Pre Race: When we got to the race Saturday morning, the whole crew had nothing but smiles on. The weather was perfect, the ground looked perfect, and we were ready for a perfect race. KTM was doing demo rides with all of the 2011 bikes so I was excited to try that out until I got shut down because I’m not 18. I was still able to test my bike on their little track to tune in everything. We got our numbers put on then got to bed really early seeing as we were running on very little sleep from the night before. I was ready to go racing!
Race: First off we were on row 96. With 5 riders per row, we had 475 riders ahead of us which really took a tole on the trails. The first test was only 4 miles, and I felt pretty good besides the initial arm pump I always get. The second test was 9.5 miles with a mix of fast, flowing, sandy trails, and then very tight single track. I rode well through there but tagged a tree with my bark buster one time, which ended up falling off later in the test. I was having to ride a little timid in the tight stuff, but it didn’t really affect me to much. Before the third test, my dad was nice enough to give me his bark buster so I didn’t have to worry about that anymore. The third test was much faster than the first two, and I still felt like I was riding well. At the gas, I noticed a noise coming from my gas tank, and realized it was trying to vapor lock on me. I put a different hose on hoping that would fix the problem, but unfortunately it didn’t work. From here on out is where my race somewhat fell apart. Due to our inexperience with this type of enduro format, we were late entering the fourth test after the main gas. I was down a minute going into the 14 mile test. About the time I got going in that test I realized the gas hose had come off so I was getting soaked with gas throughout the rest of the race. I really struggled in the fourth test, partially because I was paranoid about the gas spilling everywhere, and then I got stuck in a mud hole with literally nowhere to go because of the traffic. The fifth test was pretty good compared to the fourth, so I got a little confidence boost there. The last test was the exact same as the second test, with 3 miles added to it. I rode consistent, and finished the long day. In my first ever national enduro I tied for 10th in 250A, and was 54th overall. This was definitely not the finish I was expecting, but I finished safe and had a blast doing it.
Results (250A): 1. Kody Fennell (Yam)
2. Grant Baylor (KTM)
3. Dane Shoeneberg (Yam)
4. Andrew Kendrick (Yam)
5. Nick Hunter (KTM)
6. Ben Smith (Suz)
7. Dillon Swaim (KTM)
8. Chance Baker (GG)
9. JD Friebel (Hsq)
10. Cary Eberts (KTM)
11. Zach Ingram (KTM)
Thanks to the following for their support: Bill Eddy’s Motorsports, KTM, Moose Racing, Rekluse, Enduro Engineering, Source MX, Alpinestars, Smith, Sixsixone, FMF, Clockwork KTM, and most importantly, God.
