Kopiko SX Racing - Iloilo, Pinay - Sept 2013 - 8th Leg

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First and foremost, I wanna introduce 2 more Husqvarna riders for this race series... 8 yr Pogi and his 9 yr old sister Micah ....Micah got 4th place in ladies category and Pogi got 5th place 65cc...

I watched them go around the track and they were fast!! ... Hope these guys last and I last also and in about every case I run through my head, I'll be here with a Husky for these young guys to ride in the future when they get up to the 125\250 size bikes ...

Where did that 012 CR65 come from? Sel-J Sports
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/filipino-sx-racing-2013.30277/#post-275417 post #4

The bike was rode some and sold as demo to these guys parent ... He liked the price as compared to the small ktms and I heard a few more owners of the small ktms say the parts are way-way too high and they would gladly switch to something less expensive ...

Pogi here


Micah



Pogi in the pits ... These guys were all decked out in their Husky gear!


This bike and 2 riders make a 100% increase in Husky bike owners in this series and 100% increase in the number of Husky riders here also ... Not sure we can keep growing here at this clip, but I'm truly happy to have some Husky guys here

 

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I really liked this track ... Most jumps were 30 - 38 ft and about all had a rounded off table-top type landing ramp ... Pretty safe for me ... The berms were huge and allowed railing and also a pivot point on about all corners also ...

The starting gate and straight away




2010 TC250 in the pits.

That's the grand stand in the upper left of this pic... Around that left-hand sweeper was one of the sections I could carry some speed on ...

 

[LandofMotards]

I really wish they brought those to the states. The mini 449's are so cool, my son would have definatly gotten one.

 

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Track pics

 

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I really wish they brought those to the states. The mini 449's are so cool, my son would have definitely gotten one.

The bikes looked as fast as any bike out there and had a better sound that my 08 WR250 which sounds like a yamaha ... These kids were really fast and I'm guessing they have only rode them in a couple races ...

 

[LandofMotards]

I believe it. A lot kids I see pin it and just figure out how to hang on lol. Always the most fun class to watch.

 

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08 WR 250 Husky ... Ayen Ledesma races this bike in the Open enduro class ... ~Any non-MX model bike is allowed here ... At last check he was leading the series in this class ... 4th place finish here overall should keep at or near top ... 3 races remaining ... I really like how he races ... Just enough to get the job done while saving the equipment ... I installed the wrong radiator cap today on his bike for moto 1 and it spewed the coolant out the overflow hose and he still limped the bike home 4th without causing engine damage ..


Sitting in the Sea of Japan bikes ...


I'm riding the stock 2010 TC250 I got from Kelly ... First time racing it on any track ... I gotta say the stock suspension worked perfectly for this 150lbs rider on that track ... This bike has about 50 more hrs than my other TC250, and for whatever reason, just does not feel quite as strong as the other bike ... Maybe the rings are weaker? More on the guys in black later...


I also just put on a new RK 520KRO chain and a motosportz red sprocket on the 4t machine ...

 

[ray_ray]

I believe it. A lot kids I see pin it and just figure out how to hang on lol. Always the most fun class to watch.

These kids here seem fast ... they can roll up those big jumps, over the peak and gas it hard on the way down and get alot of speed that way ... And some jump pretty good also .... Seems like those short bikes would endo easily in the air but I've never saw anyone crash in the air ..

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Racing pics later ...

 

[robertaccio]

I love grass roots racing!! very cool.
Ray, Not to be a kill joy but fast is very relative, we go up to Perris MX mini nights on Tues with my friends boy, at Perris there are Loretta Lynns champs and Youth MxON kids there.........if you want to see little ones that are are world class....its nuts. I truly believe that Ammie me would get gapped by alot of the 65cc and maybe even a couple of the 50cc kids as well.

 

[LandofMotards]

I don't feel bad when kids pass me, they don't have anything to fear because they're like rubber chickens when they kit the ground. I get hurt lol

 

[ray_ray]

I love grass roots racing!! very cool.
Ray, Not to be a kill joy but fast is very relative, we go up to Perris MX mini nights on Tues with my friends boy, at Perris there are Loretta Lynns champs and Youth MxON kids there.........if you want to see little ones that are are world class....its nuts. I truly believe that Ammie me would get gapped by alot of the 65cc and maybe even a couple of the 50cc kids as well.

I can believe you on those guys being really really fast ... It amazing how quick those little bikes can get from point A to point B ...It might have something to do with very good hook-up on those bikes... 25MPH is 25MPH no matter if you are on a 450 or 65cc bike ... The jumping is what looks spooky to me ... I was age ~52 maybe before I did much jumping in my entire life when I arrived here ... Jumping a bike around age 10? By age 17 jumping will be so second nature to these young guys ...

