Race Write-up from Combine, Texas (TORN XC series)
Aug 26, 2012 | 12:27 AM
#1
Thread Starter
|
Pro Rider
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,309
Likes: 1
From: Texas
Race Write-up from Combine, Texas (TORN XC series)
On Saturday, I got up early and made the 3 hr. and 15 min. road trip to Combine, TX to compete in another TORN series cross-country race. Below is my race write-up.
WHERE:
Combine, TX…it’s a small town just southeast of Dallas. The ATV race was held on a property that had a nice mix of woods, small hills, at least 1 retention pond and some open/pasture areas.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was partly sunny and hot with temps around the mid-90's when my afternoon race started. The ATV track was only 3 miles in length according to my ATV's odometer. That is a bit shorter than the other TORN races I've competed in this year, which are usually about 4 miles or so in length. The intense heat and thick dust made this track alot more challenging than it otherwise would have been. This track began in a pasture area and took the racers through tight, twisty wooded trails with deep, soft ruts, up/down several small hills with offcamber trails, around a muddy retention pond and then ending up in an open area/pasture area with zig-zag trails.
OVER 40 B CLASS:
When we lined up at the starting line, I counted a total of 8 quads in the Over 40 B class. This line-up included the "usual suspects" that included mostly 450cc sport quads like the Can Am 450, Cannondale 440, Honda 450, KTM 450 and Yamaha 450, plus a Polaris Scrambler 500 4wd and my KFX 700.
PRACTICE:
This morning, I arrived at the track just in time to complete 2 practice laps. Glad that I did these b/c some trails had alternate routes and it was helpful to try both and determine the faster lines. After practice ended at 11am, we had 3.5 hours to kill before our afternoon race began. I spent this time chatting with a few fellow racers in the camping/parking area. One thing I did different before this race was to eat my lunch about 1 hour prior to the start of my race...I normally just wait til after the race ends (around 3:30-ish) to eat. Eating so close to my race turned out to be a bad decision (more on this later).
THE START:
When we lined up in a pasture area, I was approximately third from the left and we were facing a short, downhill run to the first turn - which was a hard right turn. Finally, the green flag when up and off we went. I eased into the throttle b/c I didn't want to pull a big wheelie and have to let off the throttle. I ended up in the middle of the pack (4th place) as we made the 1st turn and headed thru a few zig-zags turns in the pasture area before going into the woods.
LAP 1:
The first thing I noticed going into the woods was that all the thick dust made it hard to see the trails when following close to the racer in front of me. The thick dust made avoiding the trees a particularly tough challenge.
About a mile or so into the tight woods, I was still following closely to the rider directly in front of me on a Cannondale 440. (I'm not sure, but I think the Cannondale is raced by Mike Nichols???) We made a turn and came upon 2 quads bottlenecked in a place where the trail is very tight between small trees. The problem was that this part of the trail had deep, soft ruts and several sport quads got hung up during this race when trying to manuever between these trees. Luckily, the rider in front of me found a way around the bottleneck (on the left side) and I followed him.
About mid-way through lap 1, I started to feel very winded and my stomach started to cramp. I felt sure this was due to eating so close to the start of my race. Being in 4th place at this point and very close to the 3rd place racer in front of me, there was no way I was going to pull over and rest...so I pressed on.
Approx. 1.5 miles into the 1st lap, the trails come to an area with several small hills of dirt (a few were maybe 10' or 12' tall). These trails were fairly steep and had several slick offcamber trails going up/down them. After navigating thru these hills, the trails continued on towards a muddy retention pond with a little standing water in the middle. The trails allowed the racer to go around the pond on either side, with the left side appearing to be more muddy and the right side appearing to be the slightly longer way around.
The last mile of this ATV course was a little wider/faster than the previous trails and took the racers through more woods and eventually ending up in an open area with a few zig zag turns right before going into the scoring shute/finish line. I finished the 1st lap right behind the Cannondale.
