Race report from Newark, Missouri
We got to the races early Saturday evening. The pit location was in a valley with a sandy creek nearby. We got the trailer out and unloaded and it was still HOT outside(low 90's). We set up and made the rounds visiting everybody.
Sunday morning I awoke to the Sunrise and 70 degrres temps at 6AM. I got out and watched the 4 wheeler guys get ready. Heard several complaints about the trail not being marked(from 4 wheeler guys and bike guys).
I got our crew up and readied for pracitce which started at 10:30. Carl and Mike Dobson and myself headed out for a practice run. the rest of the crew including my son hit the trail a bit later.
The trail itself was not cut in. We were running through the woods TRYING to follow arrows but got lost numeruos times. We finally got back in after 50 minutes of retracing and backing up looking for arrows. The rest of the crew trickled in with Tyler coming in at 12:25.
Fortunately they held up the race so the course could be marked better.
Finally at about 1:30, the pro class took off. Then the A class got going with my 40 something buddy Carl getting a typical last place and run from the back to midpack in the 2nd turn start. I silently wished him luck. The vet class was row 6 this week. I watched the other classes take off and new the start was going to be important due to dust yet I was nervous because of the lack of markings in practice.
I got the holeshot and hauled through the creek with Mike Dobson in tow. I decided to run hard from the get-go and pulled away from the pack. The course was already dug in and the arrowing was much better. The course ended up being excellent. It was a sandy loam leaning heavily on sand. Several whooped out sections began forming but the speeds were fast and the dust, well, was ther in many sections but not unliveable.
There were many hills both of the ascent and descent variety that were steep...lots of flipped bikes and retries. Couple of nasty creek crossings that held stuck riders as well. I managed to keep the lead for 2 laps but Elston Moore caught me. We made a great run through lap 2 but dropping into the creek at the start of lap 3, we caught a junior rider right in the middle of the trail. I have a soft spot for them as my son is one. I tried a way outside pass in virgin sand but caught a tree buried in the sand and went over the bars. Elston got me and immediately pulled away. I got up, helped the junior rider through the sand and got going again. I tried hooking up with some faster riders but never managed to find one!. I felt good through that lap but on lap 4 hear came Wade Hall. He and I bonzied through the trees at warp speed and we had to be gaining on Elston. But I made a few blunders and Wade got around. Then I was eating dust and feeling sorry for myself. I tried to make a run for it but never got enough to get back around. We got tied up with some lappers at the end and finshed2-3 right at the 2 hour mark. Wade got me by 20 seconds as I posted 4 laps in 2 hours and 56 seconds.
Steve Levain ended up 2nd after warping the brake rotor on his yzf250. Brandon Forrestor wins another! The big boys got 5 laps in!
Kevin Ruckdeschell
We got to the races early Saturday evening. The pit location was in a valley with a sandy creek nearby. We got the trailer out and unloaded and it was still HOT outside(low 90's). We set up and made the rounds visiting everybody.
Sunday morning I awoke to the Sunrise and 70 degrres temps at 6AM. I got out and watched the 4 wheeler guys get ready. Heard several complaints about the trail not being marked(from 4 wheeler guys and bike guys).
I got our crew up and readied for pracitce which started at 10:30. Carl and Mike Dobson and myself headed out for a practice run. the rest of the crew including my son hit the trail a bit later.
The trail itself was not cut in. We were running through the woods TRYING to follow arrows but got lost numeruos times. We finally got back in after 50 minutes of retracing and backing up looking for arrows. The rest of the crew trickled in with Tyler coming in at 12:25.
Fortunately they held up the race so the course could be marked better.
Finally at about 1:30, the pro class took off. Then the A class got going with my 40 something buddy Carl getting a typical last place and run from the back to midpack in the 2nd turn start. I silently wished him luck. The vet class was row 6 this week. I watched the other classes take off and new the start was going to be important due to dust yet I was nervous because of the lack of markings in practice.
I got the holeshot and hauled through the creek with Mike Dobson in tow. I decided to run hard from the get-go and pulled away from the pack. The course was already dug in and the arrowing was much better. The course ended up being excellent. It was a sandy loam leaning heavily on sand. Several whooped out sections began forming but the speeds were fast and the dust, well, was ther in many sections but not unliveable.
There were many hills both of the ascent and descent variety that were steep...lots of flipped bikes and retries. Couple of nasty creek crossings that held stuck riders as well. I managed to keep the lead for 2 laps but Elston Moore caught me. We made a great run through lap 2 but dropping into the creek at the start of lap 3, we caught a junior rider right in the middle of the trail. I have a soft spot for them as my son is one. I tried a way outside pass in virgin sand but caught a tree buried in the sand and went over the bars. Elston got me and immediately pulled away. I got up, helped the junior rider through the sand and got going again. I tried hooking up with some faster riders but never managed to find one!. I felt good through that lap but on lap 4 hear came Wade Hall. He and I bonzied through the trees at warp speed and we had to be gaining on Elston. But I made a few blunders and Wade got around. Then I was eating dust and feeling sorry for myself. I tried to make a run for it but never got enough to get back around. We got tied up with some lappers at the end and finshed2-3 right at the 2 hour mark. Wade got me by 20 seconds as I posted 4 laps in 2 hours and 56 seconds.
Steve Levain ended up 2nd after warping the brake rotor on his yzf250. Brandon Forrestor wins another! The big boys got 5 laps in!
Kevin Ruckdeschell
