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Cross Trainin' Dirt-Track style with Tyler O'Hara #129!
July 12 2008 Hey every one, this isn't my usual Supermoto race report. I had a chance to do some "cross-training" via a flat-track race in So Cal so I headed down on Thursday night after work. I was very excited to be
racing flat track considering the last time I raced flat track I was
about 8 years old. The bike I got to ride was Steve and Cindy
Vizzo's. I am very fortunate to meet such good people and have the
opportunity to be a part of their race program..... My first practice was all about getting use to the bike again. It didn't take long before I was feeling comfortable. After practice we had pro qualifying. I rode smooth and put together a good lap and qualified 4th fastest. Since I qualified top five I earned a spot in the dash for cash. The dash didn't go as planned, I got a horrible jump on the start which put me in 4th place. The race was only 4 laps long so it was hard to make any thing happen in such short time unless the rider in front of you made a mistake. Unfortunately we were all so close, no one made any mistakes so I ended up where I started, fourth. In my heat race I got a good start which put me in 2nd place, I knew that the top two riders transferred to the A main so I rode smart and stalked the leader to learn his lines and find out where I was faster or needed to improve. I transferred directly to the A main. Pro Main Event-
In the down time before the main, Steve Burg, a long time mechanic
for Vizzo's, made some necessary suspension changes, which gave me
the time to focus on my lines and the track. I was ready. I rode on
the track to line up to find out I would be starting on the last row
out side. They made a mistake with the grid sheet and I had my work
cut out for me to make it to the front. Off the start I passed as
many people as I could ,but was still in like 12th. I rallied the
whole race passing inside and outside and ended up getting 7th.
Although I didn't end up where I wanted to be, it was a lot of fun
and great cross training for Supermoto. In practice I got a good feel for the track and the blue grove. I felt like I had an advantage on the groove with my Supermoto background. After practice we made a quick gear change and were back on the track for qualifying. I was the fifth rider on the track for qualifying. On my qualifying lap I rode good but I felt like I could go faster. The officials didn't have our times until the last rider was done. When the times were being listed I wasn't looking forward to my times, I knew I could've gone faster in qualifying. Sure enough, I actually qualified 3rd fastest! After I found out how I did I was excited because I knew I could go faster. Top Gun 450 Heat Race- In the heat race I had to start on the second row, outside, because of the order when I signed up. My starting spot actually wasn't bad for the second row because I was lined up right in the center of the groove were I could get a lot of traction. Off the start I hooked up nice and made my way into 4th place. I made a couple of passes and ended up winning my heat race. Top Gun 450 Main Event- I had the pole starting position, I got a good jump off the line but was out in the loose dirt and spun the tire so coming out of the first turn I was in 5th place. The race was 10 laps long so I knew that I had time to make my way to the front. The rider in the fourth spot was all over the track and riding defensive so he was making it hard to get around him. Finally I got around him and closed the gap that the leaders pulled on us when I was trying to get around him. The lead pack, you could throw a blanket over us all. We were so close after working my way up to fourth it was the white flag lap. By this time the leader was not giving an inch. The whole last lap I put a lot of pressure on third place and going into turn three he missed his mark and got off the groove, so I snuck in below him and finished third place. $Dash For Cash$- Same deal as Friday night I got a OK start and ended up getting third. Pretty much how we started was how we all ended up. Open Pro heat- In my heat race I had pole position, I got the hole shot and led every lap for the heart race win. Open Pro Main Event-
I was gridded second next to Jimmy Wood. I got an OK start which put
me in fourth place. It took me a few laps to get around third place
and once I made the pass for third place Jimmy and the second place
rider had a gap on me. I was riding great! Everything was clicking
and I was catching first and second place. While I was catching them
they got into a two way battle which helped me close the gap. Going
into turn one I held it pinned and rode around the outside and
passed for second place. Now it was just me and Jimmy, exactly what
I wanted. Jimmy had a little gap on me so for the next two laps, I
put my head down and charged to his rear wheel. For the remaining
laps in the race I tried every thing possible to get around him. He
held me off barely to the end so I ended up in second place.
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