Race for Tara 3

This past weekend, Northstar held the 3rd annual Tara Llanes "Race for Tara - Heart of a Champion" event. This year, however, was a little different. A portion of the proceeds went to the Christopher Reeve Spinal Cord Research Center at UC Irvine. Having the two teamed up along with Northstar, Giant Bicycles, Leatt Brace and a ton of other great sponsors (including Point One Racing!) really made for an incredible event and such a worthy cause. The race course was called the "Mega DH" and was hyped quite a bit due to the fact that racers would take the lift to the top and then be trucked to an even further starting point, high up the mountain. Fastest times would be in the 10min rage, certainly an Iron Man DH for Northstar.

Jimmy Amaral was all business, trying to save the most amount of time by choosing wise lines on the course. A fall at the end costed him a little bit of time, however a 15th place is still very impressive!


Co-founder Scott Orehek proved he had what it took to being fit and powering through the race course, however several mistakes made him slip back in the pack. Seen here charging towards the bottom.


Mikey Haderer still jet lagged from his trip to Canberra for the World Champs made a trip out to Northstar for the race. Support the proud red, white and blue; Mikey finished a respectable 23rd in the stacked field.


Forest Belluzzi barely nudged out Jimmy by a few seconds! Forest is one to look out for in the coming years, he is strong and fast. Way to go for the young junior rider!


Evan Turpen rode to an amazing 2nd place on his big bike! While most of the top finishers were on 6" travel bikes, Evan knows how to ride DH and will continue to be a podium threat next year on the national circuit.


Tara was all smiles!


Photos by Robert Lowe

Many thanks to all the sponsors and congratulations to all the racers! Stay tuned for a follow-up race back at Northstar next year...

Full results from the race can be found here.