My race write-up from Endeavor Bridgeport (2015 TORN rd 7)
#1
11-17-2015, 10:48 PM
My race write-up from Endeavor Bridgeport (2015 TORN rd 7)
Last weekend, I drove to Bridgeport, Tx to compete in Round 7 of the 2015 TORN cross-country series. Unlike my last TORN race, my son was unable to join me for the fun this time (but he should be back next time). Luckily, one of my buddies (Billy) agreed to fill in as my co-pilot for this race and that made the experience much more enjoyable. Below is my race write-up.
WHERE:
Bridgeport, TX… it’s a small town about 50 minutes northwest of Ft. Worth. This rural property has a little bit of everything, including hills, loose sand, rocks, large pastures, thick wooded areas filled with thorny mesquite trees, cactus, ponds, etc. I raced my ATV on this property in early 2014 and it was my favorite TORN track that year. Since then, I have been looking forward to racing here again.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
On race day (Sunday), we enjoyed typical fall weather with highs in the upper 50's and gray, overcast skies. The forecast included a 50% chance of rain around race time, so it was anybody's guess if we would have a wet/muddy track or not.
The UTV track length was 4 miles in length and included lots of bumpy, challenging trails through a wide variety of interesting terrain. Specifically, the course took racers up and down several hills, through tight, twisty wooded trails, over rocky sections, flying down an old paved road for a short run, and alongside a railroad track (with a moving train on it during my race just for added effect!). The course also included a few sections with deep, soft ruts, a few areas with harsh, jagged rocks, a few spots with standing water and mud, and a some whoops on soft sand.
PRACTICE:
Due to the 300 mile drive from my house, I drove to Bridgeport on Saturday night and stayed in a local hotel. After leaving a local hotel Sunday morning, I made it to the track around 8:30am and immediately unloaded the RZR for some practice laps. I was the first UTV to hit the course when practice officially started at 9am and took it slow and easy. My first lap was a bit unnerving because there were several downhill sections where I couldn't see the trail immediately in front of my RZR because the trail was so steep. Talk about a leap of faith!
During my practice laps, I noticed several things about this course.
First, it was different than prior TORN tracks this year because it had several (fun) hill climbs and descents. A few of these hills had a harsh angle that caused my stock RZR shocks to bottom out when I first hit the face of the hill or reached the ground after coming back down. One hill climb had a kicker bump at the very bottom and another lip about half-way up making it hard to hit it fast. Another hill climb had a wet, muddy spot at the bottom immediately before going up the narrow trail. I had to make a mental note about which hills I could hit with speed and which I had to slow down for.
Second, I noticed that some sections of the track were extremely bumpy, rocky and/or whooped out. This course was definitely going to test my RZR and my co-pilot's nerves (was Billy's first time to ride passenger during a UTV race).
Third, there were not many places to safely pass unless the rider in front intentionally pulled off the side of the trail for you. This meant getting a good start and avoiding the trees and jagged rocks would be key.
Fourth, I noticed this course included an extremely fast and FUN run up a 150 yard paved road followed by a tight right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks. This was my FAVORITE PART of the course b/c I could put the hammer down and air out the RZR! My only concern was whether this straight, wide section would give my competitors (all of which have a 1000cc motor and/or a turbo) an opportunity to pass my little 900cc RZR. Only time would tell.
After 3 slow practice laps, I noticed Billy's truck in the parking lot next to the track. I pulled off the track to see if he was ready to join me as co-pilot for a few practice laps. He hopped in, took a few minutes to get his 4 point harness just right and away we went. About half-way around the track, we came upon a traffic jam. The hold-up was a UTV that high-centered in deep, muddy ruts on the trail ahead. When we arrived, there were already 4 or 5 UTVs already helping the stuck UTV, so we stayed put until they finished freeing the stuck machine. A few minutes later, the line of UTVs made a new trail through the thick brush to avoid the deep, soft ruts (which caused other UTVs to high center earlier during practice). Billy seemed to enjoy the first lap as my passenger, except for the fact that his helmet occasionally hit the (custom) cage in my RZR. He is taller than me, so I don't usually hit the cage unless my 4 pt. harness is loose. We tightened his harness and that seemed to help.
