After working hard to take an early lead in Sunday’s hare scramble race, 16-year-old Tim Schirmer settled down into a comfortable pace.

The strategy paid off for the young dirt bike rider, who finally parlayed his intimate knowledge of the Schirmer family ranch trails into his first Yukon series win in the Expert ‘A’ division.

“It’s all about endurance and pacing yourself through the race,” said Schirmer, a Grade 12 student at F.H. Collins Secondary. “You can’t go hardcore for two whole hours. That’d be just death.”

Dirt biking doubles as a tough physical workout, he explained.

“You sweat a lot and you lose a lot of water,” Schirmer said. “And there’s a 200 bike underneath you that you have to pull around an eight-kilometre track for two hours.

“It’s a lot. You start getting leg cramps and arm cramps. Usually on the first lap you can go really fast and then start pacing yourself.”

The eventual winner said he paused for two drinks during the race.

The Schirmers’ homestead – located just south of Kookatsoon Lake off the Klondike Highway – has doubled as headquarters for the Yukon Cross Country Motorcycle Association in recent years.

Sunday’s race marked the first time brothers Tim and Sam Schirmer finished one-two in the expert division standings.

Tim beat Sam, 17, by approximately five minutes. Both were well ahead of third-place finisher Travis Adams.

While organizers flag off a unique track for each hare scramble, Tim said living on the property certainly has its benefits.

Sam, who rides a KTM 125, said he and his brother grabbed an early lead on the first lap.

“Travis, the guy behind me, took a wrong turn or something,” he said.

The trio had won the event’s 20-minute prologue race to determine their top start positions.

“It’s a good feeling,” Sam said of the one-two family finish. “I mean, I wish I could be faster than him, but ... it was a lot of fun anyways.”

With frequent winners Sean McFarland and Hans Gatt absent from Sunday’s race, the race was there for the taking.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Tim said of his first-ever win. “All the riders out there are really good; their expertise is biking.

“It’s pretty cool winning over the older guys. The young guns are coming up.”

Race marshal Mike Beaman said the number of participants continues to rise with each hare scramble event.

“We’re slowly growing,” he said. “There was probably a slightly bigger attendance than normal. More spectators. Everybody had fun.”

While expert- and intermediate-level riders raced for two hours along technical trails suited for their divisions, novice and junior riders sped around their track loops for one hour.

The event also included 15-minute peewee and mini races.

The next race, a Mosquito Endurocross, will take place Sept. 21.

TOP RESULTS

Expert ‘A’

1. Tim Schirmer (KTM)
2. Sam Schirmer (KTM)
3. Travis Adams (Yamaha)

Intermediate ‘A’

1. Steve Collon (Yamaha)
2. Ray Cormier (Yamaha)
3. Nic MacDougall (KTM)

Intermediate ‘B’

1. Julien Revel (KTM)
2. Brody Ryckman (Husqvarna)
3. Justin MacDougall (Yamaha)

Novice

1. Chris Oulette (Honda)
2. Darrell Orban (Husaburg)
3. Emma Murphy (Honda)

Junior Over-15

1. Cole Beaman (Yamaha)
2. Shane Orban (KTM)

Junior Under-15

1. Saul Gale (Yamaha)
2. Broden Cull (Suzuki)
3. Austin Larkin (Kawasaki)

Mini

1. Austin Larkin (Yamaha)
2. Brent Mcneil (Honda)
3. Cody Adams (Yamaha)

Peewee

1. Seth Adams (Yamaha)
2. Cody Adams (Yamaha)
3. Kya Larkin (Yamaha)