2008 WORCS Round 2 Race
Report
The last time I raced
the Mesquite MX track was in November of 2005, for the
final round of WORCS. Ever since that race, it was one
track that was always brought up when discussing mud
conditions. Now the Mesquite MX track, raced in
February of 2008, will be brought up when describing
whoops. I thought the conditions might get a bit gnarly
when the official WORCS motorcycle race report was
titled “Broken Bikes and Broken Bodies”.
Saturday: I was excited
to get a sight-in lap during the 7:30am unclassified
race, to see how much the off-road course had changed
since the last time I was there. I quickly learned that
we would be racing the course in the opposite direction
than in 2005, and that all the water crossings were now
dry. I was not sad about the lack of water this round
as my boots are still wet from round 1 at Speedworld,
and the change in direction keep things interesting.
Unclassified races are not a judged race, but more along
the lines of a practice. It is the first and only
chance to see the off-road course before racing begins.
We are allowed to complete as many laps as we would like
in the 40 minute time limit, but I usually only hit one
lap due to having to prep and be at the line for my
first race at 10am. The first of the two unclassified
races are for pro and expert classes only. Besides
learning the layout of the course and the location of
some of the major obstacles, it is no indication of
track conditions because the track will never be this
pristine again, having been groomed and watered
overnight. I was amazed the 4 miles of track in the
sand section had already developed whoops within 15
minutes. I returned to my pits and prepped the race
bike and my titanium sprung Custom Axis piggyback shocks
for what would be a very whooped out race.
Once again, a record
number of entries in the Production A race for the
second round of the season topped out at 42. I was
selected to run in the first of three rows making up the
Production A race, with each row being separated by 30
seconds. The time split would be adjusted at the end of
the race. The green flag was raised and we were off.
My new Kenz Cycle Tech motor jumped off the line great
as I grabbed the holeshot and was off on the first lap.
A couple of turns before the off-road I blew a
split-line berm and lost about six or seven positions.
I jumped back on and we were headed out to the
off-road. It only took about 10 whoops to realize the
course had deteriorated in just the first two
hours.
The first half of the
race went well, making up some time and positions when I
could, but my speed was being held back my the size and
frequency of the whoops. About the halfway point, I
thought I saw a puff of smoke over my shoulder as I
re-entered the motocross section. I passed my pit crew
and didn’t receive a report of a problem, so I finished
the mx section and headed back out to the 5 miles of
off-road course. I noticed another puff of smoke, so I
checked in with my pit crew on the radio and alerted
them to the possibility of a problem. I figured it was
some oil blow-off from my crankcase breather hose
getting on my exhaust can and burning off. The next lap
I noticed the rear shock was fading, forcing me to slow
down as the bike started bottoming out on the whoops,
and rebounding very fast. The slower I was forced to
go, the worse the problem got. Finally, the rear shock
compression was totally gone, leaving me with only a
spring in the rear. I determined I had totally blown
the rear shock at this point, and settled in for the
challenge of finishing the race as best I could and
salvage as many point as possible. Unfortunately, with
only a spring in the rear of the bike, every whoop
caused the rear of the bike to bounce three to four
times. It was all I could to manhandle the quad and
keep it on the track. I was bouncing into trees and
rocks as the frame continued to bottom out. By the end
of the race, I had slipped from 1st to 30th.
After returning to the pits, we noticed that there was a
rip in the braided shock hose, which connects the
reservoir to the shock. I had lost all the shock oil,
and the smoke puff’s I was seeing was an occasional drop
of shock oil burning off the exhaust can. With a 30th
place finish and a blown rear shock on the race bike, we
prepped the practice bike for the 2pm Open A race to try
to qualify for Sunday’s main event.
I learned within the
next hour that I had overexerted my body trying to
manhandle that bike and keep it on course. I was
exhausted to the point of being sick. Unfortunately, by
the time I went to the line, I wasn’t worth much. The
whoops in the sand section of the off-road course had
grown to over 3’ in places. I was one of the only
riders that entered both classes to take the checker
flag. I did everything I could, but only finished 18th
out of 41. I missed the qualifier by 6 places, less
than 2˝ minutes.
For the first time in
over two years, I would be watching the main event
instead of lining up in the pro-am line.
I most certainly will
have my work cut out for me for the next six rounds, but
I am optimistic and grateful for learning about these
problems and being able to make changes to prevent them
in the future. I will be doing testing and extensive
maintenance between now and round 3 in Lake Havasu to
make sure I come out on top.
Best Wishes,
Robert
