So Cal GP race review

This was my first time to the ranch and it was a long drive at 175 miles. I know that is nothing for KJ but a long way for me pulling my trailer. We got there around 9:30 Friday night and there wasn't much room left to park. We found a dried up water basin thing that some people were camped in so I squeezed my trailer back in with them. It ended up working out to be a perfect spot and was right at the start line and easy to get to the signup area. Terri and Cynthia camped next to us when they got there Saturday morning.

Saturday morning came and I got up early to get signed up for the unclassified race. Saw Garry and Ashlee at the signups and chatted for a bit and then went back to get ready. I just wanted to get out and see the course and see how my new front tire was going to act. It was just a tire I pulled off my shelf that was a DOT tire so I didn't know how it would do in this terrain. The moto section was about half the course it seemed like but was really fun. The only complaint about the course was the lack of markings in one spot on the first lap of the unclassified. It was a section where they tied two tracks together and they took us off on a side road but then after a short bit put us back on another track. The problem was the side road continued around the corner and a bunch of us stayed on the side road thinking that was the way since there was no markings. Well this little detour around this corner ended up cutting out at least a mile of the course. I stopped on the 2nd lap and told the corner workers to get some ribbon and block of the road. Other than that the course was a really fun course that suited the desert guy like me. The unclassified race was watered really well and there was little dust except one silty section where you could see two feet in front of you.

My real race was race 3 along with Gary La Charite, Matt Alexander and Mike Hastings. One thing that presented itself was the start was not wide enough for the actual class races. Getting 16 guys on one line was almost impossible. I was 2nd to the end and luckily got a jump on the guy next to me who had no where to go. Well the water dried up and the course was now pretty dusty but I think that was something the favored me over some of the moto guys. I was actually passing people in this race compared to just getting passed at Glen Helen. The course was also a lot choppier by only race 3 but it was still fun. Another thing that was a surprise was the enduro cross section that they didn't have in the unclassified race. It was pretty easy and was actually more fun since it was obstacles but not overly hard. Right after that we went through dried up river bed or something that was just solid rocks. Again this was good for me since some of the moto guys were just bouncing of the rocks in all different directions. Overall I had a fun race and did 4 laps.

Nate raced the Pee Wee race which was one of the best parts to the weekend. After searching for the Pee Wee track since there no signs saying where it was, Nate got a couple of practice laps in. There were only 9 kids but Nate had his best race so far! Three kids were much faster than the rest of the pack. It was two KTM's and Nate. The 1st place kid almost lapped Nate twice by the end of the 25 minute moto so he is ready for the youth program for sure. Nate and the other KTM had a good battle for most of the race. Nate passed him early on and a lap or so later Nate took a high line and the KTM passed him back. Then Nate just keep him insight for another 15 minutes or so. They were both flying by the other kids and seeing Nate plan his passes was great. A few laps from the end, Nate made his pass and left the other KTM behind and took 2nd place. They don't actually count places in the Pee Wee race and some of the kids are just learning to ride. It was just great and a proud moment for me to see how good he was riding and how determined he was to try and do his best. He is really proud of his trophy and really feels like it means something. He didn't want a trophy from the HBMC race since he keep falling in the sand and didn't feel like he did very good. He really wants to earn it and this one he did. Seeing him have fun and feel so good is what this is all about.

From a racers stand point they did a good job for their first year of putting on a real GP. There were some issues behind the scenes that they need to learn from but most people wouldn't have seen or known about it. They had a great raffle on Saturday night and raffled off a bunch of prizes. This was combined with the free hot dog and hamburger BBQ and they had a really good turnout.

Friday night and Saturday the place was about as full as it could get with campers. After the races, some of the campers cleared out and then Sunday morning, the trucks with bikes started coming in. So far it looks like they are going to have a similar turnout as Vikings did when they were there. around 800 or so entries.

It is a long way to get there but I will go back again next year.