|
| Falling
Waters Ranch was a perfect place for racing
as there was plenty to look at including
this train car |
Lodi, CA (4/14/2011)
- This past weekend was the kick-off of the new
West Coast cross country series, “The Precision
Racing Products Sierra Cross County Series”.
This first race was held at The Falling Waters
Ranch in Grass Valley, CA. The weather was perfect
with temperatures in the low 60’s. A light
rain had fallen the day before the event started
making track condition virtually perfect.
The race site; Falling Waters Ranch is a gem
in the Sierra foothills of Northern California.
The waterfalls, pine trees, and natural elevation
changes made this site perfect for cross country
racing. This isn’t desert racing; this
is cross country racing with tall trees, hill
climbs, creeks, and tight technical turns. Most
importantly, it is “family fun racing”
with a good attitude, camping, a community bon
fire, and a “race what you brung”
style of racing.
The event started on Saturday with an open
practice before the first Pee-Wee race. Since
cross country racing is new to Northern California,
and there were so many entrees new to racing,
the race promoter, John Scott, felt an open
practice would help riders become more comfortable
with this type of racing. Saturday’s second
race after the Pee-Wee racing was the open C
class, over 30 C, youth under 16, open ladies,
Moms, and Novice class.
This race was won by a racer who registered
as one Sandy Bagger. “Sandy” was
informed after the race the he would need to
run in the B-class next race. The 60 minute
race had lots of smiles and great sportsmanship,
even to the racers who didn’t realize
that they needed to let faster riders by. The
third race was a Sportsman class race, mostly
for racers that wanted to race both days. Sunday
only had one race; it was for the expert riders,
A-B riders, over 30 B, and under 24. This race
had a blistering pace, just past the half way
point Keith Carnalli was able to take the lead
and hold it for the remainder of the race.
The SCCS crew did a fantastic job making a
track that was technical, with hill climbs that
were just steep enough to be challenging to
a C rider but still fun for the A riders. The
event ran smoothly with only minor delays. All
the racers are looking forward to Round two
at the 4C Ranch in Portola California, an old
tree farm at 4000 feet above sea level which
should make for another great race weekend.
For information go to www.sccsracing.com
