Race Write-up from Paradise, Texas (TORN series)
#1
06-11-2012, 01:37 PM
Race Write-up from Paradise, Texas (TORN series)
Yesterday, I made the LONG trip to Paradise, TX to compete in another TORN series cross-country race. Below is my race write-up for the "Legacy Farm" race.
WHERE:
Paradise, TX…it’s a small town just south of Bridgeport, TX. This track was on a nice property with lots of trees and creeks mixed with a few pasture areas. Because this track is a 4 and 1/2 hour drive from my house, I decided to skip Sat. morning practice and drive up in time for the 2:30pm race and then drive home in the same day. The 9 hour round trip plus 1 hour racing under the HOT Texas sun made for a very long day, but alot of fun nevertheless.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was sunny and blue skies with a high temp around 91 degrees during my afternoon race. The heat meant hydration was important, so I loaded my camelback with plenty of ice water before the race started. The ATV track was almost 4 miles in length according to my quad's odometer, and it was mostly made up of tight, twisty wooded trails with deep ruts throughout, occasional creek crossings (some were offcamber) plus one large pasture area near the beginning of the track. This track was not very technical, but it seemed to throw plenty of sharp turns or occasional offcambers at you every 15 feet or so, which always kept you on your toes. Ufortunately, there were no long straight-aways in which you could get up to speed and rest your arms. This track reminded me alot of the first TORN race this season (Beaumont Ranch).
QUAD SET-UP:
In the first two TORN races this season, my KFX700 gave me significant carb troubles in the form of frequent stalls after sharp turns and steep descents. Before this race, I removed the larger carbs from my quad and replaced them with stock carbs to eliminate this problem. The only downside to ditching the big carbs is that I lost the hard-hitting acceleration it provided from 30 to 50mph. I'm happy to report that I didn't miss the big carbs during this race b/c most of the race was 0 to 25mph...in fact, I never got over 36mph during the whole race. But more importantly, I never once had a stall, stumble or hiccup from the stock carbs.
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. Three-quarters of this line-up was made up of 450cc sport quads, including a colorful mix of quads like the Can Am 450, Cannondale 440, Honda 450 and Yamaha 450. The remaining quads on the line included a Polaris Scrambler 500 4wd plus my KFX 700.
PRACTICE:
Because I decided to skip the practice session in the morning, I decided the best strategy was to get in the middle of the pack and follow the leaders for the first lap or two until I felt comfortable with the track and all of its dangerous spots and then make my move to the front.
THE START:
When we lined up, I was third from the left and we were facing a short run to the first turn (hard right turn). By way of explanation, the MCs race at the same time as the ATVs, but on a different track. At the start, the MCs turn left at the first turn to enter their course and the ATVs turn right to enter our course. While watching the Over 30 C ATV class start in the line immediately ahead of my class, I watched in disbelief as one rider accidentally turned LEFT at the first turn (towards the MC track). Luckily, he got straightened out soon and he quickly turned around and headed in the correct direction.
Finally, the green flag when up and off we went. In keeping with my "middle of the pack 1st lap" strategy as stated above, I left the starting line easy and was in approx. 5th place as we made the sharp right turn and entered the ATV course.
LAP 1:
This ATV track began with a mix of sweeping and tight turns in a large pasture area, a few such turns went tightly around trees with low hanging branches. Near the end of the pasture area, I was following closely behind the Pol. Scramber when he got tangled up with a low hanging branch. I took the opportunity to pass and that put me in approx. 4th place going into the wooded trails.
About a mile or two into the woods, I let a cannondale pass me as he was obviously riding faster than I was willing to go on my first lap (without having seen this track before). Another mile up the trail, I let another cannondale pass me for the same reason.
