How I got to be "747"

Here is a little “diddy”…not related to any one race.

Someone asked me how I ended up with the number 747 and why I have carried it for the last few years…I really didn’t know, so I asked my dad.

You might get a kick out of this…when going to the races, you always have to fill out a form with all your personal info, AMA numbers, district numbers, and birth day…Typically dad would race too so he had to do it for both of us (need to have a “guardian” for this) – and that’s a lot of “data” to keep straight, he said. Apparently when you get to be of “mature age”, the numbers thing doesn’t work so well and you need help remembering stuff. So he figured that by picking a number that somehow reflected my birth day, he wouldn’t look so lost at the counter when the nice lady would ask him what my birthday was. His usual first response was this blank empty stare – ever shine a light on a deer at night? Nuff said…

Anyway, you have to know that my dad is from Austria, and over there they put the day before the month and the year. So in my case I was born on the 7^th of April in 1997, hence the”747”. In addition since my dad works in aviation, he’s familiar with airplanes and he said there is a Boeing 747, so that helped him remember my number…get it? He needed the airplane to remember my number and the number to remember my birthday…I wonder what he’ll come up with when he gets to be of “very mature age”….feel free to bag on him J he can take it…

Pretty soon we’ll come up with some “747” t-shirts…we’ll sell them to help offset some of the costs my racing incurs (I’ve got big plans), and…since the “747” will be on it, I’ll make sure dad has one so he can remember the airplane, that will help him remember my number, that will help him remember my birthday…love you dad.

Braaap,

Hunter “747” Neuwirth

P.S: Please support my sponsors...Moose Racing, Kenda Tires, www.summit-clothing .com ...Thank You!!!

JDay GP at Crow Hill MX Park in Baldwinville, MA

(5/20/12)

I could not wait for this weekend to get here, I really needed to redeem myself from the last race where I simply could not put a decent ride together. This time was going to be different, I trained, I got some decent riding time in, and the bike was ready.

The track looked awesome (John Day and his crew rock), the woods had great flow to it, the MX track looked like it could be one of my favorites (sandy with great ruts), and the extreme section seemed like it would be super fun, littered with lots of logs, a sand pit, a tire jump, and a culvert pipe jump. It was a sunny day with the temperatures in the mid 80’s, so conditioning would be a big factor. Over 1500 spectators, and over 400 racers…what an event this set up to be.

Moto 1: Since I have had a heck of a time with my starts and 1^st lap this year, my goal was to get out of the gate and stay close enough after lap one so I could be in position and pounce on everyone and outwork them by the end of the 30+ minute moto. Unfortunately the plan did not work. I got a mid pack start and then proceeded to crash in the 3^rd turn on the MX track…so here we go again…I was in dead last, talk about a “DÉJÀ VU” all over again. I picked my bike up, and decided to just have fun and see how many guys I could pick off. I rode well, though I had a few more small crashes, but before I knew it I was back in the top 10. I figured I had about 2 more laps to go, so I went into all out sprint mode, after all, I came here to race, not to trail ride (like my dad J). I managed to work my way up to 4^th place, not very exciting but it kept me close enough to at least have a shot at it for the afternoon. 

Moto 2: I had the same goals as in moto 1. Dad kept reminding me of the things I was taught by my coaches in Wisconsin (Speedy Pete, John Strangfeld, JD Friebel & all the other guys from WRD) about starts. I lined up all the way to the outside right, thinking I could pinch everyone off on the left hand first turn and come out in front. I took a deep breath, let go of the pressure that I put on myself, and when the flag dropped, it was “on”. I never let off the throttle through turn 1 and 2. This felt awesome. The YZ was screaming! I got pushed wide by the other racers and had to almost ride off the track…but I never let up. I used a kicker to transfer back on the track (felt a little like Kevin Windham) and came out of turn 2 in 3^rd place. By the 2^nd lap I passed for 2^nd place and figured that I had plenty of time to reel in 1^st place. What a fun battle. At some point I lost 2^nd place to a guy on a KTM – I made a small mistake, but that didn’t last long, I passed him back and was now right on the leader. The woods started to get really “bony” and beat up, rocks, mud, wet roots, etc., but again, I seem to find a way to really like the nasty stuff. By lap 3 I decided to go for it, passed for 1^st, and opened up a decent gap of about 15 seconds. As I went through the extreme section I saw my pit crew (dad) giving me the sign that I have a racer closing up on me to within 5 seconds. No way was I going to let this one get away from me, no sir, not this time. This is why I train, I’m stronger than these guys...head down, all out sprint, catch me if you can… let’s take this thing all the way to the finish. I rode without major mistakes, and felt really relaxed, the Kenda Washougal/Triple combo hooked up so well in the extreme section, it was almost like cheating…things just seemed to click, and I ended up finishing moto two at 33 : 51 with about a 30 second lead on second place.

