MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN RACE

This last week was the 2X Promotions, Mammoth Amateur Motocross Race.    In the summer of 1968 a world class track was built up in the mountains at 8,000 feet.  This historic race is the oldest continuous running motocross event in the USA.  All of the top riders have raced the Mammoth Mountain event including Carmichael, McGrath, Windham, Stewart, etc.

The challenge of racing at Mammoth is the altitude because it is not only hard to breath, but the bikes have to have different gas and/or jetting to make them run like they do at home.  After we drove the 6 hours to our hotel my Dad got our bikes out and tried to figure out the correct formula to get my bikes to run at 8,000 feet.  We took over the hotel parking lot to work on dirt bikes.

The other strange thing about the race at Mammoth is that space is very limited.  Most years not all riders can fit in the pit area and some have to park outside the facility and shuttle their bikes into the race.  Because it is so important to have our tools and spare parts in a pit area at the track riders get up at 5am and earlier to get in line to enter the facility.  While we waited in line I tried to get more sleep.

When we got inside the facility and started to unload our bikes we saw a bear just above our pit area.  He was just walking around like he didn’t even care that we were there.  (Side note:  Several of our friends had there car’s broken into by bears at their hotels and the bears took food out of the cars….one was at our hotel.  So Crazy)

The first day was practice day and we really needed it.  My Dad worked all day to get the jetting right on my bike.  It is so hard because sometimes the bottom end was right but not the top or the other way around.  After a full day of practicing we finally had the bike good on both the top and bottom….It didn’t have the same power it does back at home, but at least it was running and I was ready for race day.

Because so many kids qualified for the event the racing is ran more like a supercross event than an outdoor event.  We had two heat races, an LCQ for the kids in the back of the two heat races, and then 1 main event for your finish result.  Mammoth runs all the races two times and then does an overall finish.

The track is so much fun!  It is a very high speed track with huge hills and it twists and turns through the trees.  My parents don’t like to watch me ride on it because most of the track is in the trees and it is very hard to see most of it.  (This is a picture taken by MYLUCASOIL when I was racing on my 85 bike)

Day 1.  I won my first 65 age heat race and I was able to get on the podium and thank all my sponsors and finished 3rd in the main event. (That is Dano Legere from Von Zipper and DVS doing interviews on the podium)  In the 65 open class I finished 2nd in my heat race and 4th min the main event.  In the 85 age race I finished 5th in both my heat race and in the main event.

Day 2.  I had a problem in my 65 age race.  I was in third trying to push to get to the leader and I hit a kicker that flipped me to the ground.  Once I got myself and my bike up and going I had dropped back to the back and finished the race in 25th.  In my 65 open race I finished the heat race in 2nd and the main in 4th.  In 85 age I finished the heat race in 4th and the main in 5th.

OVERALL: I finished 4th in the 65 open class and 4th in the 85 age class.  I missed out on an overall finish for the 65 age class because of the huge crash I had on the second day.  I finished out the weekend with 7 Bears and 1 Medal for winning a moto.

During the awards ceremony the announcer kept telling the winners they should kiss the trophy girl.  He said it over and over again throughout the entire awards ceremony but no one would do it.  Can you guess what happened when he called my name?

YEP!  I gave her a kiss on her check and told her to call me.  The place went crazy and everyone was laughing.  The announcer said he was going to give me $10 for being the only one that would give her a kiss but he didn’t. lol

Had a lot of fun racing at Mammoth!  

Now it is time to get ready to race in Tennessee at the Loretta Lynn Nationals.

 

ENJOY THE MUSIC WHILE YOUR RECAP IS BEING PROCESSED…

I am working on my recap from Mammoth, which will be coming up very soon, I thought I would give you a little tune while you wait.  Enjoy the music while your Mammoth post is being processed……

Back in July of last year I recorded this motocross song in the recording studio to give a “shout out” to the sponsors I had at the time.  Enjoy!

THE SHOW

Check back later today for the full report from Mammoth Mountain.

HANGTOWN LORETTA QUALIFIER RACE

This weekend I raced at the Regional Loretta Lynn Qualifier at Hangtown.

Friday was practice and the first round on my 65 went very well, but I had a bad crash on my 85.  When I came down the back hill I went around a lapped rider and hit a kicker and went over the handlebars onto my head.  Although it took me the rest of the day to recover from the crash, I regrouped and was ready to ride on Saturday.

It was so hot this last weekend.  In Sacramento it was about 110 degrees.  Saturday I raced both 65 stock and 85 stock and I had to finish in the top 4 overall to win a ticket to the Loretta Lynn Amateur Nationals.  In the 65 Stock race I was able to finish with a 1st place overall finish and in the 85 stock race I finished in 2nd place overall.  I had two tickets to Loretta’s…..WooHoo.

