It seems like just a short time ago we were back at Loretta Lynn’s ranch racing the national. I can’t believe that it’s that time of year already to begin the qualifying for the summer national. This past weekend was our first are qualifier for the southwest region. We headed out to Arizona Cycle Park for the weekend to get qualified for the regional qualifier which will be held in June; and also to get some pro am points as well.
Saturday would consist of both 450 A and 250 A classes for me. The day started out good with practice and I was feeling good and looking forward to putting in some solid motos. During riders meeting they announced that all the pro classes for the weekend would run 20 minute plus 2 lap motos. I was pretty stoked to hear this and was really excited about the longer motos and being able to get in a lot of laps. First moto of the day would be 450 A and 250 A was a little later during the day. 450 A started off crazy for most everybody as they dropped the gate before the car went sideways and some people didn’t even have a chance to get their bike in gear. Luckily I had mine in gear and somehow after the slowest reaction known to mankind, I came away with the holeshot. From then on the moto went really smooth for me and there wasn’t too much to talk about. I pulled away within the first couple laps and due to the faster guys getting bad starts I was able to win by a pretty big margin. The first moto of 250 A came around next for me, and I was feeling confident going in. Unfortunately I ended up with last gate pick and was way outside on the start. I managed to get out of the first turn in about 6th and started to work my way up from there. I got in to the lead on the second lap and again was able to pull away and get another win. The day wasn’t over and we still had second motos, but I was feeling really good going in. In the second moto of 450 A, I got another holeshot and lead the race from start to finish getting another win and the overall for the day. 250 A didn’t start out as good as I didn’t get the holeshot and ended up rounding the first turn in 5th. I made quick work of most of the guys and was in second by the end of the first lap. A few laps later I was able to catch the leader and pass him as well and ended up finishing the moto with a win and another overall for the day.
After an awesome day on Saturday I was really looking forward to getting to the track Sunday morning. After a few laps of practice Sunday morning and finding out the moto order for the day, we went down to the line for Open ProSport which was our only moto that day. I ended up with a horrible gate pick first moto and got stuck with a horrible gate. I did my best with the conditions I was delt and came out with a top five start. I worked my way into second pretty fast, and after a little battle with the leader I got into the lead right around the half way mark and was able to ride a good race from there and got the first moto win. I was really looking forward to the second moto and to finishing off the weekend well. The start of the second moto was a little bit of a struggle as I with somewhere in the top five and then got stood up in the first turn. I went back a few positions and then in the second turn there was a pile-up with about five guys right in front of me. After wheeling someone’s bike and getting a little out of control with my foot flying off and stuff in the process, I somehow managed not to crash and was back somewhere in about 15th or so. I made quick work of the first few guys and moved into the top five pretty easily. I then had to really charge to get into second and at that point the leader had opened up a little gap. I was able to slowly gain ground and next thing I knew I was right on his rear tire. I was able to get around him and into the lead, and after only a few more laps of the moto, I was able to walk away with the win and a perfect sweep of the weekend.
Weekend Results:
450 A: 1st place
250 A: 1st place
Open ProSport: 1st place
Overall the weekend was awesome! I couldn’t ask for any better results. I was able to walk away with some good pro-am points as well as a spot at the Loretta Lynn southwest regional come June. Now it’s time to get ready and leave for Texas for or first national of the year at Oak Hill MX. I’m super stoked and am looking forward to an awesome week of racing. Check back throughout the week for updates on the racing action!
Thanks,
Austin Burns #141
Check out a cool little video from the weekend by Lucas Fahringer : http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150658717584734
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