After practice, Billy met up with fellow racers (Jodi and Dan) b/c they let Billy borrow a fire proof suit for our race. It is generous and helpful folks like Jodi and Dan who make TORN a fun and friendly organization. Thank you so much!
UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
A total of 8 side by sides lined up on the starting line of the UTV Intermediate class, including a brand new Yamaha YXZ 1000R, two Can Am Maverick 1ks (I think one had a turbo), four RZR 1kXPs plus my RZR 900XP. On the starting line, I told Billy that I'd be happy to finish in 5th place in this tough line-up. Judging by the look on Billy's face, I think he would be happy to just finish the race alive!
THE START:
When we lined up for the start, we had approximately 40 feet to the first right hand turn around a large transmission pole, followed soon by a hard left hand turn around another transmission pole and then heading across an open, flat section toward some large hills made of soft sand/dirt.
On the starting line, I was lined up near the far left (outside of the first turn). I was a little further away from the first turn as compared to others on my right, but my path was smoother and I had less angle around the 1st turn. So I was content with my position. As we waited for the green flag, I gave Billy a fist bump and wished him good luck.
The green flag went up and off we went. My 900xp fired right up and left the line quickly. I immediately looked to my right and saw several UTVs (including Sorento who was leading the pack) reach the right hand turn slightly ahead of me. As the class fought our way around the first turn, I stayed on the (left) outside line and came out of the turn tied with the Yamaha (Sandy) in 4th position. As we came around the 2nd turn, I had the (left) inside line and the Yamaha took the outside line. I mashed the gas pedal hard, but the Yamaha got around me and I fell into 5th position as we headed towards the first big hilly section. I was pumped about my start b/c my goal was to finished 5th and I had already reached that position.
LAPS 1 & 2:
As we made our way through the first lap, we climbed up and down some hills, crossed a dirt road, and winded our way through tight, twisty woods to an old paved road that crosses a railroad track to our immediate right. As we reached the road, we made a 90 degree left turn (away from the train tracks) and ran straight ahead for 150 yards followed by a sharp right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks (boys and girls, can you say "powerslide?). During the sprint to the end of the paved road, I was holding my breadth and hoping the UTV immediately behind me would not pass me. Billy was trying to make us accelerate faster by moving his arms like he is swimming/paddling. lol Luckily, I held my competitors off and we continued onward. After more hilly areas and wooded sections, we eventually ran through a small area with large, jagged rocks on the trails and another section that was badly whooped out. These rough sections jostled Billy and me around inside the RZR like a rag doll. Later, Billy told me that his helmet bumped the cage 2 or 3 times in a row like a pinball machine. Lucky for Billy, he doesn't have much brain issue to damage!
As lap 1 progressed, I was on the Yamaha's tail and Cash (Can Am 1k) was hot on my tail. I pushed myself hard to keep up with the Yamaha. At some point, Cash got hung up in the deep, soft ruts (probably the same place were UTVs got stuck during practice) and he disappeared from my rear view mirror. I think JW (blue RZR 1k) was immediately behind Cash when that happened and that slowed JW down for a few seconds. That gave me a little breathing room. The Yamaha that I was previously chasing picked up the pace and disappeared in front of me.
As the race progressed, UTVs started breaking down on the rough and challenging course. They seemed to suddenly appeared alongside the trails, and a few broke down in the middle of the trail causing the rest of the racers to make a new path around them.
LAPS 3 - 5:
Around lap 3, Eric (RZR 1k) caught up to me and put pressure on me. I pushed my RZR hard and caught up to the Yamaha on the next lap. I soon realized that the Yamaha (Sandy) was following immediately the Turbo Maverick (Edel). There were no easy places to pass, so it was a game of "follow the leader" until someone finally broke down or decided to pull of the trail and let others pass.
LAP 6:
On the last lap, we maintained a bumper to bumper race with the Turbo Maverick (Edel) in first position, the Yamaha (Sandy) was immediately behind him in 2nd position, followed closely by my RZR in 3rd position and Eric (4th position) was still hot on my heels. There was only a few seconds separating each UTV and we plowed ahead at a blistering pace. The trails were starting to dry out and we were eating thick dust on some of the open sections.
