mx775

Using input gathered from this very web site, Stead promoter Ty Erquiaga constructed a slightly more high-speed rendition of the usual Stead layout. A high-speed section of S-bends on the upper part of the track gave fifth-gear fans something to cheer about.

****

Nate Tiearney had another day on top of the Pro classes, earning top honors in the 450 and 25+ divisions. Coty Loudenburg scored a solid second in the 450 class via a 3-2 score, but there was no stopping Nate out front. No disrespect to the rest of the Pros (myself included,) but this was a day of easy money for Tiearney.

****

The Intermediate classes were intense. Aaron Siminoe (622), Adam Conway and Wayne Appleton were all flying, and there was little to separate these three when they got out together. But in the end Siminoe topped the 250 and Schoolboy classes while Conway snagged the 450-class win. Appleton came up winless in the overalls, but did win the first 250 moto.

****

Aaron’s younger brother Ty Siminoe was also impressive, topping the 85 Intermediate, Open and Supermini classes, ahead of a similarly impressive Jesse Sanchez in most cases, who himself led the day’s 65 pack.

****

Vet Pro pilot Craig Olson looked very good throughout the day, topping the first 30+ Pro moto and engaging in a great battle for the lead in the second 250 Pro moto. But it all ended badly when Olson tangled with Jeff Klino on an uphill and broke his humerus (upper arm) bone. Always tough, Olson picked himself up for the long walk back to the truck and waited patiently in the pits for a ride to the hospital.

****

The turnout was in the average range for Stead, despite nice weather prevailing for most of the day and a popular layout. But an average Stead day is still good for most classes, and riders generally found plenty of competition.

****

The race marked the beginning of “Stead Week,” named as such because it both begins and ends with a Stead race (the first sanctioned by Silver Peak, the second by SMA.) And though this day’s track received positive reviews, Ty has promised some new twists for next week’s race.     

 

Here are some more photos from the day:

Olson tracks around the flat turn prior to the crash.

 

Pee-wees power toward the finish.

 

Despite just coming off a broken wrist, Conway looked fast and fit.

 

Jesse Sanchez was on the gas on both his 65 and 85 (shown here.)

 

Olson (92) and Siminoe (622) charge the freeway.

 

Cole Barbieri looked strong on the way to second in the 65 Intermediate and Open races.

 

The 250 Intermediates vie for position.

 

Willie Welch earned fourth in the 250 Intermediate class.

 

For event results, check out www.silverpeakmx.com. 

 

Posted by beaupre716 at 10:12 AM | Permalink

Milford, California; October 21, 2007
Photos by Trisha Beaupre 

When it comes to the sheer fun factor, it's hard to beat a team race. It combines all the fun of racing with some other things that don't factor in a typical race: camaraderie, rest time, the chance to watch one of your buddies run 50 yards in full motocross gear, start his bike and then try to turn in a decent lap (or, if you are that buddy, the chance to realize you should have practiced some sprints before you signed up.)

So it made sense that 45 teams lined up for Honey Lake's team grand prix on Sunday, which commenced following an already full day of single-rider GP motos and Saturday's regular motocross program. That meant somewhere between 90 and 135 team riders had their eyes on the sizable cups that Honey Lake awards to the top finishers. But in the end, the biggest cup wasn't going to go anywhere, as Team Honey Lake, led by Tony Evans (3), finished the two-hour race out in front by a comfortable margin.

Team PK, consisting of Robert Perez and Martin Kite, snatched a dramatic second-place finish in the closing seconds of the race, completing a superb comeback from some early crashes and one prolonged struggle with an obstructive tree branch.

Here are some photos that my wife shot as she managed to both work the camera and make sure that my two-year-old daughter didn't wander out onto the front straight:

Rider await the opening sprint to their bikes. That's me in the blue gear in the center, wishing I hadn't volunteered for this.

Josh Jacobs won the foot-race portion of the race and then grabbed the bike-portion holeshot by a good margin, which led to post-race protests concerning the length of his legs. Turns out they are stock.

The race was long, but the racing was intense throughout.

Another member of Team Honey Lake charges toward victory.

Together, my teammates Eric Gillen (936), Mike Bergman and I finished a hard-fought 11th. Our goal was top-ten, and while I hate to make excuses, most of us were badly injured and we totally would have done better under normal circumstances.

Me, wondering whether my last two laps of charging got us in the top ten (see above.)   

 

Posted by beaupre716 at 09:29 PM | Permalink

Though I have always struggled with math, I am still fascinated by numbers. And I really think that has something to do with my history in motocross. As a small child, I had to learn a lot about numbers to even begin to understand the sport: a 250 has a bigger engine than a 125, there are 20 laps in a supercross main event, and in 1988 Rick Johnson wore #1 in the nationals but #2 in supercross, which meant that he beat Jeff Ward in 1987 in the outdoor series but not in the indoor series. And so on.

 
And so my interest in motocross numbers continues to this day. I love watching race lap times online, and I often watch them without listening to the audio commentary. As far as I’m concerned, the numbers that flash on the screen tell me almost everything I need to know about a race.

 
I also love race numbers—though I used to love them even more before the AMA adopted the permanent numbering system for professional racing. Before they did this, every racer wore a number that told you exactly how he did in relation to everyone else the year before. In other words, you could tell at a glance that whoever ran #7 earned more points the year before than #8, who himself earned more than #9.

 
It was always interesting and exciting to see where all the top riders ended up in relation to each other every year, and to see what their new numbers looked like on their new bikes. “Wow,” I said in 1998 when I saw Ricky Carmichael’s KX125 roll out for the first race of the year. “RC earned enough points from the 125 nationals to earn national #6? That’s awesome.”

 
But soon after, when the AMA began allowing top riders to pick a number that they could keep for their career, the race numbers of the stars lost a lot of their meaning. They became no more than routine symbols and tools for marketing people, and then many riders even stopped using the #1 plate, choosing to instead run their permanent career numbers. The number-lover in me yawned.

 
Today my latest fascination with numbers involves my new bike’s hourmeter. It tells me exactly how much time my engine has on it, right down to the tenth of the hour, and I am a little obsessed with it. I check it all the time, even while I’m riding. “I’ve been riding for seven-tenths of an hour,” I think to myself. “I bet I can get in three more tenths before the sun goes down.”

 
“How was riding?” my wife asks. “The track was pretty epic,” I say. “I went out and did nine-tenths of an hour worth of laps before I even stopped for water. It was great.” (She knows about my obsession, so she doesn’t have to ask.)

 
I’d like to close this essay by urging parents to look at the educational benefits motocross can offer to a young person, but as I mentioned earlier, all my poring over national numbers and lap times as a child never led to me becoming a math whiz. In fact, I think all the motocross numbers that I packed into my head at a young age left that part of my brain so full, I had no space in there to commit anything about higher mathematics.

 
But I’m convinced it was a good trade-off. I can turn to a calculator when I run into math troubles today, but can one use a calculator when trying to recall what number Jeff Emig ran in his rookie year (747) or how many Motocross des Nations victories that Team U.S.A. won consecutively from its first victory in 1981 (13)?

 
Chew on that, every math teacher I’ve ever had.    

 

Posted by beaupre716 at 12:36 PM | Permalink