LAPS 2 - 6:
On the 2nd lap, I continued to stay close to the Cannondale. Somewhere in the middle of this lap, my stomach started to feel normal again and that was a big relief. Then suddenly, the Cannondale pulled off the trail near the end of the 2nd lap and immediately took off his camelback. I'm not sure if he was having trouble drinking from the camelback or what the problem was. As hot and dusty as this race was, having a functioning camelback was very important. Soon after I passed the Cannondale, I completed the 2nd lap and pressed on knowing that the other riders behind me could catch up at any second.
I maintained my position for laps 3 through 5 (no one in my class passed me) and occasionally passed racers from other classes. Also, a few racers from other classes passed me.
On the last lap (lap 6), I was pushing myself hard so as to avoid anyone in my class behind me catching and passing me. Luckily, no one in my class caught up to me UNTIL the very end of the last lap. That is when I heard a quad close behind me and I looked over my shoulder to see Matt Horton on his KTM. I swear, Matt seemed to come out of nowhere! So I was very concerned he might try to pass me before we reached the finish line. Soon after I discovered Matt on my tail, I came out of the woods and entered the zig-zag trails that run thru an open pasture area. I concentrated hard on hitting the turns without sliding around too much/spinning off the track. Luckily, I was able to hold off Matt thru the zig-zag trails and into the scoring scute/finish line. It was a huge relief to finish the last lap without giving up a position to Matt.
RACE RESULTS:
On some races, the checkered flag comes out too soon (if I still have some energy left and need more time to catch other racers in my class). But today I was SUPER HAPPY to finally see the checkered flag! I had zero energy left as I crossed the finish line and felt like I couldn't hold off any other challengers had we gone another lap. According to the official results posted at the TORN trailer, I finished 3rd place out of 8 in our class. That's not a bad day in my book. As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed bangin' bars with my fellow racers and look forward to the next one.
Of course, I would like to say a big THANKS TO TORN for putting on another fun event!
PIC:
2012 XC Racing :: Combine, TX race picture by Mikeyboy_esq - Photobucket
I hope you enjoyed my write-up.
WHERE:
Combine, TX…it’s a small town just southeast of Dallas. The ATV race was held on a property that had a nice mix of woods, small hills, at least 1 retention pond and some open/pasture areas.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was partly sunny and hot with temps around the mid-90's when my afternoon race started. The ATV track was only 3 miles in length according to my ATV's odometer. That is a bit shorter than the other TORN races I've competed in this year, which are usually about 4 miles or so in length. The intense heat and thick dust made this track alot more challenging than it otherwise would have been. This track began in a pasture area and took the racers through tight, twisty wooded trails with deep, soft ruts, up/down several small hills with offcamber trails, around a muddy retention pond and then ending up in an open area/pasture area with zig-zag trails.
OVER 40 B CLASS:
When we lined up at the starting line, I counted a total of 8 quads in the Over 40 B class. This line-up included the "usual suspects" that included mostly 450cc sport quads like the Can Am 450, Cannondale 440, Honda 450, KTM 450 and Yamaha 450, plus a Polaris Scrambler 500 4wd and my KFX 700.
PRACTICE:
This morning, I arrived at the track just in time to complete 2 practice laps. Glad that I did these b/c some trails had alternate routes and it was helpful to try both and determine the faster lines. After practice ended at 11am, we had 3.5 hours to kill before our afternoon race began. I spent this time chatting with a few fellow racers in the camping/parking area. One thing I did different before this race was to eat my lunch about 1 hour prior to the start of my race...I normally just wait til after the race ends (around 3:30-ish) to eat. Eating so close to my race turned out to be a bad decision (more on this later).
THE START:
When we lined up in a pasture area, I was approximately third from the left and we were facing a short, downhill run to the first turn - which was a hard right turn. Finally, the green flag when up and off we went. I eased into the throttle b/c I didn't want to pull a big wheelie and have to let off the throttle. I ended up in the middle of the pack (4th place) as we made the 1st turn and headed thru a few zig-zags turns in the pasture area before going into the woods.
