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Team Solitaire - Vegas 2007

> Team Solitaire/Kingdom/FLY Racing Honda Event Update
> Las Vegas, NV
> May 5th, 2007
>
> Las Vegas is the destination of Supercross. For as long as I can
> remember, Sam Boyd Stadium has played host to the final round of both
> the AMA and World Supercross Series. This year’s event was televised
> live across the world on Speed Vision and had a definite “Vegas
> Vibe”. In front of a sold-out stadium, the Supercross Series made its
> last hurrah for 2007. Here is how it went down.
>
> “Lites” Class
>
> For the “Lites” riders, Las Vegas is more for bragging rights than
> anything else. Only the top twenty from each coast are invited, and
> the race does not count for points. There are two separate heat races
> (East riders in one, West in the other) so that the first time they
> will meet is in the main event. This makes the heat races just as
> competitive as each regional main event.
>
> Ricky struggled in practice with the extremely hard-packed track. He
> looked a little more comfortable in the second practice, but he would
> have to pick it up in the race with the extremely deep field in the
> East/West Shootout.
>
> Ricky started far outside in his heat due to seeding from timed
> practice. He picked up his pace in the heat, but was so far back from
> the beginning that he couldn’t work into a qualifying position. He
> would finish 16th in the heat race and have to go on to the LCQ. The
> LCQ was more of the same, as his lap times were good, just not good
> enough to pass through the field with the level of riders on the
> track. He would have to retire from the evening and watch the
> East/West shootout from the stands.
>
> “Supercross” Class
>
> Being from the West Coast, I am pretty familiar with the hard-pack
> conditions and felt right at home from the first practice. My lap
> times were decent, but I wasn’t really able to get a full unobstructed
> lap in since I was in the “non-seeded” practice. In the second round
> I set out to do fast laps right away, but had a minor bike problem and
> had to pull in early and head back to the truck. I wasn’t as high as
> I had hoped on the qualification list, but I was in the show and
> excited for the night.
>
> The gate dropped on Heat One and I was on the far inside. I snuck
> around the corner inside and managed to emerge inside the top 15. I
> passed a few riders right away and felt pretty comfortable and smooth
> on the challenging course. On lap four I moved into ninth position,
> where I would ultimately finish and secure a transfer to the main
> event.
>
> For the main I was on the outside of the gate, but with a pretty long
> start anything could happen. I had a poor jump and rounded the first
> turn near the tail end of the pack. I made a few mistakes early and
> was riding extremely tight and nervous. I think at one point I was
> dead last. I started to settle myself down and pick up the pace a few
> laps into the main. I began to move forward again and really began to
> have fun on the track. I was making aggressive passes and really
> thinking forward and not worrying about anything but putting in fast
> laps. By the end of the 20-lap main I was up to 14th. I was happy
> with the way I rode after my early mistakes and just had a great time
> on the track. My bike was working great and I left the track satisfied
> with my performance, but extremely happy that the Supercross Series
> was over and that I have a clean slate heading into outdoors.
>
> Summary
>
> Ricky had a rough weekend, but he is riding great and really excited
> for Hangtown. I felt that Las Vegas was a good race to help me get
> back on track and build my confidence heading in to the national
> series. I rode like my old-self again in the main event and am
> looking forward to the challenge of the outdoor series. In two short
> weeks we will start the second half of our season.
>
> Other notes
>
> Jiri has been riding quite a bit and will be in Phoenix testing this
> week. He is planning on racing the “Prequel” at Glen Helen next
> weekend to prepare for Hangtown the following weekend.
>
> Ricky Renner’s girlfriend, Leah Cantrell, is a top racer in the WMA.
> They have both been in Phoenix for the past week and she will be
> riding and training for the WMA series opener at Glen Helen next
> weekend while Ricky is getting some tire and suspension testing done
> this week.
>
> The Supercross Award’s Banquet took place on Sunday night at the
> Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. It was a fun event and gave the
> whole team a reason to get all dressed up. There were some funny
> moments, like when Erick Vallejo stole the microphone and thanked all
> his sponsors much to the dismay of Live Nation. We all got a good
> laugh out of that. There were also many memorable events, such as the
> honoring of Ricky Carmichael and the presentation of the Supercross
> Championship Trophies to Ryan Villipoto, Ben Townley and James
> Stewart. Congratulation to all of the riders of Supercross for
> another fantastic year.
>
> It has been a tough Supercross season for me. I would be lying if I
> said I wasn’t extremely disappointed with my results and performance.
> That being said, I am really excited to move on to a new series and
> start out fresh at Hangtown. I love riding my motorcycle, running the
> race team and representing all of our wonderful sponsors. I love
> riding my motorcycle a lot more when I am doing it to the best of my
> ability, and I believe that I will pick things up and have a great
> outdoor season. I look forward to sharing it with all of you through
> these reports and hopefully in person at the races. Thanks to
> everyone for your continued support and encouragement.
>
> All the best,
>
> Ryan Clark