Approx. 3 miles into the 1st lap, we dropped down into a shallow creek with water in the bottom and turned left at the bottom and then made a hard left again to climb up and out of the creek. At the bottom of the shallow creek crossing were 2 small logs with water flowing across them. I squared up and crossed this section, but had trouble climbing up and out of the creek b/c my 2 rear tires were spinning on top of the logs. After a bit of spinning and trying to rock side to side for traction, I finally jumped behind my quad and tried to push my quad over the logs. Just then, 2 quads from another class passed me on the right side...luckily, I stepped to the left side of my ATV when they shot past me (I almost stepped to the right when I first heard them behind me...yikes!). After I got off the logs, I was able to climb out of the shallow creek. However, I felt drained of energy at that point. I completed the first lap is approx. 14min, 21 seconds.
LAPS 2 - 4:
Except for the occasional quad stranded off to the side of the track, I rarely saw other quads during laps 2 through 4. The 4th and final lap got interesting when I passed 3 quads from other classes. In doing so, I would occasionally see dust on the trail ahead of me indicating that I was closing in on someone. Then I would kick it up a notch and push myself harder...similar to a shark when it smells blood in the water! Unfortunately, none of the folks that I passed were in my class.
I finished the 2nd lap a tad slower than my first lap (approx. 14min, 33 seconds), but then picked up the pace on my 3rd and 4th laps as I finally felt more confident about the track and where the hazards/offcamber spots were located. I finished my 3rd and 4th laps in 14 min, 6 seconds and 14 min. 3 seconds, respectively.
RACE RESULTS:
Although I was plenty tired at the end of the 4th lap, I felt like I was finally getting the hang of the course and definitely had another strong lap in me. Unfortunately, the checkered flag met me at the end of my 4th lap, and that meant I was not able to catch up to the rest of my class before the end of the race. According to the results posted at the trailer, I finished in 6th place out of 8 in my class. I'm certain that I could have finished higher if I made it to practice in the morning, but that was the choice I made. Despite my lack-luster finish, it was a fun-filled day of racing and well-worth the long drive. I have to say a big THANKS to TORN for putting on another fun event!
PIC:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...43148256_n.jpg
I hope you enjoyed my write-up.
WHERE:
Paradise, TX…it’s a small town just south of Bridgeport, TX. This track was on a nice property with lots of trees and creeks mixed with a few pasture areas. Because this track is a 4 and 1/2 hour drive from my house, I decided to skip Sat. morning practice and drive up in time for the 2:30pm race and then drive home in the same day. The 9 hour round trip plus 1 hour racing under the HOT Texas sun made for a very long day, but alot of fun nevertheless.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was sunny and blue skies with a high temp around 91 degrees during my afternoon race. The heat meant hydration was important, so I loaded my camelback with plenty of ice water before the race started. The ATV track was almost 4 miles in length according to my quad's odometer, and it was mostly made up of tight, twisty wooded trails with deep ruts throughout, occasional creek crossings (some were offcamber) plus one large pasture area near the beginning of the track. This track was not very technical, but it seemed to throw plenty of sharp turns or occasional offcambers at you every 15 feet or so, which always kept you on your toes. Ufortunately, there were no long straight-aways in which you could get up to speed and rest your arms. This track reminded me alot of the first TORN race this season (Beaumont Ranch).
QUAD SET-UP:
In the first two TORN races this season, my KFX700 gave me significant carb troubles in the form of frequent stalls after sharp turns and steep descents. Before this race, I removed the larger carbs from my quad and replaced them with stock carbs to eliminate this problem. The only downside to ditching the big carbs is that I lost the hard-hitting acceleration it provided from 30 to 50mph. I'm happy to report that I didn't miss the big carbs during this race b/c most of the race was 0 to 25mph...in fact, I never got over 36mph during the whole race. But more importantly, I never once had a stall, stumble or hiccup from the stock carbs.
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. Three-quarters of this line-up was made up of 450cc sport quads, including a colorful mix of quads like the Can Am 450, Cannondale 440, Honda 450 and Yamaha 450. The remaining quads on the line included a Polaris Scrambler 500 4wd plus my KFX 700.
