Whoo Hooo, what a good weekend for Tamer Motorsports in Dallas, TX. Ryan Newton makes his first night program, Jake Marsack has his highest main event finish of his career, Eric Sorby dominated the LCQ and Ronny Jackson challenges for 6th place in the Lites main event.
Dallas received a tremendous amount of rain Friday and Saturday nights and I mean a tremendous amount. Locals were saying they’ve never seen anything like it in 20 years. Good thing the stadium is covered……….except for the opening in the roof that mirrors the shape of the football field! All teams were preparing for a mud fest, but Dirt Wurx, Live Nation and AMA did a excellent job of protecting the track and while the first set of practice sessions were canceled, the second practice sessions were good.
In fact, the rain and storms were so intense, that it was a routing nightmare for flights. With DFW Airport closed on Friday, Marsack was routed to Houston where he arrived at 3am in the morning, rented a car and drove to Dallas just in time for practice. Ken and I were on a direct flight from Omaha to Dallas and were diverted to Little Rock, AR where we sat on a plane for 4 hours and then headed to Dallas. We were scheduled to arrive in Dallas at 7:40 pm. We arrived at 2:30 am. The longest time I have even spent on a plane. But, Saturday was beautiful.
Let’s get started. I left the transporter and headed to the stadium for opening ceremonies and I was never back at the transporter until the Supercross main event was over. Tamer had someone in every single race, including the KTM KJSC race.
All four team riders made the night show this weekend. There is a first for everything as they say, and this was a first for Tamer on the East coast swing. Once the night show curtain was raised, Tamer had a rider in every heat race, every LCQ and local hot shoe, Zach Harris from Lincoln, Nebraska, was chosen to compete in the KTM KJSC event. (50cc KTM Racer)
Heat 1 witnessed Ronny Jackson coming from behind to a qualifying position moving him directly to the Lites main event. Newton suffered in his heat race moving him to the Lites LCQ. In his first LCQ of his career, Newton finished 17th after a crash and did not qualify for the main event. Sorby had an impressive ride in his heat race where he crashed in the whoops on lap 2 while running 6th. Eric remounted his Tamer Kawasaki and charged back to 10th by the end sending him to the LCQ. When the gate dropped for the LCQ, Sorby bolted to the lead with the holeshot and never looked back. Eric transferred to the Supercross main event with his LCQ win. Marsack rode well all night long and finished 9th in his heat.
Ronny rounded turn one of the Lites main event in 10th position. He charged and moved his way up to 6th position on lap 3 and remained in 6th for the next 6 laps before fatigue and adrenaline got the best of him. Ronny finished in 19th position. Ronny needs to train harder but also, needs to get used to running with the names he has read about and that will come with time. He is an impressive talent.
Jake’s excellent 6th place start in the Supercross main was a best he has had in a main event. Jake ran in 6th position until lap 8 and ran in 10th position until lap 19 ½ where he was passed in the last corner. Jake finished 11th for his best finish of his career. Very impressive ride for Jake and an impressive Supercross season thus far. Jake had the 12th fastest lap time in the main event, only .729 seconds slower than his teammate Eric Sorby.
Sorby was the victim of a first turn crash. After spending a small amount of time in the mechanics area fixing his Tamer Kawasaki shifter, Eric entered the race in 21st position, ¾ of a lap down. He rode phenomenal and caught the pack and finished 17th. Eric was the first privateer with the fastest lap time in the main event behind the factory riders at 10th fastest, only 1.906 seconds slower than Stewart’s fastest lap time in the main event.
Kawasaki riders earned eight spots in the main event; Honda earned eight, Yamaha three and Suzuki two. What a great year for the new KX450F four stroke machine. The bike is very impressive as is the KX250F.
I am proud of the entire team. We made progress this weekend from the weeks past and Jake and Eric rode like I knew they could ride. Both riders were impressive. It is rides like this that make racing worthwhile.
After Dallas, Eric Sorby is 18th in points and Jake Marsack is 22nd in points in the Supercross class and Ronny Jackson is 34th in points in the Lites class.
Well everyone, thank you for reading and visit our web site at www.tamerracing.com and please support our excellent sponsors.
Tamer – Kawasaki – Maestrocard – Leo Vince Racing would like to thank Answer Racing, ASV, Barnett Clutch, Becker Moto, Boyesen, BUD Racing, Classic Truck Sales, CKX Helmets, Cometic, Crower Cams, CV4, DeCal Works, Dragon, Dunlop, Enzo, Faction MX, Galfer, Group D pit wear, Hammerhead Designs, Harris Decals web sites, Hinson, Hot Cams Shim Kits, Hot Head Engine Heaters, Interlakes Sport Center, JD Jetting, Mechanix Wear, Motul, Oxtar, Pivot Works, Pro Wheel, Polisport, Regina, Rolcom Corp, SDG USA, Stomp, Tamer Billet MX, Team Hawg Stands, Tekbolt, Ti Lube Fuels, Twin Air, Vortex Bars and Sprockets and Wiseco.