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Grass roots yes and this is their big league here ... Its almost like a big reunion at each race seeing my racing buddies in one location ... And I get to see their PRO riders up close ... Word is Kopiko is sponsoring racing again next yr ... I'll keep doing this racing next yr but I'm sure I'm a trail rider and not a track racer guy ... But ya gotta go to the track to learn how to jump ...

 

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I never raced in the USA really, so I can't compare the real-time racing here with back in the states... probably similar, but here, we do race hard and at the same time, we keep the long term view of whats happening... Meaning we will save the equipment and our bodies as much as possible with-in reason of the finishing place in each moto ...

Here's a few pics of Ayen racing for 4th place I think ...Its a little game of pass, get passed, leading to the checkered flag....

Here's Ayen following some racer over this double ...I think this is 2 laps from the finish ...


Not sure how, but Ayen caught the Kiwi guy on the receiving ramp after that jump... Bad photo work by yours truly ...



Bad photo work here, but you can see as they start to blast down the back side of the take-off ramp, Ayen, on the outside, has pulled dead even with this guy ... Ayen is a true racer and lives for this side-by-side type action ...


Not sure what happened at the last turn, but you can see the Kiwi guy has doubled past Ayen in this section.

 

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And you can see the Kiwi guy doubles out of this section also ... I'm thinking Ayen has something for this guy on the next lap..



Next lap and you can see Ayen with the Kiwi guy not in sight (except his helmet behind the take-off ramp) coming over the same jump as in this sequence of pics.



Here is a better look at that take off ramp... It is very steep and throws the riders way into the air with not a great deal of forward progress ...You can see the suspension compress greatly here on this take-offs (ESP with Ayen breaking so hard after charging up to the tip of the ramp) ..



Here's proof the Kiwi guy is in the rear-view mirror ...Ayen is gone but he did leave the chase rider a little poo as a reminder that he's in front.

 

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Ayen drops in here again ...



Next, Ayen doubles out of this section ..


Then, he doubles into the next section ... No kiwi guy in sight but he is there behind some of the jumps I'm sure ..


Checkered flag in the distance ....

 

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There was probably at least 20 jumps out there ...Only 2, maybe 3 that would have been impossible for me to attempt ... Out of the 17-18 jumps that were possible for me (~40' the longest), probably 10 I should have jumped every lap ... I should have been doubling into each section and doubling out of each section, making it easy to remember where to jump at and where not to jump at ... This strategy would have gotten me a 4th, maybe 3rd place finish ... But it is not so easy once on the track ... My hat is off to any rider who can consistently ride a track to his potential ...

Here are a few pics of the area ...


My good friend and riding buddy, James DoRoy, on his #08 450 bike, sitting in the starting gate. He's really stepping up his racing on that 450!



The 08 WR250 Husky in the pits.



Here is a view of the crowd and Glenn Aguilar being chased by a rider from Mindanao who has stepped up his racing also and giving Mr. Aguilar a run for his 15th MX Championship ... Not sure what is happening but Glenn was not on the 350 ktm ... Word was though that that KX he was riding was tricked out to a high degree ... I did shake his hand and said a few words to Glenn this day, but I'm just a little in awe of this Champ...Same as when I met Kdub once and was up close to a few other AMA PROs....



Pogi on the CR65 Husky ... He was fast and that small bike sounded very good ...

 

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Nothing like a little congressional support at the races ...




You can figure this one out ... Its all goodness I'm sure .. Barotac Neuvo is the name of the town (BRGY) the race is held at ..



Back to the black shirts... This is one aspect of this country that I have a little hard time relating to because of what and where and how I grew up in the states ... The words 'Friendship' and 'Anti Crime' just pop out to me ... Sounds corny and cheezy to some degree ... What are they trying to say? Nothing other than they want to be your friend and help stop any crime before you might experience it or help afterwards... Sounds corny and cheezy and BS? Nope on the BS. These guys just wanna do something good for the community ... No power play, no egos ... just citizens wanting to help the local police and help the local population through crime prevention.

Its just goodness ... This society is far from perfect but its people are good at the core. Filipinos are just full of goodness at their core ... That fact makes staying here and learning how to be a better person, a real blessing for me ... I'll admit, I need more goodness towards my fellow man and these guys set a good example on how to live a life in that manner ... I'm down with them.



What's a race in the Philippines without Pepo Rebi, one of the God-fathers of dirt bike racing here? I'll tell ya later when you come over ... He's never had a real job (I think) and has been racing bikes here for about 30 yrs ... Now that's a life not many of us can lead... He's my Ace in the hole here for all important matters, ESP bike racing ...I'm down with him.

 

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I'll announce it again that if any rider can get over here for any of the next 3 races over the next 3 months, you can ride any bike I have for free at the races as long as you do not conflict with Ayen riding the 250 2t machine ..

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This is a shot of the surrounding country side ... Pinay is a rice and sugarcane growing place for sure ..



Riders night (Saturday night) here for the racers ... Live local band and some catered food ...