PRACTICE:
Because I decided to skip the practice session in the morning, I decided the best strategy was to get in the middle of the pack and follow the leaders for the first lap or two until I felt comfortable with the track and all of its dangerous spots and then make my move to the front.
THE START:
When we lined up, I was third from the left and we were facing a short run to the first turn (hard right turn). By way of explanation, the MCs race at the same time as the ATVs, but on a different track. At the start, the MCs turn left at the first turn to enter their course and the ATVs turn right to enter our course. While watching the Over 30 C ATV class start in the line immediately ahead of my class, I watched in disbelief as one rider accidentally turned LEFT at the first turn (towards the MC track). Luckily, he got straightened out soon and he quickly turned around and headed in the correct direction.
Finally, the green flag when up and off we went. In keeping with my "middle of the pack 1st lap" strategy as stated above, I left the starting line easy and was in approx. 5th place as we made the sharp right turn and entered the ATV course.
LAP 1:
This ATV track began with a mix of sweeping and tight turns in a large pasture area, a few such turns went tightly around trees with low hanging branches. Near the end of the pasture area, I was following closely behind the Pol. Scramber when he got tangled up with a low hanging branch. I took the opportunity to pass and that put me in approx. 4th place going into the wooded trails.
About a mile or two into the woods, I let a cannondale pass me as he was obviously riding faster than I was willing to go on my first lap (without having seen this track before). Another mile up the trail, I let another cannondale pass me for the same reason.
Approx. 3 miles into the 1st lap, we dropped down into a shallow creek with water in the bottom and turned left at the bottom and then made a hard left again to climb up and out of the creek. At the bottom of the shallow creek crossing were 2 small logs with water flowing across them. I squared up and crossed this section, but had trouble climbing up and out of the creek b/c my 2 rear tires were spinning on top of the logs. After a bit of spinning and trying to rock side to side for traction, I finally jumped behind my quad and tried to push my quad over the logs. Just then, 2 quads from another class passed me on the right side...luckily, I stepped to the left side of my ATV when they shot past me (I almost stepped to the right when I first heard them behind me...yikes!). After I got off the logs, I was able to climb out of the shallow creek. However, I felt drained of energy at that point. I completed the first lap is approx. 14min, 21 seconds.
LAPS 2 - 4:
Except for the occasional quad stranded off to the side of the track, I rarely saw other quads during laps 2 through 4. The 4th and final lap got interesting when I passed 3 quads from other classes. In doing so, I would occasionally see dust on the trail ahead of me indicating that I was closing in on someone. Then I would kick it up a notch and push myself harder...similar to a shark when it smells blood in the water! Unfortunately, none of the folks that I passed were in my class.
I finished the 2nd lap a tad slower than my first lap (approx. 14min, 33 seconds), but then picked up the pace on my 3rd and 4th laps as I finally felt more confident about the track and where the hazards/offcamber spots were located. I finished my 3rd and 4th laps in 14 min, 6 seconds and 14 min. 3 seconds, respectively.
RACE RESULTS:
Although I was plenty tired at the end of the 4th lap, I felt like I was finally getting the hang of the course and definitely had another strong lap in me. Unfortunately, the checkered flag met me at the end of my 4th lap, and that meant I was not able to catch up to the rest of my class before the end of the race. According to the results posted at the trailer, I finished in 6th place out of 8 in my class. I'm certain that I could have finished higher if I made it to practice in the morning, but that was the choice I made. Despite my lack-luster finish, it was a fun-filled day of racing and well-worth the long drive. I have to say a big THANKS to TORN for putting on another fun event!
PIC:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...43148256_n.jpg
I hope you enjoyed my write-up.
#3
06-11-2012, 05:10 PM
Thanks and yes, the TORN series offers cross-country races for ATVs, UTVs and MCs in the greater DFW area. For a complete schedule of races this year, go to TORN RACING and click on ATVs or UTVs. Unfortunately for me, I live in the greater Houston area and so my drive to these races is a bit of a pain.
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