LAP 1:
The first thing I noticed going into the woods was that all the thick dust made it hard to see the trails when following close to the racer in front of me. The thick dust made avoiding the trees a particularly tough challenge.
About a mile or so into the tight woods, I was still following closely to the rider directly in front of me on a Cannondale 440. (I'm not sure, but I think the Cannondale is raced by Mike Nichols???) We made a turn and came upon 2 quads bottlenecked in a place where the trail is very tight between small trees. The problem was that this part of the trail had deep, soft ruts and several sport quads got hung up during this race when trying to manuever between these trees. Luckily, the rider in front of me found a way around the bottleneck (on the left side) and I followed him.
About mid-way through lap 1, I started to feel very winded and my stomach started to cramp. I felt sure this was due to eating so close to the start of my race. Being in 4th place at this point and very close to the 3rd place racer in front of me, there was no way I was going to pull over and rest...so I pressed on.
Approx. 1.5 miles into the 1st lap, the trails come to an area with several small hills of dirt (a few were maybe 10' or 12' tall). These trails were fairly steep and had several slick offcamber trails going up/down them. After navigating thru these hills, the trails continued on towards a muddy retention pond with a little standing water in the middle. The trails allowed the racer to go around the pond on either side, with the left side appearing to be more muddy and the right side appearing to be the slightly longer way around.
The last mile of this ATV course was a little wider/faster than the previous trails and took the racers through more woods and eventually ending up in an open area with a few zig zag turns right before going into the scoring shute/finish line. I finished the 1st lap right behind the Cannondale.
LAPS 2 - 6:
On the 2nd lap, I continued to stay close to the Cannondale. Somewhere in the middle of this lap, my stomach started to feel normal again and that was a big relief. Then suddenly, the Cannondale pulled off the trail near the end of the 2nd lap and immediately took off his camelback. I'm not sure if he was having trouble drinking from the camelback or what the problem was. As hot and dusty as this race was, having a functioning camelback was very important. Soon after I passed the Cannondale, I completed the 2nd lap and pressed on knowing that the other riders behind me could catch up at any second.
I maintained my position for laps 3 through 5 (no one in my class passed me) and occasionally passed racers from other classes. Also, a few racers from other classes passed me.
On the last lap (lap 6), I was pushing myself hard so as to avoid anyone in my class behind me catching and passing me. Luckily, no one in my class caught up to me UNTIL the very end of the last lap. That is when I heard a quad close behind me and I looked over my shoulder to see Matt Horton on his KTM. I swear, Matt seemed to come out of nowhere! So I was very concerned he might try to pass me before we reached the finish line. Soon after I discovered Matt on my tail, I came out of the woods and entered the zig-zag trails that run thru an open pasture area. I concentrated hard on hitting the turns without sliding around too much/spinning off the track. Luckily, I was able to hold off Matt thru the zig-zag trails and into the scoring scute/finish line. It was a huge relief to finish the last lap without giving up a position to Matt.
RACE RESULTS:
On some races, the checkered flag comes out too soon (if I still have some energy left and need more time to catch other racers in my class). But today I was SUPER HAPPY to finally see the checkered flag! I had zero energy left as I crossed the finish line and felt like I couldn't hold off any other challengers had we gone another lap. According to the official results posted at the TORN trailer, I finished 3rd place out of 8 in our class. That's not a bad day in my book. As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed bangin' bars with my fellow racers and look forward to the next one.
Of course, I would like to say a big THANKS TO TORN for putting on another fun event!
PIC:
2012 XC Racing :: Combine, TX race picture by Mikeyboy_esq - Photobucket
I hope you enjoyed my write-up.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ATVC Correspondent
Drivetrain, Suspension & Tires
2
Sep 30, 2015 01:37 AM
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)