Swizcorner: Lake Elsinore
With one title still undecided, a virgin track and blistering heat, the Lake Elsinore finale had shaped up to be the pinnacle of uncertainty in a great MX2 battle. Oh, there was an MX1 race as well.
From the day Lake Elsinore was announced to replace the one ’n’ done Pala of 2011, there was massive dissension from the ranks of pro racers from both the MX1 and MX2 classes. For years the site had been known as a blue-grooved, slick as snot, windy and traction-less, flat, once dry lake-bed and far from a track that even the most optimistic Pro would be itching to compete on. Equaling the snubbings to the thought of racing Elsinore, was the consistent claims that MX Sports was working their asses off and all but guaranteeing that the track would be a success and everyone racers included, would be impressed with the results. Well, as far as presentation and creature comforts for the droves of fans, the facility delivered in spades. Aside from the fact that the landscape was as dry and desolate as any of the multitude of desert-based California tracks, the unimaginably expensive white fencing lining much of the racing perimeter did a nominal job of making all that sand look inviting.
