3 BROS 24 HOUR ENDURANCE RESULTS: TEAM PRO CIRCUIT GRABS THEIR FIRST WIN

The 3 Bros 24-Hour Endurance Race at Glen Helen took place over the weekend starting at 10am on Saturday and ending at 10:00 am on Sunday. The 3 Bros 24-Hour Endurance event is the finale for Glen Helen’s three-race endurance series. Unlike any other race series, the 3 Bros Endurance trio of events is different with the total race time growing at each round. The series kicks off with a 6-hour event, then climbs to a 10-hour race which was held partially at night in 2020 on August 8th and then the series finishes off with a brutally long, 24-hour race. There are classes for all skill levels and bike sizes at the 3 Bros Endurance race, but all eyes are on the Pro class. See below for a race report on how the Pro class shook down and for photos of the event.

Photos by Trevor Nelson

Preston Campbell on the Team Pro Circuit Honda CRF450X.

The race started with Blayne Thompson taking the holeshot and the early lead. Thompson’s team consisted of Ryan Surratt, Jeff Loop and Danny Cooper. MXA’s Josh Mosiman was the starting rider for the MXA/Pro Circuit team with Zac Commans, Preston Campbell and Carlen Gardner. Josh started in fourth, but passed into second place by the time the pack climbed up the steep and long Yamaha hill and headed for the Glen Helen ridges and single-track trails. Mosiman followed behind Thompson for the first half of the lap until he passed Thompson once the off-road loop joined onto the REM track. Thompson didn’t give up easily however. He passed Mosiman back once more later in the lap, but Mosiman squared him up and got around him in the next corner.

Josh Mosiman continued to lead the way for team Pro Circuit until he handed the bike to Carlen Gardner after three laps. Blayne Thompson’s team also switched riders and filled-up fuel on the same lap and his teammate Jeff Loop jumped on right behind Carlen Gardner. Gardner began to pull a small gap on Loop on the first lap, but the lead grew exceedingly once Loop penalized and held for 1-minute in the pits for cutting the track.

MXA’s Josh Mosiman on the Pro Circuit Honda.

Team Pro Circuit held the lead until the 3-hour mark when Blayne Thompson’s teammate Ryan Surratt hoped on their Husqvarna and passed Team Pro Circuit rider, Zac Commans. Tyler Nicholson, Thomas Dunn, Cody Simpson and Christian Clark were close to the front early in the race as was Colton Udall’s team with Derek Ausserbauer, Nic Garvin and Evan Kelly and the 3 Bros KTM team of Nick Stover, Brandon Gravley, Colton Aeck and Trevor Hunter were near the front as well. All five of the Pro teams were within a couple of minutes of each other well into the race and the lead was swapped multiple times between Team MXA/Pro Circuit, Blayne Thompson’s team and Nick Stover’s team.

In a unique fashion, Glen Helen decided to make the first riders stand in front of their bikes before the start. Then, once the green flag flew, the helper holding the bike signaled the rider to go, they jumped on the bike, started it, and left.

Blayne Thompson (7) leads the way into the first turn with MXA’s Josh Mosiman (78) third. 

Colton Aeck led the charge for the 3 Bros KTM team, but unfortunately he ran out of gas on lap four of the race and had to push his bike back to the pits and lose a significant amount of time with over 22-hours still left on the clock. By 9:00pm on Saturday, with 13-hours still left in the race, the MXA/Pro Circuit Honda CRF450X lost 4th gear. They could still shift to 5th, but had to double shift to get there and eventually ended up riding the fast straightaways in 3rd gear. At one point, the Pro Circuit team had a two-lap lead, but with transmission issues happening early on, nothing was guaranteed.

A visual representation of the Talledega turn at Glen Helen at night. 

Unfortunately, after running second for a big chunk of the race, Blayne Thompson’s team suffered bike issues and had to push their Husqvarna back to the pits. Colton Udall’s number 5X Honda team wasn’t battling for the lead at the beginning of the race, but they kept their bike running and stayed in the fight. Ultimately, the MXA/Pro Circuit team would cross the finish line one-lap ahead of Colton Udall’s team with Tyler Nicholson’s team third, Nick Stover’s 3 Bros KTM team fourth and Blayne Thompson’s team fifth in the Pro class.

24-HOUR ENDURANCE RACE: PRO CLASS RESULTS

Having a proficient pit crew is ultra-important in a 24-hour race. 

24-HOURS OF GLEN HELEN RESULTS: OPEN PRO CLASS
1. Josh Mosiman, Zac Commons, Carlen Gardner, Preston Campbell
2. Colton Udall, Evan Kelly, Nic Garvin, Derek Ausserbauer
3. Tyler Nicholson, Cody Simpson, Thomas Dunn, Christian Clark
4. Nick Stover, Colton Aeck, Trevor Hunter, Brandon Graveley
5. Blaine Thompson, Jeff Loop, Danny Cooper, Ryan Surratt

Carlen Gardner is preparing for the 2021 Supercross season, but he was glad to be part of Team MXA/Pro Circuit when he got the call only two weeks before the race.

Colton Udall’s 5X Honda team finished second place.

Zac Commans on the Pro Circuit Honda. 

Jeff Loop on the #7 Husqvarna was teamed up with Blayne Thompson, Ryan Surratt and Danny Cooper. 

The industry class was won by Dirt Bike Magazine’s official team. Here Travis Fant, Sean Lipanovich, Jared Hicks, Sean Foos and RJ Wageman (not pictured) stand for their podium photo. 

TEAM PRO CIRCUIT’S LAP CHART: 79 TOTAL LAPS

The Pro Circuit team logged each lap time. John Parkinson of PanicRev Ministries has helped out Johnny Campbell and Timmy Weigand at the 24-Hour race and other off-road events in years past. His two main jobs for the Pro Circuit team this year was to keep track of each lap time and fill-up fuel.

Zac Commans came out of retirement to be apart of Pro Circuit’s overall winning 24-hour team. His hands weren’t in great riding shape and he felt the consequences. 

Mitch Payton and team rider Preston Campbell keeping an eye on the bike during the first rider change and pit stop.

Carlen Gardner grabbing Pro Circuit bike after new front and rear wheels were installed.

Long exposure photos do a great job at displaying the track at night. 

This section was implemented right next to the road in the back section of Glen Helen. Typically, Glen Helen has to use some asphalt for the 24-hour track, but this year the asphalt was very minimal now that a few new off-road sections have been cut. 

Zac Commans on the Team Pro Circuit bike Sunday morning. Although the sun came back up, the Pro Circuit team decided to leave the headlight on the bike instead of spending extra time in the pits to remove it. 

Carlen Gardner on the Pro Circuit Honda.

The riders and pit crews were greeted by this nice sunrise above the pits at 6:11 in the morning. -Photo by Hayden Walker

Preston Campbell, son of off-road legend and JCR Honda owner, Johnny Campbell, was happy to win his first-ever 24 hour endurance team race.

Yamaha hill at night.

Team Pro Circuit in the pits.

Former factory Honda mechanic Mike “Schnikey” Tomlin played a huge role in Team Pro Circuit’s first win. He did most of the work before the race to get the Honda CRF450X together and he was the lead mechanic in the pit area with help from Averi Lison, Jason “Gothic Jay” Haines, John Parkinson and a list of other mechanics and helpers.