Sunday I raced the 65 mod race and I had a little more of a struggle.  In the first race I had a great start and was out front but I went down in the third turn.  I got my bike up and started kicking it but I was having a hard time getting the bike started.  By the time I got my bike started everyone went by me and I was very far back in 30th spot.  I knew that I had to get a fourth place overall finish and that every spot might count.  I raced the five laps as fast as I could and I was able to race from the 30th spot back up to 6th place.  The second race I knew I had to finish up front to get the overall fourth and I was able to get a 2nd place finish which gave me a 3rd place overall and another ticket to Loretta’s.

I always have the best people supporting me and this weekend was not different.

2X Promotions, Americore SMX Scooter, Myron and Ryan

Terry Bostard MX

51 Fifty Energy Drink has supported me every step of the way

Gary spent the weekend working on my bikes for me

My sister Hailey came to watch me ride

 and……. Fly Gear, Lucas Oil, Pax Motors, Nost, Mika Metals, Dragon, FMF, Honda KTM, Braap Shop, Cycle Gear

Thanks to my awesome family who will be taking me to Tennessee!

NEW 51 FIFTY ENERGY – BERRY FLAVOR WITH VITAMINS

51 Fifty Energy Drink has come out with a new flavor and a new drink line.  You have tried their energy drinks (regular, sugar free, and extreme)

51 Fifty is now making an energy drink combined with a sports drink…….The new Berry flavored energy drink has ELECTROLYTES, VITAMINS and NATURAL HERBS.  This drink is like a sport drink with energy, so cool.

The Non-Carbonated Berry flavor is soooooo good!  I can’t get enough, my favorite flavor.

 

Just like all the 51 Fifty Energy drinks, part of the proceeds of the new Berry Vitamin flavor goes to help families with kids battling autism.

Go to  www.51fiftyenergydrink.com to find a story near you and grab your energy.  LIVE THE MADNESS!

 

COMP EDGE RACE

I had injured my arm at Oatfield a few weeks ago so I have been not able to ride so my arm could get better.  On Wednesday of last week I was feeling good and by Thursday I felt all better.

This last weekend we drove to LA for the Loretta qualifier race at Comp Edge.   Most of the riders had been there the week before the race practicing but I wasn’t able to do that so I knew I was going to have to pick up all the changes to the track on the practice day before the race.  I thought I would have a full day of practice, but I found out that each class only got 2 ten minute practice session on the track.  In the morning sessions, practice did not go well for me…..first my bike wouldn’t run because we had a jetting problem and then my chain broke.  It was frustrating that I didn’t get to ride on the track.  My Dad fixed my bikes and by the time the afternoon practice session came around my bikes were ready to go.  I knew I didn’t have much time to practice on the track and I went out riding really hard but the track was super rough.  I hit a kicker over a jump and crashed really hard breaking my throttle and giving me two black eyes, a bump on my head, and a bruise on my elbow.  It was a rough practice day because I only had about 2 laps around the track and tomorrow was race day.

This is the bump on my head and my black eyes

…and look what happened to my elbow

Race day I re-grouped and was ready to race.

65 Stock – In the first race I was a little off on the start and the track was very hard to pass on because there was really only one fast line around the track.  I finished the first race in 4th place.  In the second race I was charging to the front around the first few turns and I didn’t know that one of the riders in front of me crashed on the back side of a jump.  With no yellow flag out, I hit the jump and ended up landing right on the other kids bike and crashed.  By the time I got my bike up and started charging again I was pretty far back.  I ran down the bikes in front of me and was only .5 seconds from passing them but the race was shortened by a lap and I just missed the pass.  I ended up with a 6th place overall finish.

65 Open – In the first race I got pushed out in the start and was only able to battle up to sixth place.  In the second race I spun the tire on the start but I was still able to race down the start and by the first turn I was up to 4th.  A few times I tried to make the pass to third, but the track was super rough and it was really hard to go outside the main line to make a pass.  I finished the race in fourth….normally a 6-4 would give you a 4th or a 5th place overall finish.  Because the other kids I raced against all did good in one moto and bad in the other moto, all the top riders got completely shuffled around and I ended up with a 6th place overall finish.

It was a crazy weekend of not the best luck.  My Dad worked on my bikes a lot and by the end of the weekend he had my bikes totally dialed in.  I had figured out the track and was riding hard, but I didn’t have the results that showed that.  Lets hope for some luck at the next race.