This weekend we got to go back to Huntington, MA for the River Rush II JDAY race. I was looking forward to this as I had some “redeeming” to do from the last showing at this venue.
The course looked awesome as usual, the extreme section looked doable, the temperatures were brutal. Man was it hot. Regardless, I decided to sign up for 2 classes anyway and test my endurance and willpower.
My 1st moto was the Junior moto 1.
We’ve been working on the Husky to try and figure out how to get it started better so I don’t have to come from dead last every time. Unfortunately we still have some work to do on that as I didn’t get a good start. I had to come from behind and work my way through the pack to get up front. Fortunately the course layout allowed for great passing, so when it was all done I ended up in 2nd place for the moto. Good enough, I felt confident and comfortable on the bike and was ready for the first A250 moto.
Maybe I’ll get a start this time?....nah…my Husky decided to decline to start right away and I took off in dead last.
The Husky is apparently really bad at starts, but it is really good at catching up! I worked hard, ignored the heat and arm pump and started picking people off. On the last lap I was in 10th place when we entered the xtreme section, and 9th was right in front of me. I decided to pressure the guy into making a mistake, and on the last turn when we exited the log infested sandy section I got by him to take a 9th place for the moto. My goal has been to get a top 10 in this class, I was on the right track and felt great about it.
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| Photo: Roger Cameron from magicalgogo.com |
Back to the trailer – time to cool off! I went down to the river and jumped in, trying to get my body temp down and get ready for Junior moto 2. I had about 40 minutes to get ready. Dad worked on the bike, loaded me up with electrolytes, a little bit of food, and kept me on schedule. Time to go.
I lined up in the same spot I did for moto 1, and….drum roll….got a last place start again. Ok, same story. Work your way through the pack and see if you can catch the front guys. I got up to 2nd place and had 1st in my sights when I got caught behind some lappers in one of the few spots where it was just not possible to pass. With only a half lap left, there was just not enough time to catch the leader, so I settled for another 2nd place, taking 2nd overall in the Junior class.
Back to the truck, cool down again and get ready for moto 2 A250. I started to feel the heat a little bit, and the track was getting rough. The breaking bumps started to get huge, the roots and rocks got nasty, and now it started to rain to make things nice and slick. By the time I went up to the line for my last moto, the rain stopped and the humidity was awful, I could not wait to get this thing going so I can get some air flowing J. Come on Husky – let’s get a start!!! Almost…not ideal, but this time at least I wasn’t last off the line. I rode the 1st two laps hard to see if I could find my groove, but had to start to back off here and there as I was starting to get tired. I worked as hard as I could and figured that if I can maintain my speed, I should be able to get close to the top 10 at the end. Mom kept writing motivational stuff on the pit board, and dad kept encouraging me every time I went by. On the last lap dad pointed to the guy in front of me…he was in my class, and just as in moto one I decided to try and pressure the guy with a last effort on my end, hoping he would make a mistake and open the door for me to get him. It worked out, he fell on one of the logs trying to keep me behind him and I passed him for 10th place. With a 9th in moto1 this gave me 9th overall…so far my best result in A250 here in the east. I was exhausted, but felt great…off into the river…
Thank you to my sponsors Fly Racing, Kenda Tires, Panic Rev, EKS brand Goggles, mom & dad and my grandparents.
Thanks for reading
Hunter “747” Neuwirth
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