2005 12 Hours of ATV America - Team Stories

[Admin]

Alright, the most anticipated ATV race of the year is over, so please share your team's experience from the race including any problems that you might have run into throughout the day, and I can't wait to hear what you all have to say.

It personally was a blast for me, but I still wish that I could have raced. I guess I just can't have my cake and eat it too, so I think that I made the right choice in focusing on creating a Photo Journal from the event.

Be sure to include your Class, Team Name, Members

[cdrookie]

Team Powerline ATV B class


I think this race was alot tougher than anyone thought it would be. the course was more like a district 6 hare scramble than any of the previous Fast Trak courses held at Rausch Creek. the cold and constant wind didn't help anything either. the rocks seemed never ending through the woods and you could get some huge air on the mx sections if you dared.

one of our riders broke his wrist and cut his chin when he mistook a double for a tabletop on his second lap. amazingly he made it back to the pits. he's suppose to be released from the hospital today after surgury and stitches. get well soon Shane!!

we were slowly moving up in class and were in 6th at intermission. i never knew 2 hours could go so fast. before we knew it we were back on the line waiting for the gun. just as i pulled out someone slammed into my back tire which put me head first into a mud puddle. i jumped back up hoping not to get run over by anyone of the 40 machines lined up behind me. looked around for the bike but it was slowly idleing through the pits. luckily a track worker and myself got to it about the same time before it could do any damage.

now i'm wet, it's cold, the sun is out and glaring my goggles so bad i can hardly see anything. the 2 hour intermission really hurt us, i don't think the bike ever got out of 2nd gear after it. i had no desire to continue but Matt wanted to finish so tried my best to stay out of everyones way. our suspension was so stiff we felt everything and going fast or slow didn't make much difference, you still felt everything. i stopped and let most of the air out of the tires and that helped some but... we eventually did finish and had no machine problems except a loose hand guard.

i was so tired i couldn't even make the hour and 20 minute drive home. i pulled off along side the road about 12 miles from the track and slept a couple hours. everything on my body hurts.

[jlhughes750]

Team ATVRiders.com/Powerline ATV

First of all, get well soon Shane (team Powerline B) we were lookin for riders for that team and kinda talked him into racing, now he's all busted up...I'm feelin bad about that!! I think it happened on that really deep double on the MX track?? He's back home today and feeling fine, just got some aftermarket parts in him now!!!


Our race for the # 750 (30+) team could have been better..... we got the early lead and were running in the top 20 overall at the end of 1 lap........then as he's past the pit he shakes his head..... turns and comes back to the pit...... a puff of smoke and the engine dies???? We were runnin a 250R against all odds...nobody thought it would finish 12 hours....well it got us 13 minutes!!!!!! It was not the R's fault, it was a bad head gasket....we freshened up the top end a few days before the race, we probably should have left it alone??? I guess the head gasket had a small leak and was letting coolant in the head, it took 13 minutes at race speed to kill the engine!!

we installed the spare carefully and took of on our 2nd lap about 5 laps down or so.........it was hard to race knowing there was basically no way to win....our goal was to turn fast consistant laps and try to gain a lap back at intermission...and maybe if we just stayed in it we would be there at the end!!!

We raced a solid race for the next 11 hours and did everything we could to catch up....we went from dead last to 29th overall at the end and 6th in our class.. We were OK with that considering the circumatances!!

[QuadRacer041]

team njtint.com +30 class
5th in class, 21st overall

my team was pretty happy with how we finished.
kenny went out first and in typical iron man fashon stayed out for 5 laps. our plan to to do around 3 then switch. he come in and i go out second i after about a lap and a half my thumb was DEAD. i run a twist throttle on my bikes and my teamates run a thumb. i was in the minority so the thumb throttle stayed and i had to suck it up. so i come around from my second lap and pull in to switch and our 3rd rider john pierson takes off. he runs the gnc's and has really never did any woods riding. he comes around on his first lap and gives the thumb's up and keep going. well about 20-25 minutes later gets towed back in with a broken axle. we had brought my 250r as a parts bike so we swapped it out pretty quick and we were off again. at about the 4-5 hour mark we had to replace the chain roller but after that it was smooth sailing. in the second session we kept it simple, 2 laps and switch. we had a great light setup 2 8" ricky stator lights and as a back up we put on 2 50w trail tech's down near the front shock ressie's. not really a good spot cause half the light would be blocked by the front bumper but thats the only place we could mount em. at about the 11 hour mark we blew a bulb in one of our ricky stator lights and just turned on the trail techs with the one big light and we were fine.
thats pretty much it, like i said we were lucky the bike ran great with no major problems.

[john cunningham]

well we came into this really excited we had won the b class at the six hr. in july my oldest son steve cunningham and good freind neil spent a lot of time prepping my 05 450r. neil started off and pulled write to the front of b class and 25th overall we worked all day at being smooth and consistant we ea. pulled high 12 and low 13 minute laps all day we changed only two tires and one set of rear brakes we swapped air filters twice also we kept plugging away with very little trouble and ended up 8 th overall and won our class we all thank everyone including john pellan for the opertunity to do this in pa again and hope it comes back again

[WalshKFX]

