Race Write-up from Oak Hill MX (2016 TORN rd 1)
#1
03-22-2016, 01:27 PM
Race Write-up from Oak Hill MX (2016 TORN rd 1)
Last weekend, I drove to Alvord, Tx to compete in Round 1 of the 2016 TORN cross-country series. This was the first race of the 2016 season and a chance to start the new UTV racing season with a bang! Below is my race write-up.
WHERE:
Alvord, TX… it’s a tiny town about 50 miles north of Ft. Worth. This race was located at a MX track called Oak Hill Raceway. The track was laid out in the large, open pasture area and natural terrain surrounding the main MX track and parking lot. The large pasture area had tons of dirt work and resembled a giant MX track for UTVs (minus the big scary jumps and whoops sections). If this place sounds familiar, it is because we ran the last race of the 2015 TORN season at this very same track just a few months ago.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
On race day (Sunday), the weather was sunny, windy and cool (mid-40's)during the UTV long course practice. When we lined up for the big race at 12:45, the UTV racers were blessed with more sunny skies and temps in the 50s, which felt like air conditioning blowing inside my RZR.
The UTV track length was 3 miles in length and laid out very similar to our last race at this track in January. The front half of the course (near the property entrance) was relatively smooth and included several small to medium-sized, man-made jumps, berms and table top jumps set in the large pasture area. The back half of the course was a little rougher and included deep rutted trails over natural terrain as well as the scoring chute/finish line.
RIDING SOLO:
Usually, I travel to TORN races with my teenage son and co-pilot (Cash). Unfortunately, "mini-me" decided to skip this race so he could go to church on Sunday morning and see his girlfriend. Can't blame him for that. LOL Hopefully he will join me at the next race.
PRACTICE:
Last Saturday night, I made the 5 hour drive to Decatur and stayed in a local hotel. (TIP: I found the Hampton Inn to be very comfortable and much nicer than other hotels in this area. PRO TIP: If you call them to make reservations and tell them you are in town for a race at Oak Hill MX, you get the corporate rate.)
On Sunday morning, I arrived at the track around 10:30am to do some practice laps. During practice laps, I noticed a few things about this course.
First, this course is nearly identical to the track set up at the last race held at this same property in January (which was the last round of the 2015 season). The biggest change was that they moved the scoring chute/finish line from the front of the property (near MX section) to the rear of the property (near natural terrain section) so that they could score both the bikes and UTVs at the same time.
Second, my RZR 900xp is more tipsy on the tight turns causing me to ride up on 2 wheels frequently. I quickly realized the cause for this... my missing co-pilot is more than just my good luck charm; he is also my counter-weight to help balance the car! No worries. I will just have to pay more attention on tight turns to avoid tipping over. (more on this later)
900cc UTV CLASS:
Only 3 racers lined up on the starting line of the 900cc class, including Greg (white RZR 900xp), Ethan (red RZR 900xp) and me (red RZR 900xp). This class is brand new for the 2016 season, and I was very excited to finally compete against other UTVs with similar engine size. Obviously, it is an uphill battle when you line up your 900cc UTV to race against other UTVs with 1000cc and/or Turbo motors. With everyone racing the same machine in this 900cc class, the biggest difference between racers is how much driving skill you possess... or in my case, how lucky you are.
The UTV expert class was so large that they broke it into 2 starting lines. After the UTV expert class, the UTV amateur class started. Next was our 900cc class and we were followed by the 800cc class. The 900cc class was by far the smallest of the 4 UTV classes. With a total of 40 UTVs racing in all 4 classes, it was obvious this would be a very busy race with so many UTVs on the 3 mile track at the same time.
THE START:
On the starting line, we were facing a short run (maybe 40') to the first left-hand turn. I was lined up in the middle with Greg (white RZR) on my left and Ethan (red RZR) to my right. The green flag went up and off we went.
I got a good start and made it to the first turn just before the others. As we made the left-hand turn, I went wide and that left an opening for Greg to take the inside turn. We exited the turn side by side and ontinued racing next to each other as we hit a small jump about 20 yards up the trail and then made a sharp 90 degree left turn. Just after that turn, we entered an "S turn" that has 2 separate paths. I took the right path and Greg took the left. Greg came out first and I fell into 2nd position right behind him. Ethan was right on my tail in 3rd.
