MAMMOTH QUALIFIER AT COMPETITIVE EDGE

Last weekend I went to LA to race the Mammoth qualifier at competitive edge.  The weather was really nice and I was excited to race.

The first round of racing was a little rough for me, but thankfully I was able to turn it around for the second round.

FIRST ROUND:  In the 65 Age class I didn’t get the best start off the line but I was able to quickly move through the pack and as I was passing for the lead I crashed pretty hard.  I was able to get up and going but could only finish in 3rd place.  The next race was the 85 Age class.  All day the starting gates were delayed and several riders throughout the day would get stuck in certain gates.  As I started my 85 race my gate didn’t drop and I got stuck.  I was really far back by the time they got my gate to drop and I was able to fight back to 3rd place.  In my last race of the first round I had the 65 Open class.  Everything started off great and I was pretty far out front when my tire clipped over a jump and I crashed really hard.  My bike was stuck on me and the pipe burned my arm.  After someone came and helped me get the bike off me the handlebar was stuck in my neck brace.  I was finally able to get up and going again and got back to 4th place.

SECOND ROUND:  The second round of racing I was ready to put some solid races back together.  I finished all three races in 1st place!

My finishes for the day was:  65 Age Third and First for an overall 1st.  85 Age Third and First for an overall 2nd.  65 Open Fourth and First for an overall 2nd.

I want to thank the 2X Promotion team for their help and support throughout the weekend!

LORETTA LYNN AREA QUALIFIER RACE NUMBER 2

This last weekend I raced in LA for the second Loretta Lynn area qualifier.

During the week my Mom had work and my sister Hailey was not feeling well so I didn’t get to go to the Friday practice at Comp Edge.  Friday night we drove to LA and on Saturday morning it was time to race.  On Saturday morning we got to the track and I got ready to race in the 7-9 stock class and it was super windy and cold.  Even though I didn’t get to practice the day before, I was excited to race and feeling very good.  My first start was not very well, I did a huge wheelie off the start but was able to save it and only lose a few spots.  It took me a little to get through traffic and I was able to win the race.  The second race I started much better and was also able to come in first for a 1st place overall finish.

After the race we went back to the hotel with some friends and we ate pizza and watch supercross.  After supercross I got to go in the hot tub and pool with my friends.  My Mom thought I was crazy because it was super cold outside, but the water wasn’t too bad.  After the pool it was time for bed because we had to turn our clocks back and loose an hour of sleep.

Sunday morning It was time to race the 7-11 mod class.  I still didn’t have a mod bike and had to race with my stock bike, but I was excited to see if I could battle with the older kids.  In the first race I got a bad start and had to battle through traffic.  By the time I was able to make my way to the fourth place spot, the top three riders were out just a little.  I was pushing to try to catch them and I slid out in a turn.  I was able to get back up pretty fast and didn’t lose any spots but I lost a little ground on the leaders.  By the end of the race I was catching the third place spot but I wasn’t able to get close enough to make a pass.  I finished the first race in 4th place.

In the second race I came out of the gate well but again got pushed between a couple of bikes.  I was able to make my way to third place and worked to get around him.  I finally got around the third and second place rider and tried to catch up to the leader.  I was riding well, but I let the leader get out too far in the beginning of the race and I wasn’t able to get close enough to catch him in the end.  I was able to finish the race in second place and finished the race with an overall 2nd place finish for the day.

A GOOD WEEKEND WITH A LOT OF BAD LUCK

This last weekend we went to LA to race a Road To Mammoth qualifier race at Comp Edge.  All weekend long I didn’t have very good luck, but I kept riding really hard and I never gave up.  Not very good results for the amount of effort I put in, but that happens sometimes.  Let me tell you what happened…..