On the last few miles, my RZR started steering wildly in the turns and it was difficult to keep it on the track. I thought I smelled a faint odor like rubber burning/rubbing. I chalked it up to probably a flat front tire. There was no way I was going to pull off the trail being in 3rd position and very close to the finish line. I pressed onward through the hills and we got air born several times (not on purpose!) trying to make good time. At times, I could see the Yamaha get air born too off some of the short hills. My steering continued to be difficult, and I prayed the RZR could hold out until the end.
RACE RESULTS:
Finally, Billy and I made our way around the last turn and we saw the checkered flag. Hallelujah!! I was so happy to see the finish line b/c I knew my RZR could not make it another lap with such poor steering. The four "band of brothers" who had marched in the same order for the past few laps maintained our positions as we rode past the checkered flag and finished with only 4 seconds between each UTV. We took the first 4 places in UTV Intermediate class. I was pumped about finishing 3rd and Billy KISSED THE GROUND when we got out of the RZR. Ok, I made up that last point about Billy, but I'm quite sure he was very relieved we survived the race and lived to tell about it.
As we passed the checkered flag, I saw a few people standing near the finish line who were pointing at my front end. Obviously, that was not a good sign. When I got out of the RZR, I immediately congratulated Sandy and Eric on a great race.
Then I saw the driver-side front wheel on my RZR. Uh oh. There was a long branch caught between the wheel hub and steering tie rod and it extended all the way to the ground. No telling how long we have been dragging it. lol I also noticed a huge chunk of the stock (plastic) skid plate had been peeled back near the engine area and was pointing straight down. Unfortunately, that was NOT the bad news. My entire front wheel was leaning over to the side. Upon closer inspection, Billy and I discovered a bolt holding one of the lower a-arm mounts had broken loose from the frame, which allowed the lower a-arm to pull away from the frame and front wheel to flop from side to side. There's no doubt the wheel stayed attached thanks to my (Holz) a-arms and (Dragonfire) front end gusset kit (both of which appeared to be bent, but thankfully still attached). Needless to say, this race was an adventure that I won't soon forget.
As always, I have to say a big THANK YOU to TORN for putting on another FUN event!
I hope you enjoyed my write-up!
WHERE:
Bridgeport, TX… it’s a small town about 50 minutes northwest of Ft. Worth. This rural property has a little bit of everything, including hills, loose sand, rocks, large pastures, thick wooded areas filled with thorny mesquite trees, cactus, ponds, etc. I raced my ATV on this property in early 2014 and it was my favorite TORN track that year. Since then, I have been looking forward to racing here again.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
On race day (Sunday), we enjoyed typical fall weather with highs in the upper 50's and gray, overcast skies. The forecast included a 50% chance of rain around race time, so it was anybody's guess if we would have a wet/muddy track or not.
The UTV track length was 4 miles in length and included lots of bumpy, challenging trails through a wide variety of interesting terrain. Specifically, the course took racers up and down several hills, through tight, twisty wooded trails, over rocky sections, flying down an old paved road for a short run, and alongside a railroad track (with a moving train on it during my race just for added effect!). The course also included a few sections with deep, soft ruts, a few areas with harsh, jagged rocks, a few spots with standing water and mud, and a some whoops on soft sand.
PRACTICE:
Due to the 300 mile drive from my house, I drove to Bridgeport on Saturday night and stayed in a local hotel. After leaving a local hotel Sunday morning, I made it to the track around 8:30am and immediately unloaded the RZR for some practice laps. I was the first UTV to hit the course when practice officially started at 9am and took it slow and easy. My first lap was a bit unnerving because there were several downhill sections where I couldn't see the trail immediately in front of my RZR because the trail was so steep. Talk about a leap of faith!
During my practice laps, I noticed several things about this course.
First, it was different than prior TORN tracks this year because it had several (fun) hill climbs and descents. A few of these hills had a harsh angle that caused my stock RZR shocks to bottom out when I first hit the face of the hill or reached the ground after coming back down. One hill climb had a kicker bump at the very bottom and another lip about half-way up making it hard to hit it fast. Another hill climb had a wet, muddy spot at the bottom immediately before going up the narrow trail. I had to make a mental note about which hills I could hit with speed and which I had to slow down for.
