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2009
WORCS Round 1 Race Report
The 2009 WORCS National
ATV Season has officially been started with the completion
of the first round at Arizona’s own Speedworld MX Park in
Surprise, AZ. It was a great weekend. No rain or signs of
a repeat of the “Flood of 2008”. Everyone has eager to
start a new series, ironing out bugs of new race teams and
prepping for the extended 2 hour format of the Pro and
Pro/AM main event on Sunday.
Over the winter break, my
award winning motor builder Kenz Cycle Tech freshened up
both bikes with the race bike getting a brand new
transmission. Newly signed on graphics sponsor Motorsports
Headquarters – MSHQ in Mesa, AZ supplied fresh graphics for
both bikes. With a new training program in place, I was
anxious to start the weekend.
Unclassified 8am Race – As
muddy as the early morning track was from overnight
watering, I made a quick sight-in lap to look for changes
and to dial in a couple jumps on the practice bike. A quick
gear change out of the muddy gear and a quick pressure wash
to relieve the practice bike of the 30 lbs of mud, and it
was time for the first race.
Production A Race – With
40 riders in the production expert class, my start could
have been a bit better. I entered the off-road section
about mid pack. I worked my way into the top 10 on the 4th
lap, but was unexpectedly taken out by a rider I had just
passed in a sharp turn. My IMS-Roll nerf bars took the
brunt of the impact, protecting my leg; however, I still
lost about 4 or 5 positions as I remounted and got
underway. I caught up to that same rider on the last lap,
but had run out of time to make a pass. When we crossed
t he
finish line,
I was 1.3 seconds off his rear grab bar. I ended up placing
13th, taking the last qualifying position for the
Pro-AM race on Sunday.
Open A Race – I decided to
run the Saturday afternoon open expert class for some extra
track time on my practice bike, but made to make a last
minute switch to the dirty race bike due to a defective cam
chain that prevented the practice bike to fire. My start on
the open race was greatly improved. With a 35-rider gate, I
entered the first turn in 6th, and had passed my
way into 2nd by the time we entered the off-road
section. I lost a position on the dried out vintage track
portion of the course, and started my second lap in 3rd.
By the third lap, I decided to back off and save the now
only running bike I had for tomorrow’s main event. I
cruised around and finished 18th.
Main Event – During the
Pro and Pro-AM riders meeting, we learned that the X-Cross
section (a technical section only used for the main event of
which cannot be practiced anytime before the race) would
include the infamous logs, vertical tractor tires, and a
rock garden. There has always been some bad blood between
the Pro log sections and myself, so I wasn’t overly thrilled
to learn of the news. If the new 2-hour race format wasn’t
enough, now I get to handle logs and rocks every lap.
 After
double-checking my equipment with my favorite professional
photographer switching over to mechanic as the clock nears
noon, I dash to the line. Unfortunately, due to my mother’s
knee replacement surgery, my pit chew chief and concrete
gate sweeper was not in attendance for this race. I was
unable to sweep the dirt off the concrete after the pro’s
took off 2 minutes in from of us, so I spun quite a bit off
the concrete on the start. The first turn got a bit crowded
being in the back of the pack. I made a few crucial passes
before the off-road and settled into mid-pack. Things are
always hot and heavy on the first lap with your adrenaline
pegged to the roof, but nothing can bring you back to reality
like a good log section. This is my 4th year running Pro-Am
and I can tell you, the logs don't get any easier with
experience. I was trying to take it a bit easier through
this section due to racing with a cracked frame, but it
didn't matter. Slamming into logs taller then your front
tires is never fun for 2 hours. Like many others, the
X-Cross (or pro section) is where I lost lots of time, not
to mention putting a good bend in my rear Galfer waver
rotor. I ended up finishing 13th in Pro-Am and was fine
with that figuring I got tangled with another rider during a
pass in a wash, fetched tools to fix a broken rider, LOST
the tool flat tracking out of the hot pits, spent 10 minu tes
looking for said
LOST tool, finally delivered the tool, and push started a
pro rider that stalled after he was brake checked. Like any
pro race, there are lots of DNF's and I was happy to gain
some valuable Pro-Am points since there are no throw-outs
for pro or pro-am. It is a long season and I look forward to
the few races we have where LOGS aren't available to add to
the pro X-Cross section.
I want to thank everyone
for his or her support going into a fresh 2009 WORCS
season. Round one was expected to present some gremlins,
and with the great sponsorship team I have listed below, all
of them will be quickly ironed out allowing me to go into
round 2 with great expectations on machines built and
maintained with the best products and manufactures in the
industry.
Best Wishes,
Robert
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