huge turnout for this track. i got there at 10am and was barely anywhere to park.
signed up and walked the track. didn't look as bad as i thought it would, they didn't get as much rain as we did. everything else was pretty much the same old FOM, which means rocky, but we've seen it much worse.
derno got there and had to bum $10 to cover race fees. then waited in line at reg for what seemed like forever.
they posted ridiculous start times that anyone who can read knows wouldn't come close to being true.:confused:
so they were about 1-1.5 hours late with the start of the atv race.:mad:
Fom 5/1
anyways...
we get lined up, about 16 in our class(vet). we start second behind the A class which only drew about 6 racers. derno is riding his Z i'm on the dale.
horn blows and rumor has it that me and derno are the last ones off the line. but we gained a few positions in the next few corners. at corner #3 i figured i'd give him a $10 beating:)
we get lined up, about 16 in our class(vet). we start second behind the A class which only drew about 6 racers. derno is riding his Z i'm on the dale.
horn blows and rumor has it that me and derno are the last ones off the line. but we gained a few positions in the next few corners. at corner #3 i figured i'd give him a $10 beating:)
with derno out of the pic i tried to gain on the lead pack of 5 riders, but a slower racer was in between me and them. had to wait for an opening to get around, but after a few minutes i was so whoooooped i honestly didn't care if i even finished:(
my new LT suspension was working great for having no time to dial it in, but i definately need another few degrees of camber to keep the front end from pushing so bad in the high speed switchbacks.
started hearing some funny noises about the 3rd lap or so. was getting pretty paranoid thinking about a pivot bolt that i maybe forgot to tighten or could it be a shock bolt? turns out it was only my POS HMF coming loose. after it fell off all was good again.
my new LT suspension was working great for having no time to dial it in, but i definately need another few degrees of camber to keep the front end from pushing so bad in the high speed switchbacks.
started hearing some funny noises about the 3rd lap or so. was getting pretty paranoid thinking about a pivot bolt that i maybe forgot to tighten or could it be a shock bolt? turns out it was only my POS HMF coming loose. after it fell off all was good again.
till i lost my back brakes. :mad: my hand was too tired to grab the front brakes so i was positive death was awaiting me behind the next tree...
the track took it's toll on a number of racers, so a couple of the faster guys i was expecting to catch up never did. there was one pretty serious looking incident though. someone went through the fence that borders the track, sheared the fence post right off where it comes out of the ground. took the paramedics 3 laps to get him out of there and he was only 10 feet from the ambulance. gotta hope for the best on that one...
the track took it's toll on a number of racers, so a couple of the faster guys i was expecting to catch up never did. there was one pretty serious looking incident though. someone went through the fence that borders the track, sheared the fence post right off where it comes out of the ground. took the paramedics 3 laps to get him out of there and he was only 10 feet from the ambulance. gotta hope for the best on that one...
got stuck a few times but there was a dedicated bunch of kids waiting at the mud holes for dumb a$$es like me to come along and get stuck so they could free us:clap:
that was about it for the race. i could go fast for 30 seconds but have to go slow the next 5 minutes to recover from that 30 second burst. but i finished anyways.
talking with owen kapalski at the finish line and noticed something didn't seem right... i forgot to turn my fan on! lol, that can't be good since i cardboarded the sides of the frame to keep mud off the rad.
got back to the truck and derno gave me the eye. said i lost the muffler, he looked and said i lost the whole pipe!!! and i'm leaking oil out the hose! upon further inspection the pipe flange was there, but the rest wasn't, which toasted the rear brake line and possibly the oil line. i know there's a good bit of oil in the bed of my truck now so at least there was still some in the engine. too muddy to see if there's any coolant in it though. but it sounded pretty wicked when you got it up around 9 grand.
that was about it for the race. i could go fast for 30 seconds but have to go slow the next 5 minutes to recover from that 30 second burst. but i finished anyways.
talking with owen kapalski at the finish line and noticed something didn't seem right... i forgot to turn my fan on! lol, that can't be good since i cardboarded the sides of the frame to keep mud off the rad.
got back to the truck and derno gave me the eye. said i lost the muffler, he looked and said i lost the whole pipe!!! and i'm leaking oil out the hose! upon further inspection the pipe flange was there, but the rest wasn't, which toasted the rear brake line and possibly the oil line. i know there's a good bit of oil in the bed of my truck now so at least there was still some in the engine. too muddy to see if there's any coolant in it though. but it sounded pretty wicked when you got it up around 9 grand.
Man that track was tough. It is really disappointing when last year both of us ran really well at this track and this year I couldn't pass my grandmother using her walker. I gotta get in better shape! Races like this let you know what kind of shape you are in. I also need more seat time on the Z. I am using a thumb throttle which is harder than heck and the gearing just doesn't feel right to me. Places where I could tractor the Cannodnale I am burping the Z.
This is so depressing!:cry: :cry:
This is so depressing!:cry: :cry:
My favorite part of the track was a mud bog about 2/3 of the way through the woods. The mud bog was about 30 yds long and cut around trees. Every lap there were about 10 people all spinning their wheels. Everytime my fat butt went flying through there with no problem. I also picked a line half way through the bog that was just off the edge of the course. So in the later laps when no one was stuck in the last half of the bog I still kept using it. I wasn't gonna make the same mistake from last week where I take a new line and screw myself.