LAP 1:
As lap 1 progressed, I continued to nip at Greg's rear bumper and endured a lot of his roost and dust. After we exited the MX section, we entered the back half of the property, which is mostly natural terrain. I was glued to Greg's bumper and hoping he would make a mistake that would give me an opportunity to pass. Soon, we reached the scoring chute and slowed to a crawl... as soon as we passed the chute, we picked up the pace again and made our way around the trees and in and out of the dusty trails that lead in and out of a dry pond area. After we exited the dry pond, we zig zagged around several rutted turns and then re-entered the MX area.
In this MX section, we launched off of several small to medium-sized jumps and slid around the smooth turns. On one of the first turns, I tried to take the inside line and make a pass around Greg. Suddenly, my left rear tire caught traction and my RZR shot up on my left 2 wheels and I instantly thought I was going to roll my RZR onto its left side. Luckily, my instincts kicked in and I jerked the steering wheel to the left and recovered it just before tipping over. Whew! That was a very close call, but a good reminder to be careful on the turns. I pressed onward with the hope of finding another opportunity to pass Greg. Ethan continued to stay close to my rear bumper as our 900cc class continued to race close to one another.
LAPS 2 through 6:
The next several laps were mostly just me eating Greg's roost and choking on the thick dust pouring off of his rear tires. I quickly grew tires of being pelted with chunks of clay/dirt hitting my helmet and goggles and tried desperately to make a clean pass around Greg in the MX section. As hard as I tried, I never could find an opening where I could get a clean pass. He seemed to hit the corners tighter and with more control than I could. In the natural terrain section, I felt like I was a little faster than Greg, but it was too difficult to pass in that section given the deep ruts and narrower trails.
As lap after lap continued, we started seeing UTVs turned over on their sides and/or broke down on the track. Speaking of that, I don't understand why some racers just left their UTV on the course for the rest of the race as it created a safety hazard for other racers and also took away a good passing spot. If the disabled UTV is able to be pushed off the course, that would seem to be the best option for everyone involved. By the end of the race, a dozen UTVs had a DNF and several more suffered mechanical issues that slowed them down and/or prevented them from completing as many laps as possible.
As the race wore on, Greg, myself and Ethan continued to battle and jockey for position, but no one was able to make a successful pass on each other. Occasionally, we would catch and pass a slower racer from the UTV amateur or expert classes. The challenge there was for me to avoid getting stuck behind the lapper, which would allow Greg to gain ground on me.
Also, I would occasionally get passed by one of the UTV expert racers, like the Miller brothers. As usual, they would come out of nowhere and suddenly pass me like I was standing still. It was crazy how fast those guys can run on that course. Of course, I always pulled over as quickly as I could and waive them on whenever I saw the faster racers coming up on me. There's no sense in me slowing them down, especially since I'm not competing in their class anyway (which reminds me, I never understood why some racers in other classes don't let me pass when they see me ride up on their tail quickly...its not like we are racing against each other).
LAPS 7 through 9:
In the middle of the 7th lap, I was still following close behind Greg as we made our way around the big sweeping right hand turn on the MX section. Immediately after that turn, we raced around some tall trees with very deep ruts in the corners. Suddenly, Greg's RZR slowed down and starting making odd clicking noises. I'm not sure what happened to his UTV, but he quickly pulled off to the side and I passed him.
Holy cow... that meant I finally had the lead! I was excited, but mostly just RELIEVED to finally get a break from the dirt sandwiches that I had been eating most of the race. It was also much easier to see without all of the dust in my path. Soon thereafter, I noticed that neither Greg nor Ethan were in my rear view mirror, so I let up the pace a little bit and concentrated on finishing a clean race without any mishaps.
After another lap or two later, I was on the MX section again when I noticed Ethan pulling onto the track from the parking lot area. He later told me that his RZR had overheating problems during his 7th lap that caused him to make a pit stop and cool down his motor with some bottled water. Apparently, all of the roost from the track clogged his radiator fins and caused this to happen. Once he got the motor cool again, he re-entered the track on the MX section just behind me. We pressed onward toward the checkered flag.
RACE RESULTS:
When the dust settled, I took the win, Greg placed 2nd and Ethan finished 3rd. As usual, it wasn't my driving skill that got me to the podium. Rather, I can thank "Old Faithful" (my trusty RZR 900xp) for finishing the race without any mechanical issues. As I said all last year, my RZR ain't that fast, but she is very reliable and gets me to the finish line every time.
