This is the 2nd year of our New England Cross Country series and got a pretty decent turnout of ATV's. I think we had almost 60 entries which for a small 2nd year series with not much advertising is not bad. Our very own DERNO decided not to make the trek from PA which put a damper on my weekend because we always have a great time at the track.
On to the race! I won the Vet B class last season so I moved up to the Vet A class for 09. Off the start of COURSE I cannot get the machine fired fast enough so I am behind as we head into the woods. I catch the leader quickly and settle into a good pace as I watch his lines and let him set the pace. We are bumper to bumper for the first lap and I am really just pacing myself as I have not had much time on the bike and the first XC race of the season is always full of aches and cramps
I figured keep it close, dont get tired and put on a charge when I find the time is right. Lap 2 he pulled me by about 10 seconds, but my goal was to just ride my race and be smooth. I had settled into my own pace and had the machine working great. By lap 3 we started to encounter lappers which most of them were very courteous and moved aside when they had the opportunity.
As I went through scoring for lap #4 I saw the class leader in my sights and thought .. time to reel him in. I put on a charge and him not knowing who I was he just pulled over thinking he had not seen me in a bit. OOPS big mistake. I was now in the lead! We battled on through the 4th lap and then again came upon lapped traffic. As we approached a large mudhole I went to the right and he barreled right through the center of it and retook the lead. I thought no problem as his bike was smoking and making noises I would again wait for the opportunity and take it. As we were entering the scoring his bike blew up right at the finish line. The scorer yelled go go go, so I took off knowing that I had the class win in the bag. I finished the 5th lap with not much effort and as I came around to scoring they told me I did an extra lap and the race was over!
Obviously I was NOT very happy. There was NO WHITE FLAG for a last lap and I definitely did not get a checkered flag for the "supposed" final lap. I ended up finishing 2nd in class and 6th overall out of about 60 machines. Not bad for the first race of the season, but not getting a white flag COMPLETELY changed my strategy and ruined my chances of getting the win. I would have ridden as hard as I could and NEVER would have left an opportunity for him to pass me open. But hey, that is racing!
Here are a few pics
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