Let me start by saying that the weather was horrible.  It was extremely cold and the wind was blowing so hard it was difficult to even walk.  Everyone was wearing layers and layers of clothes and it felt like we were in the snow.  The wind kept changing directions so it was a little difficult to go over the jumps.  Sometimes the wind would be at your back and help you clear a jump and sometimes it blew sideways and when you went into the air it tried to blow you off the side of the track.

Saturday we got to the track to practice and the first part of the day is open practice, which in LA means that all bikes get to practice on the track at the same time.  The track was really muddy in some spots, but I was getting the feel for the track.  After a few laps I started picking up my speed and clearing all the jumps.  I jumped the finish line jump and came up a little short and cased the landing.  When I landed the bike kicked me over and the bike and I went flying and landed at the bottom of the jump.  I was pretty hurt and I knew I was in a bad spot so I started to crawl off the track.  The flagger at the top of the jump didn’t see my crash and he didn’t put up the yellow flag to tell the other riders I was down on the bottom of the jump.  The fourth big bike was in the air coming over the jump and when he landed he had nowhere to go and totally ran me over.  After the bike ran me over, the guys bike, him and I were flipping.  My elbow pad was thrown away from me and my helmet even broke.  I was so sore on the entire right side of my body it was hard for me to even walk.

This is the jump I fell on in practice.

My parents wanted to go home and let me rest my injuries, but I really wanted to stay and keep riding.  I went out for the rest of the practices throughout the day and I did OK, but I wasn’t feeling 100%.  I was excited to get back to the hotel and take a bath to get warm and rest my muscles.  I knew that I would be ready to race the next morning.

When we got back to the hotel I had fun because a lot of my friends from the track were staying at the hotel also.  The hotel has a banquet room and we all hung out in there and watched Supercross together.  Ryan ordered pizzas for everyone and they were the biggest pizzas I had ever seen.  After supercross was over it was time to go up to my room and soak in the bath.

The next morning the wind got worse and it was time to go racing.  In the first race I had a really bad start. (The start is on cement instead of dirt and I was a little off on my clutch) I ended up going sideways out of the gate and had to let off the gas to get straightened out, so I was in about last place coming up to the first turn.  I was able to pass a lot of bikes in the first couple of turns and by the time I came out of the back I was in third place.  I was riding hard to catch the front guys, but they had really good starts and I had a lot of work to do to reel them in.  I was starting to get a little closer to second place and I was trying some new lines on the track to try to find some more speed and I went down.  I took a handle bar to my leg that gave me a really bad charlie horse, but I got back on my bike and kept racing.  I was able to finish the race in third place which wasn’t bad for the start I had and that I went down.

The second race of the day started just like the first, I was still off on my clutch and the bike went sideways again.  I again was able to race into third place and in the five laps of the race I was gaining on leaders but didn’t have enough laps to catch them.  I again finished the race in third place.  I knew I had to get a better start in the next race and I talked to my Dad about what I should change to do it.  The kids that I was racing are fast and I can’t let them get so far out infront of me if I want any chance of trying to pass them.

The third race of the day I was on the line and I was ready to go.  I got out of the gate much better and I was in third place by the first turn.  I was able to pass into second place and I was chasing down the leader.  On the second lap I was gaining on the leader and I felt something was wrong with my bike.  I knew it didn’t have as much power all of a sudden, I came over the finish line jump and I knew my bike didn’t have the power to hit it.  I tried to keep riding the best I could, but about two turns later my motor locked up.  I was so disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish the race, I was having so much fun battling.  Instead of a good finish I ended up with a DNF.

In the fourth race of the day I was going to have to race the fast kids on thier mod bikes with my stock bike.  I knew that it was going to be hard but that I could do it if I got off the line good and I rode really hard.  I did get off the line really good and by the second turn I was in third place.  I again was chasing down the second place guy and I was staying close with him when the pipe on my bike broke off.  Once the pipe came off my bike I had no power and it slowed the bike down a lot.  After my pipe came off I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch the leaders and I tried hard not to lose any positions.  I was not able to clear the two big jumps on the track, but I did push my bike to get everything else I could and tried to keep my speed up as much as possible.  I was able to finish the race in third place.

