MTH Enterprises / SRH / Rockstar Energy Suzuki Race Report
The summer break from WORCS racing was nice. It was awesome to be able to do 2 rounds of the nationals and fill in for the Rockstar Energy Suzuki Team. To be able to finish in the top 20 consistently and crack the top 15 was awesome.
At the WORCS Series return to Washington stat I was really looking forward to getting back at the 2 hour format and show everyone that I have gotten better in the trees. I was definitely nervous as in the past I haven’t been all that confident in the tight trails and slippery rocks and roots. I decided to ride the smaller and lighter RMZ 250F and move back into the top 10 in points. The first weekend of racing the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. The track was super rough and smooth lines were hard to come by. There was no practice on Saturday so all of us were going into the race pretty blind and didn’t know how chewed up the track would actually be.
It was a dead engine start, and that I was dreading. I ended up getting it fired up pretty quick and headed out into the off road in about 10th. The first few laps it was pretty tight racing, I was surround by Nathan Woods and Robby Bell early on. A couple big mistakes really cost me as I went down hard and found myself in the back of the pack. At my first pit stop (running stock tank) I finally started to regroup and put the course together and make a charge in the second hour. I ended out the day with solid lap times and an 11th place finish.
The second weekend was a whole different story. The course was changed during the week and the weather was starting to roll in. Saturday morning it started drizzling and soon after turn to showers and rain. The track was quick to deteriorate and get really slick. Pro Practice was postponed to the end of the day and only a few of us went out to get some time in. The course was super slick and muddy in most places but other sections of the track were prime. There were a couple hills that were really difficult to make up and only a few of us made them consistently. The few of us that grew up in the mud and were from the northwest! I was pumped my laptimes were in the top 3. As the sun came up Sunday the track was in good condition and the weather was nice. I was hoping for more rain but that wasn’t the case. I got a horrible start but was able to move up quickly as far up as 6th and felt strong. I tried to make a pass on Mike Brown and went down trying to cut inside of him. My race then started to go downhill. I got up n 8th and on the next lap my bike was having some issues and I had nurse it into the pits. The whole rest of the race was hard for me. I wasn’t able to ride like I should and had to go into survival mode to make sure I finished. On the last lap I wasn’t able to make it around to take the checkered flag. I had to get towed in but was still able to get some points. I’m currently 11th in the series. Special thanks to Randy at GPR Stabilizers for setting up a custom dry break adapter for my stock RMZ 250 tank for quick fuel stops. Fasst Co for handguard mounts, Acerbis for bark buster hand guards, and James Hanson and Joey Lancaster at Rockstar Energy Drink for getting involved with our team this late in the season!
The next round is close to home in Devore, CA at Glen Helen. I am looking forward to finishing strong and putting my SRH Rockstar Suzuki RMZ450 up front. Please take a moment if you or a friend are in need of products from the following companies, we would not be out there with the toughest off-road motorcycle racers on the planet with out their help.
A big thanks to:
SRH, Rockstar Energy, Suzuki, Dr D, Thor, Custom Decals, Race Tech, Tagger Designs, Kicker, Bionic Evolution, Maxima, Leatt Brace, ODI, Flexx Handlebars, Devol Engineering, Dunlop, GPR Stabilizers, Smith Optics, Sheehan Construction, Hot Cams, Vertex Pistons, IMS, Acerbis, Zip Ty Racing, Pro Wheel, Primary Drive, Tusk, Galfer Brakes, TM Design Works, Hinson, Jims Auto Sales, San Diego Powder Coating, and One11 Ink.
