Raced my Twin Peaks at Caddo Point yesterday
#1
11-05-2007 | 04:04 PM
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From: Texas
Raced my Twin Peaks at Caddo Point yesterday
Here's my write-up from yesterday's XC race at Caddo Point.
WHERE:
Yesterday was the 2nd time this season that we raced at Caddo Point located near Cash, TX. This location is the same place where they held the Maxxis 12 hour race last year and will hold it again this coming weekend. The track is a 4 hour drive from my house, so I drove up Sat. evening to spend the night at the track with the plan to get up early for a few practice laps on Sun. morning.
THE TRACK:
The weather this weekend was awesome...as nice as it ever gets in Texas!!! During the race, it was sunny & in the mid-70s...dust was not a problem for most of this race. The track was mostly unchanged since we last raced here (earlier this year) except for some pasture areas that were added to make it longer. Each lap was approx. 6.5 miles long and overall, it was VERY fast and VERY smooth. Other than the MX track (which slowed me down a lot), I was able to stay hard on the throttle for most of the track...even the woods are smooth and wide in most places, so you can just move pretty fast if you have the guts and the HP.
From the starting line, the track quickly enters the MX track that has some small to medium jumps followed by a few table tops. After that, it runs into the woods for the next 3 miles including a trail that runs along the edge of big pond (more on this pond later) and also runs through a few open pastures in the middle of the woods. After that section of woods, the track re-enters the MX track for a small section of whoops and turns and then goes back into the woods for 2 more miles...around the 5 mile marker, the wooded trails get a little tight (can you say THREAD THE NEEDLE?
) and then it opens up to some very fast open pasture areas for the last mile or so. The pasture areas are my favorite part...I can't get enuf of these long open areas where I can nail the throttle and hang on. B)
SOUND CHECK:
For the first time ever, my local XC series will implement strict limits on exhaust noise in 2008. The race organizer brought sound testing equipment to this race so that we could find out if our current pipes will pass the 98 db requirement or not. Unfortunately, my Supertrapp IDSX (with no discs installed) hit 99.6 dbs at approx. 3250 rpms. My pipe is relatively quiet for an aftermarket pipe, so I was hoping it would pass. There is not much packing in my pipe's design, but I will see if I can repack it this winter. I would prefer not to install the discs b/c that usually means REJETTING the carbs again! Arggggh. :angry:
UTE CLASS LINE-UP:
Only 7 utes lined up in our ute class on Sunday...Compared to the first half of the season when we had as many as 14 ute class riders on the line, our numbers have been down lately...not sure exactly why. As I recall, the line-up on Sunday included my twin peaks 800, a P700, a Griz 700, a Grizz 660, a Honda Rancher 400, an Eiger 400 and a new guy on an Outy 650. The GNCC pro who normally races in our ute class skipped this one so he could attend another race in Oklahoma. Without the Pro on the starting line, the rest of us felt like we finally had a shot at 1st place (instead of 2nd).
Everyone introduced ourselves to the new guy on the line...we found out his name is Brady Foster and he normally races in the WPSA. I asked him if that series is pretty hard on quads and he said yes...he went thru 3 quads this season! Brady said he decided to race with us at the last minute (on his "practice quad") just to check out the track for the upcoming Maxxis 12 hour race to be held here in 1 week. It was exciting to have a WPSA racer join us for this race.
THE START:
I lined up towards the left side of the starting line. We had a short distance to the first turn (sharp left turn around a barrel). When the green flag came up, I hit the starter and pulled off the line (felt like I was in slow motion b/c my rear tires were spinning alot). The griz 660 won the holeshot and I was right behind him. I'm not sure, but I think the P700 and Outy 650 were very close behind me.
LAP 1:
When I hit the MX track, I just rolled over each MX jump and tried my best to avoid getting ran over by faster riders. I noticed the new guy (Brady) was flyin' over the jumps like an MX pro...it was quickly apparently that this guy can definitely ride! Before I reached the woods, I was passed by two racers - Brady (outy 650) and Smokin' Willie (Rancher 400)...that meant I was currently in 4th place.
The track took us up the side of a dam that holds back a large pond. We rode along the edge of the pond and then dumped back down into the woods for a short distance. Then we came back up to the edge of the pond and made a left hand turn....this turn is where several riders in the morning race slid off the edge and down into the pond (which was approx. waste deep on the water's edge). When I reached this spot, I saw a sport quad down in the pond and it was lying on its side (I could see 2 wheels sticking up out of the water! LOL). I slowed down to avoid the same result...the track opened up to a small pasture where I hit 60mph before going back into the woods.
We soon came into another short pasture where I hoped to pass a slower sport quad right in front of me...that is when I saw Brady up ahead and he going very slow (maybe 30mph). I passed Brady and I was not sure why he was going so slow (later found out that Brady had some kind of mechanical problem and he had to go back to his truck to fix it at the end of lap 1).
At the end of lap 1, I hit the open pasture areas where I hit 69 mph on the speedo...FUN STUFF! I was trying hard to close the gap between me and the 2 utes ahead of me (Billie and Smokin' Willie). I was approximately 20 seconds behind these 2 guys at the end of lap 1.
