2008
WORCS Round 1 Race Report
I've seen some crazy stuff over that past couple of
years racing WORCS.....we've been in mud so bad that the quads pack over 200 lbs
worth of mud each lap that we have to be pressure washed each time we come into
hot pits with all the rigs/trailers having to be pulled out of the pits by a
tractor....we've raced in silt so thick that you can't see the end of your arms
and you are sideswiping other riders and figuring you must still be on the track
if you are hitting other racers....we've had pro sections so rough that they
can't be marked, so a course official stands at the top and just points over the
rock cliff we must jump down.....but this 2008 Round 1 weekend tops it all !!!
Saturday: To keep the stress down on my shoulder injury, I decided to skid the
unclassified race, and prep for my Production A race. They must have broken the
record on entries into the Production A class, because there were 46 riders on
the line. I just built a new race motor, and decided I should run it in the
Production A and figure some things out before the Sunday main event. Trying to
figure out a new bike is challenging when you have never seen the track and you
have 40+ riders behind you chasing you. I got a great jump off the line, but
didn’t know this new motor has a higher power band and shifted too soon.
I quickly down shifted and ended up about 5th into the first
turn. My new stock bore Kenz Cycle Tech motor ran great, and
with the higher power band, I was able to keep in the front of the pack.
My shoulder held out till the last lap and I was happy I ended up with a
6th place finish for my class, and a 14th overall out of
86. I had pre-reg'd for Open A, but having already qualified for Sunday’s
Pro-AM, I decided to skip it to save my shoulder for Sunday's main.
Sunday: Decided to sleep at home, and was probably a good idea because I didn't
lay awake all night listening to the pitter patter of the steady rain that
started at 3 am. I got to the track about
9 am, and they hadn't even started the
8 am race due to making track changes (WORCS always runs on time.....so
this was major). Flooded was an understatement! If it wasn't flowing water, then
it was standing water. Not puddles, but ponds. There was more surface water than
dirt. By the time we had our pro riders meeting at
11 am, the course already had to be shortened to the point that we would
start in the parking lot, jump a berm and run a tree section, only do the 3
large tables in the back of the MX section, run a small bermed tree section,
around the back of the heli-pad, across a straight on the Vintage track, one
more table on the mx track, through scoring, down hot pits, and back out again.
Sound easy? Out of 29 pros, only 14 would even make it 1 lap to even come
through hot pits.
I figured I would need a good jump off the line to get out front and stay clean.
I was third off the line, but the rider in 2nd, Mike Kelley, was
quickly thrown from his quad when the leader clipped him, and I was tagged on my
right side by a quad that now had no rider. I managed to swerve enough to only
ride over his front tire/a-arm and only lose a couple of positions. I quickly
headed towards all the roost, and I couldn't pull my roll-offs quick enough. The
next obstacle was the berm, and with a quick jump, we were off. One more pull of
the roll-offs to get a clear picture of what was ahead.....a 1/2 mile of 24"
deep flooded track. Unfortunately, the track looked more like a log ride.....a
continuous trough of water. Momentum was the name of the game. Keep it pinned,
steer in the direction you would like to go, and pray. Riders were darting on
and off the track completely out of control. I managed to high side in a tree,
and spent almost a complete lap getting free. Of course I wasn't alone as I
could see 10+ riders working on various projects like myself. Not close enough
where you could hear what they were saying....but close enough you could tell
they shared my opinion on the matter at hand. Once underway, I found out that my
goggles malfunctioned and had to remove them. I radio'd to my pits I was on my
way and what I needed from them. Sad to say, I never get the opportunity see my
pit crew. Running without goggle is very dangerous, and not being able to see, I
took a tree branch across my face, dragging a leaf or something across my eye. I
managed to work through that, but my bike had had enough. It quit running by the
heli-pad, and after 10 mins of working on it, I called it quits and surrendered
to being towed in. Out of 21 pro-ams, only 9 would make it in without a tow. I
found out a fresh set of goggles with a dozen tear offs or a new roll-off would
only last 1/2 a lap. Even though you HAD to stop EVERY lap for fresh goggles, I
only saw one rider come into hot pits wearing goggles. You know it's bad when
your goggles get so dirty that you have to pull them off to see what you just
crashed into......3 times on the same lap.
I am looking forward to Round 2 at
Mesquite, Nevada
to make up some valuable Pro-AM points I lost at Round 1. I
will have my second stock bore race motor finished for Mesquite, just in time
for the Pro-AM/Pro 450cc production rule being enforced after Round 3 at Lake
Havasu.
I’d like to thank my father and all my sponsors for helping
prep for the first race of the year. There are always lots
of bugs to work out at the start of a new season, and without them, I would not
be able to start this year with a bang. Now if I can just
get
Mother Nature on my team, I’ll be set.
Best Wishes,
Robert
