MikeB
Husqvarna
AA Class
Not many races here in Tucson so I took advantage and entered a 2 hour GP race at the local MX track. I finished 7th out of 15 Ironaman entries. Overall (including expert and sportsman teams) I finished somewhere around 17th out of about 35.
The bike was perfect ... at the end of a long (about 100 yard) run to turn 1 I was 3rd ... in turn 3 I was able to get the inside position on a 450 and moved up to 2nd as we entered the 50" desert trail. The 4 1/2 mile loop was 2nd thru 5th gear and the 310 handled so well ... but as we caught the team rows visibility became horrible. Hard to race with confidence on an unknown course when you can't see 6 feet ahead. I ran literally bar-to-bar for a mile with an old air cooled big bore yamaha 2 stroke which smelled great - very fun. Back at the MX track (I'll be 60 in august and been riding for a little over 5 years but this was my 4th time on a track) the first jump was a pretty big table top which I hit faster than prudent (hey, I was racing) and the little 310 just soaked it up as I landed hard but almost cleared it. I thought the Husky was dying as I raced around the track - it didn't accelerate very well and slowed like I had the brakes on every time I let off the gas. So I pulled over at the exit of the MX track/gas pits/rider change pits. Nothing wrong with the bike ... it turned off and restarted and revved fine ... it rolled back and forward just fine ... oh well - back to the race!
It turned out that the track was so deep that it just sucked the power and speed out of the bike. I ended up running off course in the dust at least a half dozen times and must have washed the front and tipped over in the silt at least once a lap. Passed a bunch of riders - the 310 had all it needed. Got thirsty and pulled in the pits at exactly 1 hour - gassed up and found my drink tube. Had a real good dice with a guy on a YZ250 smoker off and on all race long. Worked my way up to clearing the big table top on my last 2 laps - and doubling some big rollers. As I started my last lap I did some mental calculations - 11 laps times 10 minutes so ... I should have at least 2 more ... but I was tired, tired, tired and very glad to see the checkered when I got there.
The bike was perfect ... at the end of a long (about 100 yard) run to turn 1 I was 3rd ... in turn 3 I was able to get the inside position on a 450 and moved up to 2nd as we entered the 50" desert trail. The 4 1/2 mile loop was 2nd thru 5th gear and the 310 handled so well ... but as we caught the team rows visibility became horrible. Hard to race with confidence on an unknown course when you can't see 6 feet ahead. I ran literally bar-to-bar for a mile with an old air cooled big bore yamaha 2 stroke which smelled great - very fun. Back at the MX track (I'll be 60 in august and been riding for a little over 5 years but this was my 4th time on a track) the first jump was a pretty big table top which I hit faster than prudent (hey, I was racing) and the little 310 just soaked it up as I landed hard but almost cleared it. I thought the Husky was dying as I raced around the track - it didn't accelerate very well and slowed like I had the brakes on every time I let off the gas. So I pulled over at the exit of the MX track/gas pits/rider change pits. Nothing wrong with the bike ... it turned off and restarted and revved fine ... it rolled back and forward just fine ... oh well - back to the race!
It turned out that the track was so deep that it just sucked the power and speed out of the bike. I ended up running off course in the dust at least a half dozen times and must have washed the front and tipped over in the silt at least once a lap. Passed a bunch of riders - the 310 had all it needed. Got thirsty and pulled in the pits at exactly 1 hour - gassed up and found my drink tube. Had a real good dice with a guy on a YZ250 smoker off and on all race long. Worked my way up to clearing the big table top on my last 2 laps - and doubling some big rollers. As I started my last lap I did some mental calculations - 11 laps times 10 minutes so ... I should have at least 2 more ... but I was tired, tired, tired and very glad to see the checkered when I got there.