Winning this race was sweet, but it would have been much better if my son had been there to enjoy it with me. I look forward to Cash re-taking the co-pilot seat again soon.
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:
Alvord, TX… it’s a tiny town about 50 miles north of Ft. Worth. This race was located at a MX track called Oak Hill Raceway. The track was laid out in the large, open pasture area and natural terrain surrounding the main MX track and parking lot. The large pasture area had tons of dirt work and resembled a giant MX track for UTVs (minus the big scary jumps and whoops sections). If this place sounds familiar, it is because we ran the last race of the 2015 TORN season at this very same track just a few months ago.
TRACK CONDITIONS:
On race day (Sunday), the weather was sunny, windy and cool (mid-40's)during the UTV long course practice. When we lined up for the big race at 12:45, the UTV racers were blessed with more sunny skies and temps in the 50s, which felt like air conditioning blowing inside my RZR.
The UTV track length was 3 miles in length and laid out very similar to our last race at this track in January. The front half of the course (near the property entrance) was relatively smooth and included several small to medium-sized, man-made jumps, berms and table top jumps set in the large pasture area. The back half of the course was a little rougher and included deep rutted trails over natural terrain as well as the scoring chute/finish line.
RIDING SOLO:
Usually, I travel to TORN races with my teenage son and co-pilot (Cash). Unfortunately, "mini-me" decided to skip this race so he could go to church on Sunday morning and see his girlfriend. Can't blame him for that. LOL Hopefully he will join me at the next race.
PRACTICE:
Last Saturday night, I made the 5 hour drive to Decatur and stayed in a local hotel. (TIP: I found the Hampton Inn to be very comfortable and much nicer than other hotels in this area. PRO TIP: If you call them to make reservations and tell them you are in town for a race at Oak Hill MX, you get the corporate rate.)
On Sunday morning, I arrived at the track around 10:30am to do some practice laps. During practice laps, I noticed a few things about this course.
First, this course is nearly identical to the track set up at the last race held at this same property in January (which was the last round of the 2015 season). The biggest change was that they moved the scoring chute/finish line from the front of the property (near MX section) to the rear of the property (near natural terrain section) so that they could score both the bikes and UTVs at the same time.
Second, my RZR 900xp is more tipsy on the tight turns causing me to ride up on 2 wheels frequently. I quickly realized the cause for this... my missing co-pilot is more than just my good luck charm; he is also my counter-weight to help balance the car! No worries. I will just have to pay more attention on tight turns to avoid tipping over. (more on this later)
900cc UTV CLASS:
Only 3 racers lined up on the starting line of the 900cc class, including Greg (white RZR 900xp), Ethan (red RZR 900xp) and me (red RZR 900xp). This class is brand new for the 2016 season, and I was very excited to finally compete against other UTVs with similar engine size. Obviously, it is an uphill battle when you line up your 900cc UTV to race against other UTVs with 1000cc and/or Turbo motors. With everyone racing the same machine in this 900cc class, the biggest difference between racers is how much driving skill you possess... or in my case, how lucky you are.
The UTV expert class was so large that they broke it into 2 starting lines. After the UTV expert class, the UTV amateur class started. Next was our 900cc class and we were followed by the 800cc class. The 900cc class was by far the smallest of the 4 UTV classes. With a total of 40 UTVs racing in all 4 classes, it was obvious this would be a very busy race with so many UTVs on the 3 mile track at the same time.
THE START:
On the starting line, we were facing a short run (maybe 40') to the first left-hand turn. I was lined up in the middle with Greg (white RZR) on my left and Ethan (red RZR) to my right. The green flag went up and off we went.
I got a good start and made it to the first turn just before the others. As we made the left-hand turn, I went wide and that left an opening for Greg to take the inside turn. We exited the turn side by side and ontinued racing next to each other as we hit a small jump about 20 yards up the trail and then made a sharp 90 degree left turn. Just after that turn, we entered an "S turn" that has 2 separate paths. I took the right path and Greg took the left. Greg came out first and I fell into 2nd position right behind him. Ethan was right on my tail in 3rd.
