August 28 and 29, 2010

 

Well, it was another perfect weekend for racing! We had a great temperature and perfect humidity on Saturday. It was a little warmer on Sunday, but still not unbearable. In case you forgot, it was our Pro-Race weekend. Boy were we treated to an epic battle! I don't think Guy could have possibly prepared the track any better!! He has the perfect mixture of sand, dirt, and wood chips. The track holds moisture forever.

 

It was good to see Travis Brown back on the track again, he has been off for awhile recuperating from a broken leg. He must have been on the accelerated healing and rehab program, because he hit the track wide open and never let off. He looked like he hadn't missed a step, in fact he rode like he was possessed! Off the start on Saturday (in the combined College Boy, Quad Junior, and Quad Women) he cut clear across the entire pack from the far right side of the track to get the holeshot and never looked back. Since I mentioned this combined class, I have to say what a great ride Ricky Crosby had; he led everyone else for the entire first moto (except Travis Brown). Then in the second moto, Ricky got the holeshot and led for 4 laps before Travis Brown finally got around him. With out a doubt, the best ride of Ricky Crosby's tenure at Fly MX Park!!

 

All of the 250cc classes on Saturday were very competitive. Any time you have Andrew Arnold, Ryan Buchanan, Jon Rudolph, Steven Glendenning, Gavin Shaver, Chase Brown, and Colton Raber on the track, you are going to have extremely enjoyable races to watch. Jon Rudolph got the win in the 250cc B class, but there wasn't a half second difference between he and Ryan Buchanan and Andrew Arnold the entire race. Steven Glendenning got the win in the 250cc class with a very impressive ride today on a borrowed Suzuki 2-stroke, he looked more like the bike had been set up special for him. Gavin Shaver looked good out there today, but I especially have to mention Chase Brown and Colton Raber, these guys both appeared to have made a complete step change in speed and ability just since last race. I was very impressed with their rides today!! Lastly, Ryan Buchanan got a great win in the 250cc School Boy class.

 

 I knew when I watched Cody Longwell ride on Saturday that it was going to be a good Pro Race on Sunday. I saw him riding at a different level during his race on Saturday. He won the Open A Saturday.

 

Aerion Weaver was flat out flying on Saturday and Sunday, he got the wins in the Open C class both days!! I think Colton Raber outdid himself in one of his best rides at Fly MX Park on Sunday in the Open C class for second place!!

 

Jacob Visnic has hit a new high at Fly MX Park, wins are coming from everywhere. He is getting the hang of his bigger quad and bike and he is starting to make them sing!!  On Saturday, he got the win in the Quad 50cc and the Quad 80-110cc classes, also, the 50cc Race Bike class and took third in the 65cc Bike class. Normally he would not fair so well in either of the bigger bike or quad classes. He has definitely improved in ability, assertiveness, and speed!! He was hitting doubles and blasting turns I have never seen him do before!! Way to go Jacob!!

 

SUNDAY PRO RACE

 

