Ultra which needed a large radius to turn which could be exploited by more nimble machines coming through the inside line around the buoys, no this 300X turns as tight and precise as the best of the other brands. Our refuelling was to start with bit of a mess spilling but catching the fuel with towels as strict rules mean only refuelling can be carried out on the beach and no fuel to be spilt in the water, this is one area I am going to address for next year and enter Superstock with dry break refuelling as its much quicker and safer, my footwells became slippery and dangerous in the rough water due to the gasoline spilt. Peter gave me a few laps rest so I could take on fluids then back I went out and finished the race 3rd in class which was at least some thing as we started way behind at the back, I really enjoyed the race and the extra time I spent racing this machine and will definitely be back to enter this brilliant event once again and I am sure it will be on a Kawasaki ultra 300X.
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