Not sure whether to put this in the race section or the two stroke section, Mods, go ahead and move this if I put it in the wrong forum. I rode my WR125 at race pace for the first time yesterday, I entered the 200C (Beginner) class and was shooting for at least a mid-pack finish. I'm no racer and have only been to the track a couple of times but I ride with some very fast guys (I'm looking at you Jake and Kelly) and it turns out I've learned more trail riding with those two than I realized. It didn't look like it was going to go well from the beginning, I couldn't sleep the night before, I just kept imagining different scenarios, especially concerning the start. I had no idea what I was in for but had never been on a starting line and from what I've seen of it on TV it usually results with a pileup or someone having to put the brakes on hard to keep from being pinched off in the first turn. I ended up not falling asleep until after 2am, then waking up around 3, 4, 5, then 6am. I finally got out of bed at 6:15am but was moving slow and ended up getting a late start, my first race and I'm going to miss the starting line. Damn. Jake picked me up in his rally racer and even with a trailer he was making really good time, doing his best to get me to the track on time. The whole thing was comical, when we got to the track there was a line of cars waiting to get in so while Jake was driving in I was on the trailer checking tire pressures and warming my bike up. Then, as we pull in we find out the start has been postponed 30 minutes. I couldn't believe my luck, I was going to make the start after all! I ran up to get registered and didn't even know which class to enter. I was hoping it would be obvious but they were using classes Beginner, Amateur, Expert, and Pro which I didn't realize meant C, B, A, and AA. The lady taking my cash to sign up asked which class I was entering, my response "It's my first time racing, I'm over 30, and on a 125cc bike". She tells me I should be in Over 30 Beginner because my 125 isn't allowed in the 200 class. Now I don't know much about the rules but I was certain it was under 200cc, not exactly 200cc so I asked her to double check and after she confirmed that I was allowed to enter the 200 Beginner class I went ahead and entered that one since I had made her go to the trouble of verifying my eligibility. So I'm all set to race, I head out to the track and am sitting there with everyone around me on KTM 200 two strokes and various 250Fs. At this point I'm thinking I'm going to get smoked on the start but at least that means no worries about rushing into the first turn five riders wide when I hear the announcement that it is a dead engine start, and that I would have to straddle the rear fender at the start. Now this is probably old hat to most of you but it came as a surprise to me. I had only tried a race start once before, just playing around at a track with Jake, Kelly, and a few other guys. It ended up with Jake getting the holeshot and Kelly laughing his ass off at me as I looped out my bike. I had been meaning to practice my starts since that day but never gotten around to it. And now I have a slick grass track, and have to jump on the bike and then compete with electric start four strokes. As far as I'm concerned getting a good start is impossible at that point but I figured I'd give it my all and see what happened, the silver lining being if I get a bad start at least I won't be pressured by a bunch of guys trying to get around me. So there I am, standing behind the bike deciding what to do. Should I jump over the back of the bike or run around the side and mount normally. I did a quick practiced of stepping to the side of the bike, then throwing a leg over and it felt slow so I tried jumping over the back fender only to catch the crotch of my pants on the rear fender and earn a chuckle from the guy behind me. Not deterred in any way I try it again, this time pushing down on the rear fender hard and springing over it, that worked much better Time to start the race, I have the bike in second, kicker out, and a plan of action. I'm going to leap over the rear fender, land with my hand on the clutch and foot on the kicker, instantly breathing life into the motor and launching as I'm landing on the seat. Well, that or I'll miss the kicker, catch my pants on the fender, or miss the clutch and just not start the bike. I wished I had time to practice it at least once but wasn't sure if we were allowed to start the bike at this point since the start was only about a minute away and nobody else had their bikes running. Nothing left to do but to give it a go. At the starting line I'm standing there straddling my rear fender looking at all of the bigger bikes on both sides of me, and especially the teenage kids off to my right thinking I'm going to get schooled but anxious to test my mettle and see if I have really improved as much in the past year as I think I have. The flag drops, I spring forward over the rear fender with as much strength as I have hoping to clear the rear fender and land far enough up on the gas tank to be able to get a good start and not loop out, knowing I can't afford to miss the clutch lever or kick starter. Unbelievably, it worked. I hear the bike fire before my ass hits the seat and I managed to launch before any of the electric start guys have even fired their bikes. Even if everything went perfectly I hadn't planned for this and had no idea I would be alone going into the first corner. So much for rubbing elbows diving into that first turn. By the fifth turn I was all alone, so much so that Jake thought I had blown the start and was 30 seconds behind the guys ahead of me. In reality that was the class that started a minute earlier, I had a good few seconds lead on everyone else in my class and never looked back. Once I got into a groove I was floored at how much power that WR125 makes at sea level, I have only put time on it in the mountains before where it has a bit of a hole in the powerband. No hole at sea level, it flat out ripped everywhere. The fast guys on 450s were still coming around me on the flat corners of the grass track but none of the 250Fs were and on the one long uphill pull (nicknamed Horsepower hill) I was able to pass someone every lap except the first lap when I ended up heading up the hill with no other bikes in site to pass. I was shocked at how hard it was pulling, When I clicked into fourth up the hill I was pretty sure the motor was going to bog but it just kept pulling. Very impressive. After that I just settled into the pace I normally try to keep when trail riding with Kelly and Jake as I hadn't been on the bike in a month and didn't want to end up exhausted before the race ended. Next time I will put a watch on my bike or at least calculate how long I expect my laps to be so I have some idea where I am in the race. After an hour and a half when the race was finally over I thought I was only about 45 minutes in. My first thought was really, it's over, already? I had no idea who was in my class and who wasn't, there were well over 50 bikes on the track but only 9 were in my class and I certainly couldn't keep track of them so when the race ended I had no idea how I had done but felt like it was a solid performance. I had gotten passed by about five guys but had managed to pass at least ten others. When the results were in I had taken the win and the holeshot on my little WR125! Thanks for talking me into racing yesterday Jake, I'll definitely be doing it again but after seeing the results I will sign up for the 200B class next time. Holeshot! Thanks to Jake and Brenna for the great pictures
Brilliant !! Also good on your sportsmanship for all ready stating your jump into the B class!!! Nice shots, very nice conditions!!R PS elbows up and rip the vet Bs next time!!