LAP 1:
As lap 1 progressed, I continued to nip at Greg's rear bumper and endured a lot of his roost and dust. After we exited the MX section, we entered the back half of the property, which is mostly natural terrain. I was glued to Greg's bumper and hoping he would make a mistake that would give me an opportunity to pass. Soon, we reached the scoring chute and slowed to a crawl... as soon as we passed the chute, we picked up the pace again and made our way around the trees and in and out of the dusty trails that lead in and out of a dry pond area. After we exited the dry pond, we zig zagged around several rutted turns and then re-entered the MX area.
In this MX section, we launched off of several small to medium-sized jumps and slid around the smooth turns. On one of the first turns, I tried to take the inside line and make a pass around Greg. Suddenly, my left rear tire caught traction and my RZR shot up on my left 2 wheels and I instantly thought I was going to roll my RZR onto its left side. Luckily, my instincts kicked in and I jerked the steering wheel to the left and recovered it just before tipping over. Whew! That was a very close call, but a good reminder to be careful on the turns. I pressed onward with the hope of finding another opportunity to pass Greg. Ethan continued to stay close to my rear bumper as our 900cc class continued to race close to one another.
LAPS 2 through 6:
The next several laps were mostly just me eating Greg's roost and choking on the thick dust pouring off of his rear tires. I quickly grew tires of being pelted with chunks of clay/dirt hitting my helmet and goggles and tried desperately to make a clean pass around Greg in the MX section. As hard as I tried, I never could find an opening where I could get a clean pass. He seemed to hit the corners tighter and with more control than I could. In the natural terrain section, I felt like I was a little faster than Greg, but it was too difficult to pass in that section given the deep ruts and narrower trails.
As lap after lap continued, we started seeing UTVs turned over on their sides and/or broke down on the track. Speaking of that, I don't understand why some racers just left their UTV on the course for the rest of the race as it created a safety hazard for other racers and also took away a good passing spot. If the disabled UTV is able to be pushed off the course, that would seem to be the best option for everyone involved. By the end of the race, a dozen UTVs had a DNF and several more suffered mechanical issues that slowed them down and/or prevented them from completing as many laps as possible.
As the race wore on, Greg, myself and Ethan continued to battle and jockey for position, but no one was able to make a successful pass on each other. Occasionally, we would catch and pass a slower racer from the UTV amateur or expert classes. The challenge there was for me to avoid getting stuck behind the lapper, which would allow Greg to gain ground on me.
Also, I would occasionally get passed by one of the UTV expert racers, like the Miller brothers. As usual, they would come out of nowhere and suddenly pass me like I was standing still. It was crazy how fast those guys can run on that course. Of course, I always pulled over as quickly as I could and waive them on whenever I saw the faster racers coming up on me. There's no sense in me slowing them down, especially since I'm not competing in their class anyway (which reminds me, I never understood why some racers in other classes don't let me pass when they see me ride up on their tail quickly...its not like we are racing against each other).
LAPS 7 through 9:
In the middle of the 7th lap, I was still following close behind Greg as we made our way around the big sweeping right hand turn on the MX section. Immediately after that turn, we raced around some tall trees with very deep ruts in the corners. Suddenly, Greg's RZR slowed down and starting making odd clicking noises. I'm not sure what happened to his UTV, but he quickly pulled off to the side and I passed him.
Holy cow... that meant I finally had the lead! I was excited, but mostly just RELIEVED to finally get a break from the dirt sandwiches that I had been eating most of the race. It was also much easier to see without all of the dust in my path. Soon thereafter, I noticed that neither Greg nor Ethan were in my rear view mirror, so I let up the pace a little bit and concentrated on finishing a clean race without any mishaps.
After another lap or two later, I was on the MX section again when I noticed Ethan pulling onto the track from the parking lot area. He later told me that his RZR had overheating problems during his 7th lap that caused him to make a pit stop and cool down his motor with some bottled water. Apparently, all of the roost from the track clogged his radiator fins and caused this to happen. Once he got the motor cool again, he re-entered the track on the MX section just behind me. We pressed onward toward the checkered flag.
RACE RESULTS:
When the dust settled, I took the win, Greg placed 2nd and Ethan finished 3rd. As usual, it wasn't my driving skill that got me to the podium. Rather, I can thank "Old Faithful" (my trusty RZR 900xp) for finishing the race without any mechanical issues. As I said all last year, my RZR ain't that fast, but she is very reliable and gets me to the finish line every time.
Winning this race was sweet, but it would have been much better if my son had been there to enjoy it with me. I look forward to Cash re-taking the co-pilot seat again soon.
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.