2007 round # 2

[hasbeenttduner]

Pro Results?
moto 1?
moto 2?
overall?

[atvracinextra]

Overall

1. Ellis
2. Nelson
3. Schell

[komik]

Due to the amount of entries in the Pro class they had to run Moto 1 as a Qualifier for Moto 2. Guess you could say it was Moto 1A and Moto 1B and Moto 2 was the main.

The Track was narrow and extremly rough for this round. With very little room to pass, Ellis got up front quick and put some distance between him and the rest of the field during the Main (Moto 2), taking the easy win. Dustin Nelson got the second spot early and kept it for the rest of the race. Where Jeremy Schell and Josh Frederick were running close but the MX rider was able to hold off Frederick's for the 3 place podium spot.

Although there was a lot of talk about how bad the lips on the jumps were and how many square edges were on the track, the vetrans seemed to rise to the top. The top 3 seemed to pick lines that were not always the smoothest or the fastest but what was the better setup for the next jump, turn, sand wash or whatever came up, leaving them with few mistakes. One mistake on this course and you could easily lose 3-4 spots.

This round has probably been one of the most technical tracks that ITP has run thusfar. Not from the standpoint of having to learn rhythm section or cornering, but from the aspect of knowing what line to run and where to hit the jump.

It also became a bike setup race. There was some really rough section where normally a soft suspension is preferred, but some huge jumps and drop-off jumps that required a stiffer suspension to keep the bike/rider from bottoming out. Many of the corners were sandy and had the usual MX loam, while others were off-camber and blue grooved. And did I mention that some had huge pot holes in them.

Patience was also a key role at this track, a word that many MX riders don't know. Rider didn't spread out like they do at Glen Helen or some of the other tracks. Sometime you just had to wait for the rider in front of you to make a mistake so you could get around them. One wrong line, and your day was done, which unfortunately ended a few riders in the other classes quickly.

There was one team that didn't appear to have any problems with the rough track conditions. Team Epic, the off-road WORCS team finished 3-4 with #14 Jeremy Schell beating #603 Josh Frederick. Where the last 2 rounds of Worcs has been Frederick, Schell in the 1-2 spots, respectively.

All in all, the turnout was pretty good considering the location and the weather forcast for snow (which never appeared). The weather was cold in the morning with a chilly 25 degrees and by mid-afternoon a sunny 60 degrees. The winds picked up pretty good by the second moto but nothing like the first round at Glen Helen.

Arizona Cycle Park is on the schedule next...See you all there.

Photos from Round #2 will be up soon !!

[ThePhantomRider]

Good report.. Looks like Jeremy Schell is getting back to form after a year off to get over nagging injuries and looks like Josh Frederick is becoming a very well rounded racer....at or near the top in desert races, WORCS and now ITP MX, and Jeremy is starting to get used to the open riding of WORCS....

That said, Kory and Dustin are always tough to beat at the ITP's so this should turn out to be a good year!

TPR

[komik]

For those who didn't make it out for the race or have never seen the track, here is a panoramic shot of the entire track that I put together.

http://www.markelliotphotography.com/ITP/VerdeValleyMXsmall.jpg