LAP 2:
On lap 2, I finally caught up to Smokin Willie in the woods near the 3 mile marker...At the time, he was crossing a dry creek crossing with small logs at the bottom...he suddenly stopped after he came up the other side of the creek crossing (not sure, but I think his motor stalled). I quickly passed him on the right and pulled ahead of him. Much to my surprise Smokin' Willie was not on my tail for long (he is usually very hard to beat in the woods). I later found out that he hit a tree somewhere on the track that caused a leak in his front brake lines. He could not get it repaired at his truck, so he finished the race with only his rear (drum) brakes working.
With Smokin' Willie "in my rear view mirror," I was back in 2nd place following Billie. However, that didn't last long b/c out of no where appeared Brady on my bumper! He was hoggin' my rear bumper, but I was not about to pull over and give up my 2nd place position easily...after all, I am currently in a tight points race with Billie and Smokin' Willie...if Brady wanted to pass me, I was going to make him earn it. I held him off for the next mile or two in the woods, but he quickly passed me when we re-entered the MX track.
At this point, I was 3rd. However, I still had hope that I could catch Brady and Billie in the open pastures near the end of lap 2. Sure enuf, I entered the pasture area and saw Billy not far ahead of me and Brady further ahead of Billie (apparently, Brady already passed Billie by this point). I laid on the gas and hung on for deal life...this time, I hit 71 on the speedo and I was feeling pumped! Near the very end of lap 2, I was getting close Billie when he suddenly pulled of the course and headed back towards his truck...I was not sure why, but later found out he lost tire pressure in one of his rear tires (he's been having this problem lately with his Holeshot ATR tires)...that meant I was currently in 2nd place behind Brady.
LAPS 3 - 5:
At the start of lap 3, I entered the MX track when I caught a glimpse of Brady hitting the MX jumps like a wild man! I'm not sure if anyone bothered to tell him that he was riding on a 600 lb ute, but you would have thought he was on a little 450cc sport quad the way he was hitting some of those jumps! LOL I didn't have much hope of keeping up with Brady and his mad skillz on the MX track, but I kept pushing myself hard the rest of the race in hopes of holding off Billie and Smokin' Willie.
RACE RESULTS:
Brady won the ute class by 2 minutes over the 2nd place finisher (me), followed by Billie in 3rd place. I don't recall the exact order of the other utes, but I recall that Smokin' Willie finished in 6th place thanks to his front brake problems. Obviously it would have been nice to win, but I can't complain about my 2nd place finish and beating both Billie and Smokin' Willie when I have a narrow lead over them in season points...with only 1 race left this season, every point counts!
I hope you enjoyed my write-up!
WHERE:
Yesterday was the 2nd time this season that we raced at Caddo Point located near Cash, TX. This location is the same place where they held the Maxxis 12 hour race last year and will hold it again this coming weekend. The track is a 4 hour drive from my house, so I drove up Sat. evening to spend the night at the track with the plan to get up early for a few practice laps on Sun. morning.
THE TRACK:
The weather this weekend was awesome...as nice as it ever gets in Texas!!! During the race, it was sunny & in the mid-70s...dust was not a problem for most of this race. The track was mostly unchanged since we last raced here (earlier this year) except for some pasture areas that were added to make it longer. Each lap was approx. 6.5 miles long and overall, it was VERY fast and VERY smooth. Other than the MX track (which slowed me down a lot), I was able to stay hard on the throttle for most of the track...even the woods are smooth and wide in most places, so you can just move pretty fast if you have the guts and the HP.
From the starting line, the track quickly enters the MX track that has some small to medium jumps followed by a few table tops. After that, it runs into the woods for the next 3 miles including a trail that runs along the edge of big pond (more on this pond later) and also runs through a few open pastures in the middle of the woods. After that section of woods, the track re-enters the MX track for a small section of whoops and turns and then goes back into the woods for 2 more miles...around the 5 mile marker, the wooded trails get a little tight (can you say THREAD THE NEEDLE?
) and then it opens up to some very fast open pasture areas for the last mile or so. The pasture areas are my favorite part...I can't get enuf of these long open areas where I can nail the throttle and hang on. B) SOUND CHECK:
For the first time ever, my local XC series will implement strict limits on exhaust noise in 2008. The race organizer brought sound testing equipment to this race so that we could find out if our current pipes will pass the 98 db requirement or not. Unfortunately, my Supertrapp IDSX (with no discs installed) hit 99.6 dbs at approx. 3250 rpms. My pipe is relatively quiet for an aftermarket pipe, so I was hoping it would pass. There is not much packing in my pipe's design, but I will see if I can repack it this winter. I would prefer not to install the discs b/c that usually means REJETTING the carbs again! Arggggh. :angry:
UTE CLASS LINE-UP:
Only 7 utes lined up in our ute class on Sunday...Compared to the first half of the season when we had as many as 14 ute class riders on the line, our numbers have been down lately...not sure exactly why. As I recall, the line-up on Sunday included my twin peaks 800, a P700, a Griz 700, a Grizz 660, a Honda Rancher 400, an Eiger 400 and a new guy on an Outy 650. The GNCC pro who normally races in our ute class skipped this one so he could attend another race in Oklahoma. Without the Pro on the starting line, the rest of us felt like we finally had a shot at 1st place (instead of 2nd).