The first moto of the Open A Pro Race came early on Sunday afternoon and boy was it a blast to watch. As I mentioned earlier in the story Cody Longwell appeared to gain back his confidence and that bit of speed he needed to compete for the win. Both had eluded him for much of the season. Maybe it was the $1,000. dollar purse, maybe it was his competitive spirit, it was just good to see him in "almost" top form again. He jumped out into the lead and led for several laps until a new rider, Jake Bornhorst,  that hadn't ridden at Fly MX before, started to catch Cody in a couple of turns (Cody would pull away in the straights and Jake would catch up in the turn before the tunnel jump and the finish line jump). Then, in the turn before the finish line jump, Jake dove underneath Cody to try to make a pass and it appeared he lost his front wheel and went down. Unfortunately Cody got caught up in the fall and stalled his bike; he had mentioned to me before the race, while I was checking his spoke tension on his front wheel that his bike was getting harder to start lately. Jake and Cody both kicked their bikes several times to get them going again, meanwhile everyone passed them (they were 1st and 2nd) and Billy Burton moved into the lead and Kody Crum in second and Josh Davis in third. Jake got his bike going first while Cody was still struggling to get his started. In the first moto Billy cruised in for the win (once he got the lead, he really checked out) and Jake was able to work his way back to second. Cody was too far behind and just couldn't make up the difference. The second moto started the same as the first with Cody Longwell blasting into the lead and Jake Bornhorst back in the pack. Cody really dug down deep and rode a good race for the win in the second moto. Jake Bornhorst moved into second place, but just didn't seem to be able close that final gap between him and Cody. It might have been that he knew he had the overall win with two seconds or that Cody had just kicked in the afterburners and he wasn't going to be able to make the pass without riding over his head and crashing again. Either way Cody got the win in the second moto with a GREAT ride!! The final position of the top five riders is as follows: Jake Bornhorst, 1st Place; Billy Burton, 2nd Place; Cody Longwell, 3rd Place; Kody Crum, 4th Place; Josh Davis, 5th Place. Once again, this was one of races that held your attention for every second of all twelve laps!!! If you missed this one, SHAME on YOU!! Congratulations to all of the Pro Riders for making this a very memorable race for the fans!!

 

 The Quad Amateur and College Boy classes were combined on Sunday for a very competitive race. Brian Huggins shot off the starting line like he came out of a cannon! He rocketed into the lead only to have troubles in the first lap and relinquish the lead. Ricky Crosby rode the Quad Amateur class today for the first time and looked really competitive even though he gave up 150cc to the full size quads. Looks like Michael Bragg (with his victory on Sunday) has moved ahead in the overall Championship points lead. His lead may be insurmountable at this point.

 

It was good to see several riders back at the track; Dylan Frye and Colby Brode looked good out there. Especially, we need to say welcome back to Ben Cunnigham and his Dad, it was really good to see them. They had a tragic loss earlier, they lost their older brother/son in an accident. Life goes on, but, never quite the same! Hopefully, racing with good friends will help ease the loss. Our thoughts go with you!! Ben Cunningham and Jim Roth had one of the best battles of the weekend on Sunday in the second moto of the Mini-Junior class, they must have swapped positions four or five times during the race. Jim came out on top for second place overall.

 

I have to mention this or I will forget it again, I have wanted to say something for the last few races, but I always get sidetracked. If you have ever really watched closely as Billy Burton make laps around the track, I think you will agree with me. Billy has to be one of the smoothest riders ever to make laps around Fly MX track. He "glides" through the whoop section. His landings from any of the triples appears as though he just came down on cotton and his flow through turns is amazing. Billy actually looks as though he is just out for a leisurely trail ride, but he actually turning lap times that are the same as all of the fastest riders that have ever ridden on the track. In fact Billy reminds me of a few other extremely smooth riders I have observed down through the years; Denny Swartz, Roger DeCoster, Adolph Weil (a German factory Maico rider) and Bob Smith. For those of you that don't know Bob Smith, he is a good friend from Hannibal, OH that raced with us in the 70's. All of these guys were deceivingly fast on a motocross track. What I mean by that is if you see them on a section of track by themselves, it is hard to judge just how fast they are really going because they are so smooth. These riders have an innate ability to read the track and use the bike and track to find the smoothest lines without even thinking about it. If you want to learn to go faster, watch Billy and try to figure out what he does and the lines he takes. He should have an addition to his name; something like Billy "Smooth as Butter" Burton.

 

 

Well, that is about it for this weekend, the season is winding down quickly. Don't forget to check out the Championship Points Standings at the bottom of the Points Standings page. It lists all of the riders that have currently completed 13 races and are eligible for a season ending Championship Trophy. Also, I have started a new page of pictures on the Race Pictures page. It isn't done yet, but I am working on it. Our next race is September 12th.

Don't forget; WE, EAT, SLEEP, RIDE TALK, BREATH, DREAM, LIVE AND LOVE MOTOCROSS!! (I don't if you realize this or not but I type that from memory, I don't have it wrote down anywhere.)