Second, I noticed that some sections of the track were extremely bumpy, rocky and/or whooped out. This course was definitely going to test my RZR and my co-pilot's nerves (was Billy's first time to ride passenger during a UTV race).
Third, there were not many places to safely pass unless the rider in front intentionally pulled off the side of the trail for you. This meant getting a good start and avoiding the trees and jagged rocks would be key.
Fourth, I noticed this course included an extremely fast and FUN run up a 150 yard paved road followed by a tight right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks. This was my FAVORITE PART of the course b/c I could put the hammer down and air out the RZR! My only concern was whether this straight, wide section would give my competitors (all of which have a 1000cc motor and/or a turbo) an opportunity to pass my little 900cc RZR. Only time would tell.
After 3 slow practice laps, I noticed Billy's truck in the parking lot next to the track. I pulled off the track to see if he was ready to join me as co-pilot for a few practice laps. He hopped in, took a few minutes to get his 4 point harness just right and away we went. About half-way around the track, we came upon a traffic jam. The hold-up was a UTV that high-centered in deep, muddy ruts on the trail ahead. When we arrived, there were already 4 or 5 UTVs already helping the stuck UTV, so we stayed put until they finished freeing the stuck machine. A few minutes later, the line of UTVs made a new trail through the thick brush to avoid the deep, soft ruts (which caused other UTVs to high center earlier during practice). Billy seemed to enjoy the first lap as my passenger, except for the fact that his helmet occasionally hit the (custom) cage in my RZR. He is taller than me, so I don't usually hit the cage unless my 4 pt. harness is loose. We tightened his harness and that seemed to help.
After practice, Billy met up with fellow racers (Jodi and Dan) b/c they let Billy borrow a fire proof suit for our race. It is generous and helpful folks like Jodi and Dan who make TORN a fun and friendly organization. Thank you so much!
UTV INTERMEDIATE CLASS:
A total of 8 side by sides lined up on the starting line of the UTV Intermediate class, including a brand new Yamaha YXZ 1000R, two Can Am Maverick 1ks (I think one had a turbo), four RZR 1kXPs plus my RZR 900XP. On the starting line, I told Billy that I'd be happy to finish in 5th place in this tough line-up. Judging by the look on Billy's face, I think he would be happy to just finish the race alive!
THE START:
When we lined up for the start, we had approximately 40 feet to the first right hand turn around a large transmission pole, followed soon by a hard left hand turn around another transmission pole and then heading across an open, flat section toward some large hills made of soft sand/dirt.
On the starting line, I was lined up near the far left (outside of the first turn). I was a little further away from the first turn as compared to others on my right, but my path was smoother and I had less angle around the 1st turn. So I was content with my position. As we waited for the green flag, I gave Billy a fist bump and wished him good luck.
The green flag went up and off we went. My 900xp fired right up and left the line quickly. I immediately looked to my right and saw several UTVs (including Sorento who was leading the pack) reach the right hand turn slightly ahead of me. As the class fought our way around the first turn, I stayed on the (left) outside line and came out of the turn tied with the Yamaha (Sandy) in 4th position. As we came around the 2nd turn, I had the (left) inside line and the Yamaha took the outside line. I mashed the gas pedal hard, but the Yamaha got around me and I fell into 5th position as we headed towards the first big hilly section. I was pumped about my start b/c my goal was to finished 5th and I had already reached that position.
LAPS 1 & 2:
As we made our way through the first lap, we climbed up and down some hills, crossed a dirt road, and winded our way through tight, twisty woods to an old paved road that crosses a railroad track to our immediate right. As we reached the road, we made a 90 degree left turn (away from the train tracks) and ran straight ahead for 150 yards followed by a sharp right hand turn on loose gravel/rocks (boys and girls, can you say "powerslide?). During the sprint to the end of the paved road, I was holding my breadth and hoping the UTV immediately behind me would not pass me. Billy was trying to make us accelerate faster by moving his arms like he is swimming/paddling. lol Luckily, I held my competitors off and we continued onward. After more hilly areas and wooded sections, we eventually ran through a small area with large, jagged rocks on the trails and another section that was badly whooped out. These rough sections jostled Billy and me around inside the RZR like a rag doll. Later, Billy told me that his helmet bumped the cage 2 or 3 times in a row like a pinball machine. Lucky for Billy, he doesn't have much brain issue to damage!
