Sunday, 9/11 Unadilla New York I would have lost a bet that New York was going to be anything but a complete slop hole. Pits were decent, track was slick in spots but tacky in most areas. Overcast, not too hot, not too cold...just about as good as it gets. Just ran Thunder Ridge AMA National a couple of miles from this track 2 weeks ago so terrain was accounted for... Good 9 mile loop with part of the MX track included; some ran the right way, and some backwards, and hay bales for chicanes to slow down the crazy people for the crazy parts... 40 bikes on the 200 C 16+ row in the morning race with his class starting in the back of the bus again, almost last row. The start pulled a long mucky field into two tight corners and then thru a narrow creek crossing before heading out. I don't have a lot of pictures, the 'photographer' was out of town, but my oldest, Mitch was along and a big help. My aunt and uncle were down from NH and also along for moral support; my mom and sister. Good time! Moment of Silence before the start...Remember 9/11 Terrible start...mid-pack into the first corner and when I could finally see him he was dragging another bike with its handlebars stuck in his swingarm. After dragging the bike a couple of feet it came loose...damage unknown at this point... At the corner before they headed out I started counting 1st, 2nd, 3rd...he was 28th out of 40...later he said he was pissed and on a mission. 15 minutes later at the end of the abbreviated first lap (they cut in at the 4 mile mark at the start) Andy came thru in first by 9 seconds. Gravity Cavity backwards lap 2... His lap times stayed fairly consistant...by the end of the 5th lap he had 2nd down by 6 1/2 minutes. He managed to stay on the lead lap while the others in his class got caught by the checkered. Said he was down twice; minor slid outs in corners. On the gas, minor crashes, persistant and consistant = Good results... Link to lap times... http://www.racer-results.net/results/gncc/2011/laptimes.asp?e=54&c=48&s=4&r=10 Gravity Cavity lap 3... He kept the hammer down and worked hard for a 5th overall out of 380 riders... Link to overall... http://www.racer-results.net/results/gncc/2011/overall.asp?e=54&r=10&s=4 It's very interesting at the end of a good race the amount of people that come up to congratulate him on a good ride and ask the usual question...'Is that a 125 ?' The damage from the starting line get together...the other bike was hanging out Andy's left side, but apparently the handlebar traveled on top of the back tire down to the swingarm, raked the right side of the swingarm, pulled the rear brake hose out of the carrier mounted on top of the swing arm and stuffed it between the shock spring coil and swing arm. That is where it stayed the whole race, along with the mud flap pushed up on top of the swing arm. Could have been the end of the race with no back brakes...lucky. If you're proud of your finish and want to help the sponsors...clean off the number plates and stick it out front! Good Weekend... We've had our share of rough outings this year...It's great when it all comes together. Special Thanks to the Sponsors... Toy Tech Cycles, KB5 Industries, Cycra Handguards, Gaerne Boots, One Industries, RK Chain, Wiseco Pistons, EVS Sports, Montana Motoz
He lapped everyone but 2nd place? Sounds like he's more than ready to move up a class. Great job and congratulations!
Every race series has it's nuisances...and I don't want to paint a false picture of Andy's results. I'll give it a go...There are these 'Sportman' classes that they don't count in the overall (points paying) results you see of the morning race. They do count them physically to end a race. Past 'Sportman' riders have been Jason Raines or Shane Watts caliber. At Unadilla there were 81 riders that are not included in the posted overall results. I recieve text messages during the race that report his true overall, 27 out of 465 riders; still not bad considering the caliber. So, technically the overall race leader lapped up to 2nd place in Andy's class. Andy managed to not get lapped by the leader and stay on the tail end of the lead lap. No small feat in itself. Even though they are equal on the clock; because of the way they start the race, these classes have a good 10 minute physical head start. With the lap times being around 22 minutes these guys are already breathing down your neck when you start a 2 hour race from the next to last row. We are already having discussions about the 'moving up' thing for 'next' year. If he ran one race anywhere that's AMA sanctioned in an upper class then tries to move back he could lose all his current points towards a championship series award. Two years ago he was on an 85, last year a supermini, broke his arm playing lacrosse and then a collarbone; benched the whole year. This is his 1st year with the big bike and in adult races. He has some new found speed that he did not have at the beginning of the year. I agree he could be racing up, but right now he's going to sit tight right were he is. Working hard to keep the 'H' out front... Thanks
Yep, in the videos he doesn't look like a C rider anymore. That is what these series are for though, improving for next year. It has been fun to watch his results so far this year. And he sure should have his passing perfected by now, that is some great experience to have. Later,