PRO Class 3 Amigos #97

I really enjoyed this race. We race motocross here in New England at the NEATV-MX Series. It all started with trying out the 6 hour race. We werent sure which class to run because our main rider (Mike Bard) runs Pro class and is the 2004 Neatv Pro Champ. The other rider Fred Johnson is the 2005 Neatv 4 stroke a Champ, and Myself, Tony Botticello, am the 2005 NEatv 4 stroke B and Open B champ. So at the 6 hour of PA race we chose the pro class and our main goal was just to finish the race that was our complete opposite style. We ended up finshing 2nd place in Pro and 8th overall that race. With that confidence we build a perfect bike for the 12 hour race. With the help of our sponsors, we build the best bike I have ever personally ridden. We went into the 12 hour race with a good attitude and we just wanted to go one lap at a time. We ran top 5 for a hour or two and then we made our way into the 3rd spot in Pro. We were able to maintain the postion untill the last 2 hours of the race when Lost Creek moved up quickly from their earlier problems. We maintained under 50 seconds slower that Team Honda. On the last lap of the first half our axle snapped. This left us switching out the axle at the start of round 2. We got in and out in 10 mins and rode consistant into the night. With around 1.5 hours remaining, the tranny went in our bike and we had to retired a little early. It was a fun and challenging race but well worth it. Team Honda it was great messing around in the pits and great battles on the track. I have alot more respect for the pro teams and it was fun battling with them. In the end with came out with 8th in Pro and 32nd overall, but most importantly we gained alot of respect and proved we have what it takes to be competative. I would like to personal thank all the sponsors and our pit crew for everything. Lou it was nice pitting next to you and Harlen nice to see you again and thanks for the stickers.

- Tony B

[Johnny & Monica]

what stickers you got stickers?????

[Racinaki]

1st Place Utility
24th Overall!!!

We rode a Prairie with a Fundy Motorsports 736 kit. Some call it a utility, I prefer festively plump sport quad.

Where to start? First off, I am thankful there was no snow. It was a little cool, but that is better on the machines anyway.

The next thing I would like to say is thank GOD for such a tremendous team. We have to be one of the luckiest teams around. C&D Racing did a phenomenol job prepping our Prairie for the race. I have rode the quad all summer in harescrambles and thought it was fast. (Thanks to Jarrod Sheets for putting it together after we tore it apart and sent it to Fundy in Canada. If it were left for me to put together, it would still be in a box in my shop marked MISTAKE! Jarrod, I hope riding it to victory is a little bit like repayment for putting it together. You were underpaid on that deal!) It was indeed fast, but after Colby fixed some slight jetting issues, it came back from Omaha a whole new animal . This is my fourth 12 hours of atv America race and we have not ridden a bike like this before. We (Jarrod Sheets, Kevin Wehde and I) got on it and each rode an hour to start the race. After we each had a turn we agreed that it was the best Prairie we had ridden. The power delivery from the Fundy powersports motor was smooth from the bottom. It hit hard, but not too hard that it was out of control. With the help of our other sponsors the quad ran smooth, VERY SMOOTH! From there on up it pulled as hard as any sport quad that you can find. There are no flat spots from 0 to 69 mph.

To finish my original thought, MEGA THANK YOUS to Colby and Dusty for the race prep and tapping power that I didn't know was possible. I am not aware of another team that rode the whole 12 hours without a mechanical failure. There had to be another one besides us, but we saw most teams battling issue after issue. We had one flat tire because I was pushing for a sub 14 minute lap. I contribute this tremendous accomplishment a direct result of the hours of race prep that went into this quad. Thanks to C&D Racing for the prep and my teammates for their tremendous riding. Thank you Jarrod and Kevin on behalf of myself and my bike. It isn't easy man-handling a tank through the woods, but they did it with great care and kept my quad in one piece despite never riding it prior to the gunshot. Some said we were riding her too hard, but I just told them that she likes it that way!

The story is, we led all but the first two laps. Our competition were all gentlemen and we enjoyed conversing with them about next year's event. Leaving this year's race we know that we are marked for next year's event. We hope our luck continues! Thanks to all who were rooting for us from Iowa and the surrounding states. We appreciate the practice you guys provided all year long.

In addition, there are several people who made this the most fun 12 hours of ATV America thus far. Pat Kirkland, FD Racing teammate (who ran a sportsman in the Iowa Series) deserves a special thank you for his diligent lap timing and updates on the competition, as well as his lighting specialities. Mike Flohr, also another Iowa Harescramble rider who went along to help where needed as well as comic relief, Colby and Dusty for their help in the pits as well as the prep (Colby is rapid fire with a quick fill can), Kevin and Jarrod for running a very smart race, and Kevin's parents Brad and Val for their tremendous support the entire weekend.

Finally, my lovely wife Angela for putting up with me for the weeks leading up to the main event. She has been very supportive! We should also mention that thanks to Dusty and Angela we all ate better the four days we were gone than we do a lot of time at home. (that is a compliment in case you were wondering)

All I can do now is dream about next year. Unless it is in Alaska or Hawaii I plan to be in attendance.

Wishing you all a happy winter season,

Jason Mickelson

[Racinaki]

I saw your mud puddle dive in the restart! I am glad you are okay. We were back down the pits 200 yards, and I saw you flip and said I hope he gets back up. Luckily you bounced up fast and also thanks to guy behind you (probably not the one that hit you) who stopped to make sure that no one came up and hit you. They would have slammed into the back of him instead of you! He didn't move until you were up and heading toward your quad. Congrats on getting through the day! Hopefully you can forget some of this years tragedies and return next year!

[cdrookie]

thanks Racinaki. seems ironic that we had no bike problems, just rider problems. whether it be broken bones, blown engines, blisters, broken frames, flat tires, or just being whooped, the 12 hours is gonna getcha!