With a 4 & 1 for my motos I ended up 2^nd overall. Considering the level of competition here and my not so hot moto 1, this is quite satisfying for me…a Wisconsin kid hanging with the East Coast boys on their turf. Glad I was able to put one together, especially since mom and my sister came out to watch too…love having an awesome pit crew under our Moose tent. Next up is the Red Fern GP in New Hampshire on June 3^rd… 

A huge “Thank You” to my sponsors, Moose Racing , Kenda Tires, Summit Clothing, mom & dad and a shout out to the Wisconsin Crew!!!

Braap

Hunter “747” Neuwirth

Jday GP Race May 6th, 2012

JDay Race May 6, 2012 http://www.jday.com/

We headed to the 2nd round of the JDay GP series in Chepachet, RI on Sunday May 6th. This was only a little over 1 hour from home...love it when I don't have to get up at 4 in the morning. It looked like a great turn out (over 350 riders) and the weather decided to cooperate as well. Dad had the bikes prepped and ready, and I was fired up to tear it up.

Moto One: I completely blew the start and got off the line in last place (It took 4 kicks to fire up the mighty YZ Eric Gorr built 134). A 1st turn pile up let me catch back up and within the next 2 turns I found myself in 6th place. Since the motos are only 30 minutes long, I decided to push as hard as I could and sprint all the way. It didn't take long for me to get to the front and engage in a battle for the lead. Passing was tricky on this course as the ruts got deep fast and turns got pretty one lined. The "river jump" didn't allow for passing either, as the "slower" alternate route over the bridge actually turned out to be the faster and smoother way to go. After working my way into the top 3 I went for a pass for the lead and ended up crashing, dropping all the way back to 12th place. I put my head down and worked hard to save what I could. In the end I finished moto 1 in 5th place and felt pretty good about it.

Moto Two: I had trouble at the start again, though this time I got off the line somewhere mid pack. The track and trail was pretty beat up, roots and rocks started to show and the ruts and mud holes got really bad...these were all things that worked in my favor as I seem to feel more comfortable the nastier it gets. I sprinted as hard as I could, working my way up to the leaders. I was turning consistently fastest lap times, catching everyone pretty quickly. The bike hooked up so well, I seemed to be on rails...I was in the zone...then I got bit. I caught a slimy rock and the bike swapped left to right. I thought I'd keep it pinned and ride it out, but this time that didn't work. I ended up crashing between 2 trees, and from there I really don't remember exactly what happened. I was told that the bike and I flew through the air and I pretty much slammed into a tree full speed. Things went silent for a few seconds, then I realized that I was still in the moto. I picked myself up (with some help from spectators - THANK YOU!!!) and decided that I wanted to finish no matter what...My shoulder and elbow hurt pretty bad, I bit my tongue, and I had blood on my jersey - I figured out later that my chin developed a slight leak :) . I think I finished the moto in 9th place, so really, considering the way the day went I can't complain too much.

The atmosphere at this race was amazing...it felt like a GNCC race (I was told there were over 1000 spectators)...people everywhere, cheering and helping riders out. Mad props to John Day and his crew!!!

I can't wait for the next Jday race in 2 weeks to redeem myself and get on the box. Thank you to my sponsors Moose Racing, Kenda Tires (the Triple hooked up great), Summit Clothing, and thank you to mom and dad and all my friends who help make this thing happen.

Braaap!

Hunter "747" Neuwirth