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Team Solitaire - Mt. Morris 2007

Team Solitaire/Kingdom/FLY Racing Honda Event Update
Mt. Morris, PA
May 27th, 2007

Round two of the 2007 AMA Motocross Championship Series took to the track this past Sunday near the verdant Southwestern Pennsylvania town of Mt. Morris. It was quite a change from the previous event in California, as the soil in Mt. Morris has much more moisture and forms deep ruts in both the corners and jump faces. There is also quite dramatic elevation change throughout the facility, which makes for an interesting track and a lot of challenging natural obstacles.

With last weeks injury to team rider Jiri Dostal, Team Solitaire/Kingdom/FLY Racing Honda was representing with two riders, myself on a Honda CRF 450R and Ricky Renner on a very potent CRF 250R. Here is a breakdown of the action from the Team Solitaire pits.

Ricky Renner

Practice started off much better for Ricky this weekend, as he posted times just outside of the top 20 on Saturday. He was feeling great heading into the weekend with newfound confidence after his first top twenty finish at the previous outing.

When the gate dropped on the first moto Ricky was far outside. This didn’t bode too fell for a good start, as the start favors riders on the inside since it is so short. Ricky was 38th (out of 40) at the top of the hill on lap one, but wouldn’t be there for long. He managed to avoid the first lap carnage and picked up a few charity positions in the process. Then he set off to work and moved forward for the entire 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto. When the dust settled, he had battled all the way up to 17th, eclipsing his previous best moto finish of 20th.

Moto two began exactly as moto one had. After a lackluster start, Ricky put his head down and began to move through the pack. This time the track was a fierce competitor in and of itself, as the ruts, breaking bumps, rocks and soft patches littered the course like land mines. Although he didn’t get quite as high in the second moto, he rode with a lot of heart and passed through a very talented field. He crossed the finish line in 21st, one position out of the points for the moto.

Ricky’s moto tally of 17/21 secured 21st overall on the day and added four points to his previous one. He currently sits in 26th position in the series point standings after two events.

Ryan Clark

Saturday practice started off well for me, as I felt pretty comfortable on the bike and track right away. I had good lap times in session one, but session two left me a little uneasy as my times were not great. That carried over into Sunday, as I just never really got in synch with the track. I tried to put in fast laps, and felt that I was, but my times were not where I thought they should be. I was hoping my race instinct would carry me through when the gate fell on the first moto.

I was middle outside on the gate for moto one, and even though I had a great jump out of the gate I ended up getting pinched off at the top of the hill entering turn one. My first two laps were horrible, as it seemed like every time I tried to make a pass I would end up getting passed. Once the field spread out a bit, I had an easier time of it and started moving up. With a few laps left I was up to 21st, with Doug Dehann and Nick Wey just ahead. I had made up a considerable amount of time on both riders so I figured that I would be able to get by without too much of a struggle. Just as I was setting up Dehaan for the pass, I caught a rock off his rear tire on my goggle frame and the sweat that now saturated my helmet and goggle liner filled the inside and outside of my goggles. I pulled all of my tearoffs searching for some clear vision, but to no avail. I had to back it down as I was having a tough time differentiating the good ruts from the bad. I would settle for 21st, and no national points.

I gated right around the same place for moto two, but this time I managed to sneak through the first corner a little better and was in the mid-twenties halfway through the first lap. I made a few good moves and my outside lines were paying off early as I passed riders bunched up on the inside. Just before the end of lap one, I was setting up a rider for a pass. On the top of this particularly long uphill, there was a small jump heading into a sharp left hander. As I crested the top of the hill I was right on the rear wheel of the rider ahead hoping for a pass in the next turn. Unfortunately, he lost his front end as he crested the hill and crashed. I was already airborne behind him and had no chance of a direction change. I plowed right into his back with my front wheel, then my frame and rear wheel before crashing. I felt horrible, as I had hit his body with tons of force and a lot of speed. I had to get up and remount as quickly as possible, but I could hear that he was in pain as I rode off. The whole first lap I was hoping he was okay, and to my relief was already off the track by the time I got back to the scene of the crash. I heard after the race he walked off. I honestly don’t know who the rider was that I hit (call it tunnel vision) but he must be one tough dude!

After that incident, I was dead last minus ten or fifteen seconds. I rode my tail off for the rest of the moto, determined to put in good times and leave the track with no regrets. I passed riders as soon as I caught them and was aggressive throughout the long moto. The rough track helped out as well, as riders began to tire earlier than normal. By the end of the race I was all the way up to 16th, with a lot of gas still left in the tank.

My 21/16 moto scores earned 18th overall on the day. I scored five national points in the second moto, which brings my total up to 23 in the National Motocross Series. I currently reside 14th place in the series.

Summary

We had a good weekend and left Mt. Morris on a positive note. I have traditionally not done too well at this track, and this year was more of the same. I was happy with my second moto ride and with the way my bike worked. Ricky set the bar a little higher for himself with his 17th in the first moto. He is capable of much more, but this is also his rookie season and he will gain knowledge and confidence as the series progresses. This is going to be a great year for us both.

Other Notes:

Jesse, JR and I flew into Morgantown early to get ready for the weekend. Our temporary transport driver, Jed Mingo, met us at the RACERX office on Friday morning after a full week of driving from Sacramento. There was an open house that afternoon and we had a lot of fun hanging out with the RACERX crew.

I joined the Alessi brothers, along with Broc Hepler at a local elementary school on Friday morning to reward the class for winning a contest which measured which class and which student read the most books in a set period of time. We signed posters, took photos with the kids and talked to them about the importance of education. They were enamored by all of us riders, and were smiling from ear-to-ear as we drove away.

As I mentioned, Jiri Dostal was not in attendance this weekend due to an injury sustained at the prior event in Hangtown. Jiri broke a bone in his hand and will likely be out of action for four-to-six weeks. We are shooting for Red Bud on July 1st for his return, but it all depends on how he heals. I don’t want him to come back before he is ready.

We have a weekend off in the schedule and then resume in Southwick, MA on June 10th. Thank you to everyone for your continued support and talk to you in two weeks.