I rode really hard all weekend and I did really well, but I didn’t have the finishes to show for it.  With the DNF in the one class I didn’t qualify in that class and I will have to race at another qualifying event and in the other class I got 3rd place overall.

My Dad and Mom were very proud of me for pushing hard all weekend and the were happy that I never gave up….. It still would have been nice to have a win.  lol

Monday night my Dad let me take my motor apart to see what we needed to do to fix it.  It was cool to see all the parts that are inside the motor and I had fun taking it apart with my Dad.

LET’S HOPE I CAN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER.   🙂

LORETTA LYNN….HERE I COME

This last weekend was the Loretta Lynn Regional qualifier at Comp Edge Mx in Hesperia, CA. This race was another three moto format race and kids in my class came from places like Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Arizona, Washington, etc.

My bikes looked sick thanks to Moto Efx Graphics

….and 51 Fifty Energy Drink got me ready to go racing.

I was able to get much better starts in all 6 of my races and I was able to stay competitive and battle with the guys up front. When all the races were over I finished 2nd in my class and 6th in the open class. Considering my experience and age compared to the rest of the kids in my class, I was really excited with my finishes and super happy I made it into Loretta Lynn’s……now I just need to find someone who wants to help us get to Tennessee!   🙂

I also have to thank my Dad for all he does for me and our family! HAPPY FATHER’S DAY DAD!

 

 

SOUTH LORETTA LYNN AREA QUALIFIER RACE

This last weekend I traveled back to Los Angeles to race in the South Loretta Lynn Area Qualifier.  Everything about the Loretta Lynn race and qualifiers is different from any other races I do.

1.  the age groups are different from usual….Loretta has a (7-9 Stock class with kids up to 10 years old) and a (7-11 Mod class with kids up to 12 years old)

2.  Because the track is so big, they do more laps, and they have more classes…..they have practice on Friday, half the races on Saturday and half the races on Sunday.

This race was at competitive Edge and I had never been to that track before and was really excited to go some place new.

Friday practice started off good.  I had to practice my stock and mod bike because each day was a different class.  My stock bike was not running right in my second practice session so I got back on my mod bike to at least get some track time.  I took a hard fall that reminded me of Chad Reed flying through the air and I landed on my hip.  I was really sore and bruised, but was able to continue and get all my practice time in.  My Dad worked on my stock bike and made it run better for the next round of practice and I was done for the day

The track was really, really big and was very rough and challenging.  The water trucks water the track as the races go around and some parts of the track were extremely dry and other parts of the track had puddles.  The track was so rough and difficult I was really nervous to pull a tear off so I just rode through it….guess I need to practice that some more. lol

I went back to the hotel and rested and took a long soak in the bathtub.  We got up early Saturday morning and headed back to the track for the stock class races.  Not as many kids were there than expected, but they were all really fast….kids came from Texas, Australia, and as far as Japan.  I have been doing better getting off the line at my starts and we had some really great battles on the track.  Saturday I finished up the day with the 1st place trophy.  After the race on Saturday my parents took me and my friend from the track to the movies to see the Lorax.  We had a ton of fun and my Mom loved the movie.  We got back to the hotel early, watched Supercross on TV and went to bed early.

Sunday morning we woke up to 40 mile an hour winds and cold weather.  People were being thrown across the track when they jumped over the finish line and some of the triple jumps.  I didn’t have the best starts on Sunday and had to work hard to try to pass on a track that was really difficult to pass on, but I was able to move towards the front.   A couple times I almost got thrown off my bike over the tripple but stayed on and continued to battle.  I was excited to finish out the older class with a 3rd place overall finish.

Thought you might want to see a few pictures of the track ……This is the finish line jump into a huge turn and then into a triple.

This is a picture of the right quarter of the track…..it goes al the way to the back.