The territory's dirt bike community gathered Sunday for the first race of their 2013 season.

The Cowley Creek Hare Scramble was held on Urs and Rebecca Schirmer's property near Kookatsoon Lake on the Klondike Highway.

It marks the third straight season of racing for the Yukon Cross Country Motorcycle Association.

Shawn McFarland won the expert division, while Frank Smith and Steven Pearson took their respective intermediate divisions in the off-road motorcycle event.

Winning a hare scramble takes equal measures of talent and luck, race marshal Mike Beaman told the Star.

"It gets mixed up because anything can happen on the trail,” Beaman explained. "It's a race of physical endurance and technical ability on the motorcycle. If you run into a tree or something you can easily get passed.

"It's a gentlemen's race, so if you end up having a guy on your tail for a bit, you pull over safely and you let them by. That's how the whole race is, whether you're a kid or an expert racer.”

The hare scramble began with a 20-minute prologue race to determine racers' start positions for the main event. The prologue was a short course with a variety of obstacles.

That race was followed by the peewee race, a 15-min short course through single track and open trail, won by Cody Adams.

Then came the main event, which featured racers in six different classes, ranging from mini to expert. Each class raced a different variation of the trails, including single track and open trail (B Loop) or the more difficult, technical route with obstacles including logs, rocks and hill climbs (A Loop).

"It's a fun race,” said Beaman. "It's very safe. We've had very few injuries over the past three years.”

Beaman said the hare scramble was moved to the Schirmer's private land to allow the younger generation a chance to race.

"It's a family sport,” he said. "It's a great physical activity for the family, and city bylaw has outlawed anyone under 16 years of age (from riding).”

Beaman said "antiquated” territorial government legislation restricts riding because a trail is defined as a highway.

"They've certainly outlawed our kids from enjoying the sport they love, and as you probably saw, there's a lot of kids competing,” he said.

The second and final race of the season is set for Sunday, Sept. 22 at the same location. Start time is 9 a.m.

More information is available through Facebook groups Yukon Dirt Bike Riders and Yukon Cross Country Motorcycle Association.

"We're expecting a bit more of a turnout,” said Beaman. "This one was kind of a last minute event, but the next one, we'll have a bit more word out there.”

TOP RESULTS

Prologue

1. Steve Thomas (Montessa)

2. Shawn McFarland (KTM)

3. Tim Schirmer (Suzuki)

Peewee

1. Cody Adams (Yamaha)

2. Seth Adams (Yamaha)

3. Kya Larkin (Yamaha)

Mini (B Loop, 2 laps)

1. Seth Adams (Yamaha)

2. Orin Gladwin (Yamaha)

3. Aurora Krause (Kawasaki)

Junior (Under-15 – B Loop, 1 hour)

1. Austin Larkin (Yamaha)

2. Sawyer Adams (Kawasaki)

3. Cole Beaman (Yamaha)

Junior (Over-15 – B Loop, 1 hour)

1. Brody Ryckman (Kawasaki)

2. Justin McDougall (Yamaha)

3. Shane Orban (Yamaha)

Intermediate B (B Loop, 1.5 hours)

1. Steven Pearson (Yamaha)

2. Steven Mach (Yamaha)

3. Susan Rogan (Yamaha)

Intermediate A (A Loop, 2 hours)

1. Frank Smith (Husaberg)

2. Chris Lane (KTM)

3. Aiden Allen (Kawasaki)

Expert (A Loop, 2 hours)

1. Shawn McFarland (KTM)

2. Dale Panchychyn (KTM)

3. Hans Gatt (KTM)