Everyone introduced ourselves to the new guy on the line...we found out his name is Brady Foster and he normally races in the WPSA. I asked him if that series is pretty hard on quads and he said yes...he went thru 3 quads this season! Brady said he decided to race with us at the last minute (on his "practice quad") just to check out the track for the upcoming Maxxis 12 hour race to be held here in 1 week. It was exciting to have a WPSA racer join us for this race.
THE START:
I lined up towards the left side of the starting line. We had a short distance to the first turn (sharp left turn around a barrel). When the green flag came up, I hit the starter and pulled off the line (felt like I was in slow motion b/c my rear tires were spinning alot). The griz 660 won the holeshot and I was right behind him. I'm not sure, but I think the P700 and Outy 650 were very close behind me.
LAP 1:
When I hit the MX track, I just rolled over each MX jump and tried my best to avoid getting ran over by faster riders. I noticed the new guy (Brady) was flyin' over the jumps like an MX pro...it was quickly apparently that this guy can definitely ride! Before I reached the woods, I was passed by two racers - Brady (outy 650) and Smokin' Willie (Rancher 400)...that meant I was currently in 4th place.
The track took us up the side of a dam that holds back a large pond. We rode along the edge of the pond and then dumped back down into the woods for a short distance. Then we came back up to the edge of the pond and made a left hand turn....this turn is where several riders in the morning race slid off the edge and down into the pond (which was approx. waste deep on the water's edge). When I reached this spot, I saw a sport quad down in the pond and it was lying on its side (I could see 2 wheels sticking up out of the water! LOL). I slowed down to avoid the same result...the track opened up to a small pasture where I hit 60mph before going back into the woods.
We soon came into another short pasture where I hoped to pass a slower sport quad right in front of me...that is when I saw Brady up ahead and he going very slow (maybe 30mph). I passed Brady and I was not sure why he was going so slow (later found out that Brady had some kind of mechanical problem and he had to go back to his truck to fix it at the end of lap 1).
At the end of lap 1, I hit the open pasture areas where I hit 69 mph on the speedo...FUN STUFF! I was trying hard to close the gap between me and the 2 utes ahead of me (Billie and Smokin' Willie). I was approximately 20 seconds behind these 2 guys at the end of lap 1.
LAP 2:
On lap 2, I finally caught up to Smokin Willie in the woods near the 3 mile marker...At the time, he was crossing a dry creek crossing with small logs at the bottom...he suddenly stopped after he came up the other side of the creek crossing (not sure, but I think his motor stalled). I quickly passed him on the right and pulled ahead of him. Much to my surprise Smokin' Willie was not on my tail for long (he is usually very hard to beat in the woods). I later found out that he hit a tree somewhere on the track that caused a leak in his front brake lines. He could not get it repaired at his truck, so he finished the race with only his rear (drum) brakes working.
With Smokin' Willie "in my rear view mirror," I was back in 2nd place following Billie. However, that didn't last long b/c out of no where appeared Brady on my bumper! He was hoggin' my rear bumper, but I was not about to pull over and give up my 2nd place position easily...after all, I am currently in a tight points race with Billie and Smokin' Willie...if Brady wanted to pass me, I was going to make him earn it. I held him off for the next mile or two in the woods, but he quickly passed me when we re-entered the MX track.
At this point, I was 3rd. However, I still had hope that I could catch Brady and Billie in the open pastures near the end of lap 2. Sure enuf, I entered the pasture area and saw Billy not far ahead of me and Brady further ahead of Billie (apparently, Brady already passed Billie by this point). I laid on the gas and hung on for deal life...this time, I hit 71 on the speedo and I was feeling pumped! Near the very end of lap 2, I was getting close Billie when he suddenly pulled of the course and headed back towards his truck...I was not sure why, but later found out he lost tire pressure in one of his rear tires (he's been having this problem lately with his Holeshot ATR tires)...that meant I was currently in 2nd place behind Brady.
LAPS 3 - 5:
At the start of lap 3, I entered the MX track when I caught a glimpse of Brady hitting the MX jumps like a wild man! I'm not sure if anyone bothered to tell him that he was riding on a 600 lb ute, but you would have thought he was on a little 450cc sport quad the way he was hitting some of those jumps! LOL I didn't have much hope of keeping up with Brady and his mad skillz on the MX track, but I kept pushing myself hard the rest of the race in hopes of holding off Billie and Smokin' Willie.
RACE RESULTS:
Brady won the ute class by 2 minutes over the 2nd place finisher (me), followed by Billie in 3rd place. I don't recall the exact order of the other utes, but I recall that Smokin' Willie finished in 6th place thanks to his front brake problems. Obviously it would have been nice to win, but I can't complain about my 2nd place finish and beating both Billie and Smokin' Willie when I have a narrow lead over them in season points...with only 1 race left this season, every point counts!
I hope you enjoyed my write-up!
#3
11-07-2007 | 09:48 AM
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From: Texas
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