As lap 1 progressed, I was on the Yamaha's tail and Cash (Can Am 1k) was hot on my tail. I pushed myself hard to keep up with the Yamaha. At some point, Cash got hung up in the deep, soft ruts (probably the same place were UTVs got stuck during practice) and he disappeared from my rear view mirror. I think JW (blue RZR 1k) was immediately behind Cash when that happened and that slowed JW down for a few seconds. That gave me a little breathing room. The Yamaha that I was previously chasing picked up the pace and disappeared in front of me.
As the race progressed, UTVs started breaking down on the rough and challenging course. They seemed to suddenly appeared alongside the trails, and a few broke down in the middle of the trail causing the rest of the racers to make a new path around them.
LAPS 3 - 5:
Around lap 3, Eric (RZR 1k) caught up to me and put pressure on me. I pushed my RZR hard and caught up to the Yamaha on the next lap. I soon realized that the Yamaha (Sandy) was following immediately the Turbo Maverick (Edel). There were no easy places to pass, so it was a game of "follow the leader" until someone finally broke down or decided to pull of the trail and let others pass.
LAP 6:
On the last lap, we maintained a bumper to bumper race with the Turbo Maverick (Edel) in first position, the Yamaha (Sandy) was immediately behind him in 2nd position, followed closely by my RZR in 3rd position and Eric (4th position) was still hot on my heels. There was only a few seconds separating each UTV and we plowed ahead at a blistering pace. The trails were starting to dry out and we were eating thick dust on some of the open sections.
On the last few miles, my RZR started steering wildly in the turns and it was difficult to keep it on the track. I thought I smelled a faint odor like rubber burning/rubbing. I chalked it up to probably a flat front tire. There was no way I was going to pull off the trail being in 3rd position and very close to the finish line. I pressed onward through the hills and we got air born several times (not on purpose!) trying to make good time. At times, I could see the Yamaha get air born too off some of the short hills. My steering continued to be difficult, and I prayed the RZR could hold out until the end.
RACE RESULTS:
Finally, Billy and I made our way around the last turn and we saw the checkered flag. Hallelujah!! I was so happy to see the finish line b/c I knew my RZR could not make it another lap with such poor steering. The four "band of brothers" who had marched in the same order for the past few laps maintained our positions as we rode past the checkered flag and finished with only 4 seconds between each UTV. We took the first 4 places in UTV Intermediate class. I was pumped about finishing 3rd and Billy KISSED THE GROUND when we got out of the RZR. Ok, I made up that last point about Billy, but I'm quite sure he was very relieved we survived the race and lived to tell about it.
As we passed the checkered flag, I saw a few people standing near the finish line who were pointing at my front end. Obviously, that was not a good sign. When I got out of the RZR, I immediately congratulated Sandy and Eric on a great race.
Then I saw the driver-side front wheel on my RZR. Uh oh. There was a long branch caught between the wheel hub and steering tie rod and it extended all the way to the ground. No telling how long we have been dragging it. lol I also noticed a huge chunk of the stock (plastic) skid plate had been peeled back near the engine area and was pointing straight down. Unfortunately, that was NOT the bad news. My entire front wheel was leaning over to the side. Upon closer inspection, Billy and I discovered a bolt holding one of the lower a-arm mounts had broken loose from the frame, which allowed the lower a-arm to pull away from the frame and front wheel to flop from side to side. There's no doubt the wheel stayed attached thanks to my (Holz) a-arms and (Dragonfire) front end gusset kit (both of which appeared to be bent, but thankfully still attached). Needless to say, this race was an adventure that I won't soon forget.
As always, I have to say a big THANK YOU to TORN for putting on another FUN event!
I hope you enjoyed my write-up!