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Price Utah WORCS This was my first trip to the race in Utah. I heard it was pretty fast in places so I geared my bike up to 14-46 and entered the open pro race. There weren't as many riders in attendance as in the past few races with just eight racers in the open pro race. I lined up on the inside but got a bad jump when we had to take our left hand off our helmet and jump on the bike. After a long sweeping first turn we went straight out to the off road section. It didn't take me long to see that dust was going to be a major problem during the weekend. The dust was that talcum powder white dust that was hard to see through and hard to see definition in the terrain. We went along a couple of ridges then hit a series of fast fireroads on the way back to the motocross track. We did half a lap on the moto track then headed out to the desert. This section was really neat. We went down a couple of tight washes then acrross some valleys then down another neat wash. From there we had some fast section broken up with a couple of whooped out ridges bringing us back to the rest of the motocross track. It took me a couple of laps to figure it out but the track would have been cool if not for the dust. I thought it looked like a track in a video game with the color of dirt and the the type of terrain in the washes. One thing was very real though and that was the dust. Another thing which was real was the wind, and since I have had a bad wind experience I didn't even get my tires off the ground on any of the jumps on the motocross track. I hooked up with Bryce Olsen and we raced for a couple of laps until I went into the pits for gas. Bryce's dad, Trevor was pitting for me and he said I shouldn't have come in because I had a good race going with Bryce and didn't want to make him stand in the pits all race. Nathan Woods won the open race ahead of Mark Tilley, then Bryce and myself. For Sunday I went down to the local car wash and took care of the bike by changing to fresh Maxxis tires and putting in a new air filter. Since my start didn't work out too well on Saturday I decided to go more to the outside for the sweeping first turn. We had a parade lap and that was the first time I had the opportunity to do the jumps on the motocross track. The track was rather easy so I didn't have any problems with the track. Since I was geared up I started in first gear instead of my usual second gear start. I got a good jump on the gate and carried first gear for a long time down the start straight. The outside worked out pretty well since I wouldn't have been the first one to the corner on the inside and I could keep the throttle buried for about a tenth place start. I held my own on the moto track but when we hit the dust on the off road portion I was getting passed. I was having a hard time pushing it in the dust, in addition to being a notorious slow starter. Kurt Caselli grabbed the holeshot on his KTM 300 but made a small mistake and was passed by Nathan Woods. Mark Tilley, Russ Peason, Bobby Bonds, and Ty Davis were all out front setting the pace. I was pretty upset with the way that I was riding and I just couldn't really get it going. I had a stupid crash in the dust where my handle bar hit the top of my knee brace and gave me a charlie horse. It took me about thirty seconds before I could bend my leg enough to start the bike and get going again. I have to thank Cody, Trevor along with Rich Caselli for taking care of me when I came in to pit. All of a sudden it started to hail and rain a bit and that seemed to spark my speed. With most of the pack ahead of me and a little less dust from the hail I could pick up on a couple lines and started charging. I felt better as the race went along was ready for more when I saw the checkered flag. Nathan Wood dominated the field on the day and now has a commanding points lead in the series. Russ Pearson charged hard all day long as usual for another second place finish, with Bobby Bonds taking the final spot on the box. Destry Abbott was fourth followed by Mark Tilley. Local district 36 rider Bryce Olsen had a strong race and just missed the top ten with 11th place. I had a disappointing race overall and finished in 17th. |