Final round, Sat. Nite Thunder, Ascot MX.

[BSWIFT]

Saturday brought high humidity and cloudy skies. I made my way to Dora, OK for the final round of the series. I arrived to find MotoX757 making adjustments to his CR. After getting unloaded we walked the track. Very few changes were made and the track was in really good condition. Practice was a bit slippery in places but by the second practice the track was tacky.
My first moto was uneventful but I rode smoothly and had a great time. The 450 hooked up so well that keeping the front wheel on the ground was quite a chore. My second moto, I put my Dr. D schooling to work. I timed the gate. I still got a wheelie off the gate but hit the first turn in fourth. I held the position throughout the first lap! I began to fade but I rode smooth and safe. On the final part of the last lap I could feel some preasure from an opponent. I doubled into a table the required a lot of braking immediately upon landing to prevent over jumping the table. I stuck the landing and made the the turn to the finish line straight. I got on the gas early and made a charge for the finish. Did I mention the track was tacky? Leaning the 450 over and nailing the gas produced a sideways wheelie, on the pegs and haulin' butt.
My fifth place finish was as good as a national championship win, best moto I ever rode(less than 12 in my life). Unfortunately, the points were not enough for a fifth overall in the series but sixth overall in my first season while missing HALF of the motos isn't bad IMO. Sorry MX547, this may be the only time I finish ahead of you, while you are on cutches! ;)

 

[motodawg]

BSWIFT, great results! I haven't been to Ascot since the last state race, but I know how fun it is. Do they still have the left-right-tabletop start? Man, that thing was wicked! Speaking of wicked, "a sideways wheelie, on the pegs and haulin' butt"! Way too cool! :aj: Anybody get a picture? Congrats, dude!
:thumb:

 

[DWreck]

Thanks for the report. Sounds like fun, wish I could have gone but sometimes you just have to go see the family instead of play. I imagine that the 450 will make you a better rider as you get used to it. I can't imagine outgrowing it!

 

[mx547]

kendall went 1/1 in the women's class. there was only one other girl signed up. i told kendall to not follow and pass her quickly. for once she did exactly that. she pulled a pretty good lead on her and was never threatened. the other girl didn't even race the second moto. kendall also beat five of the boys that were racing in the 60 class so that was cool. it looked like alot of people left after the first set of motos. they must have been afraid of the threatening weather.

kids are funny. we changed kendall's plug before the first moto and she was all fired up and riding hard (by her standards) because of it. she said it runs alot better. she was so pumped that she made me take her riding today. david's step-daughter taped kendall's race. david said she was getting some pretty good air and was impressed. maybe she'll get a little more serious now.

 

[BSWIFT]

Motodawg, the table has be cut after turn two for now. They change the track regularly. That table was tough off of the start but was great for the rest of the moto. They've tamed down the big long table, lot of distance but not much lift. Hard to land it smooth. The track was like glue, even with the stock tires.

 

[justql]

Jay, just think how good she would've done she'd been on an 80. ;)

 

[motox757]

I think the table that motodawg is referring to is now a double, BUT has been by-passed in the last 3-4 Thunder rounds track layouts.

After sustaining the leg injury at DW’02 in the Team HS, I knew I wasn't going to push my last motos in the Thunder Series. I went out to Todd's Thursday after work to help him with some fork seals and while I was there I took my bike out on his track and practiced a very small jump he has to see if the leg would hold up. It did OK; I was stiff on Friday morning though and my knee was swollen, so I knew that I wasn't going to push at Ascot on Saturday night. Besides, all I had to do to keep 4th overall in the +40 was to roll around and finish, which is exactly what I did. I did attempt a double I never had before. I almost looped it in practice and I tweaked both of my shoulders landing that first attempt. After that, my landings were a bit rough at first and kind of hurt, but I got to doing it smoother as the night wore on. So I finished without doing any more harm than expected to my leg and knee AND I will be fourth OA at the banquet in December.

Derek, Brian, Jay, Justin and motodawg,

I heard at Ascot that ExtremeWorld in Tulsa will be now racing every other Saturday during the day, beginning this Saturday. This will be a seven race series and the best five will count towards the OA standings at the end of the series. I have yet to confirm this information.

I have also been considering racing at Cooperland in the last three rounds of the CCMXS. Saying all that, I will not be racing this month though. I will let my leg heal up so I can push my pace without feeling like I am going to hurt my leg and knee. But, I will probably ride trails later this month just to get my two-wheel fix in… hahahaha…

 

[Sawblade]

Bswift - Good report! I take it you rode the YZ? If you did, how did it compare to the Mamba down some of the longer straight aways? Did the following corner get there quicker on the YZ?

motox757 - Heal up quickly man!

Congrats to both of you on your overall series finish's.

 

[motox757]

Thanks Sawblade...