Awesome Shane i did not ride Washougal at all this year, I need to. Funny how that fateful ride in the slop on my 04 CR125 turned into this huh? Now get moved so we can go ride.
That's a killer story. And congrats on the win... awesome! I would have loved to make that one, but the wife had other plans for me. Did this race run a similar course to the hangover scramble? What other races do you plan on running this year? If you enter the 30B class then I'll represent the Husky's with you
What a great first race. I wish my first race went like that, but it didn't. At least I managed to beat my friend that convinced me to come out and try racing.
I'm not sure if it's a similar course to the Hangover scramble. I've never run that race but now that I have a taste for it I may have to run it this year. I had no plans for any other races except the Baja 1000 but now I may have to see what else is out there and enter a few. The 24 hours of Starvation Ridge is looking good. Baja is actually the primary reason I did this race. Jake and I are heading down to do the Baja 1000 and I mentioned to him that I actually have no idea how to pass anyone, have never had to do it since I don't race and that I needed to learn. He said why not race this weekend so I did. It took me a couple of laps to get passing figured out, seems like at least in my class the trick was either to rail the outside or to late apex the turn, run wide, then square it up and shoot up the inside. Whenever I tried just taking the usual line but faster I ended up getting crowded out at the last minute and needing to jam on my brakes to keep from running into the guy I was trying to pass but then I heard the brilliant technique of yelling at the guy ahead of you which I will try next race. It never occurred to me to yell at someone but I guess it's enough to startle people and make them hesitate just long enough to squeeze by them.
Yep, do it all the time in off road races. Sneak up as quiet as possible, get as close as you can and scream loud, they will look back in shock and you hammer it and blow by. Good fun.
If you really want some practice passing enter the China Hat Fall Classic. Aint nothing like passing at 40-50mph on a 3ft wide trail with dust so thick you can't see your handlebars. And there's 200 other crazies behind you trying to do the same. Good times! My favorite thing to do when a rider is being rude and wont let you pass: -Back off to give them a false sense of security -Creep back into tow -Clutch in and then bounce the motor off the rev limiter while screaming 'Get the hell outa the way' -Make sure they are uninjured after the crash -Say 'Thank you' and motor on I may not be the fastest guy on the track, but I live for the pass. No finer feeling! I wont be seeing you at the 25hr, but I will be at the hangover. Hungover and hating every second of it.
It's funny, it doesn't faze me a bit. If someone came flying up on me I knew they were much faster than me and were lapping me, so I pulled right over. If they were struggling to catch me and yelled at me then I figured they are near my speed and I should be racing them, so I wouldn't move an inch, might even guard the inside of the corners a bit more than usual. I wasn't trying to piss anyone off but it's a race and getting around me is part of racing so if I wasn't lap traffic I wasn't moving over just because someone was yelling at me. Being yelled at only caught me off guard once, and it was the only time during the race I went off the trail. Ben came up behind me and yelled "Go Shane!!!" just as I was at the apex of a turn, I got startled and hammered it a bit harder than I should have, the rear end swung around and I launched straight off the track on the inside. It was a 90 degree turn but I ended up turning about 135 degrees. Nice of him to say hi though
I didn't think it would faze me either. Until a AA guy used me as a berm last year cause I didn't move fast enough. I'm no lightweight (220#) and that skinny dude punted me straight off the course. Also, I didn't mean that I am an ass when passing people. Just the opposite actually. But, I will get aggressive if a slower rider refuses to give up the position. If I have to ask more than twice then I'll refer to plan B. Enter a race down at EFR sometime. When you only have 3ft of trail to work with things get interesting
Bravo!! Excellent story, excellent photos, and excellent race results You tell an entertaining story, and I'm already looking forward to your next race report WoodsChick
Shane's premature left turn. Hello Husky fans! Sorry for the break in concentration Shane. I was in go-go race mode and when I recognized your stance and steed I got a grin on my face similar to the pic shown here. I wasn't trying to put you into the brush. I was actually going to show you my sweet line through that fresh cut section in the trees. Sorry dude.
Nice report! Hmmm... well it really isn't fair to you to leave it in the 2st section because others won't find it as easy in the future, I'll move it to the racing forum.
Ha! I was in a shocking mood and since I saw that WoodsChick aka "Trail Princess" chimed in I felt it was appropriate. I wrote a story about the Dick Jagow that includes pics and video. http://www.examiner.com/x-9668-Portland-Motorcycle-Examiner~y2009m9d21-Dick-Jagow-Memorial-GP-2009 Actually, there are two pieces. Here's the second. http://www.examiner.com/x-9668-Portland-Motorcycle-Examiner~y2009m9d21-Dick-Jagow-Memorial-GP-2009-video-and-slideshow On a personal note. I found the race fun and I hope your knee feels better Tami.
