TORO Round 2

Zach Ingram

TORO Round 2

November 20, 2011

  

Pre-Race: Last weekend at the enduro in Texas, I talked with Steve Leivan and he said he would be going to the TORO this weekend so that gave me an idea of trying to go with him. Later in the week the plans were finalized, and I met Steve in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday night. Saturday was open to practice so we put in a few laps. I would say about half of the track was awesome with perfect dirt and flowy single track, but the other half was very dusty, with fast grass track and silty turns which was not very fun. We had a great dinner Saturday night thanks to the Leivan and Pratt families, and were ready for some racing!

 

Race: There were 16 pros signed up, so we drew sticks to pick spots on the starting line. I drew 11 so I didn’t have the best spot, but I had to make it work. I got a good jump, and went into the woods in 4^th behind Cooper Bailey. Kirkpatrick was out front, with Bryan Vaughan behind him. I knew Kirkpatrick was the fastest guy there, so I wasn’t too worried about him being out front. I stayed behind Vaughan and Bailey for the whole first lap. On lap two Bailey made a mistake and Cameron Ishmael and I were able to get by him. Ishmael got away from me, and about that time Caleb Ramsey caught me. They were both really on the gas, and I couldn’t hang with them in the fast fields. I finally caught up to Vaughan, and we had a good battle going for the last few laps. I was running in 4^th place the last few laps, with Vaughan not far behind. There was a hill with an alternate line close to the end of the lap, and the hard way was about 20 seconds faster than the long way around. On laps 4 and 5, I was forced to go the long way around because of lappers being crashed on the hill, and there was only one line up. Each time I had to go around Vaughan was able to make it up the hill clean and close the gap I had right back up. Going into the last lap, I pulled in for gas just to be safe. I didn’t have a quick fill, so it took longer than it should have, but Frank Leivan did a great job helping me with that. Unfortunately, Vaughan got by me while I was in the pits, but I was on a mission to get back by him. I caught him and we were battling, each swapping positions once on the last lap. He was ahead of me when we got to that same hill climb on the last lap. We caught a lapper right as we were approaching the hill, and Vaughan was able to get around him but I wasn’t. Bryan cleared the hill fine, but sadly the lapper couldn’t make it happen. Once again I was forced to go the long way around and lose another 20 or so seconds. There was only 1.5 miles left from there, and I wasn’t able to catch him. I was very disappointed after the race, because I knew I had the speed and should have finished 4^th. With that said, congrats to Vaughan, he rode a great race. Steve and I were talking on the way home and decided that was probably the most stacked regional pro class we have ever seen, so I guess 5^th wasn’t too bad. I had a blast this weekend racing, and can’t thank the Leivan’s and Pratt’s enough for taking care of me. Hopefully I can make it to another TORO this year!

 

Results(Overall)

1. Cole Kirkpatrick(KTM)

2. Cameron Ishmael (KAW)

3. Caleb Ramsey (KTM)

4. Bryan Vaughan (KTM)

5. Zach Ingram(KTM)

6. Hadyn Franklin (GG)

7. Cameron   Kirkpatrick(KTM)

8. Steve Leivan (KTM)

Thanks to the following for their support: Bill Eddy’s Motorsports, KTM, Moose Racing, Rekluse,   Silkolene, EnduroEngineering, Bridgestone, Source MX, Clockwork KTM, Smith,   Sixsixone, FMF, my family, and most importantly God.