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| Photo: Art Pepin, www.offroadpaprazzi.com |
After an
awesome race weekend at Crow Hill I was excited to head up to the Red Fern JDay
in Chester, NH . We got the Magical Clapper
ready to race, added a few stickers, new wheel bearings, and a rear tire. When we showed up I had just enough time to
gear up and head to the line. I couldn’t
wait to race. I gained some confidence after crow hill and realized that I belong
in the pro 125 class.
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| Photo: Tammy Neuwirth |
Moto 1: I got a pretty good start and was inside the
top 5 going into the woods. Cody
Williams got by me down one of the long cart roads that red fern is famous for,
he is a fast guy and I new he would pull me further up the field. I figured I could latch on to him for a few
laps but he went down early in the extreme section and I made it through the
nasty rocks and roots with ease. About
half way through the 2nd lap I caught up to Josh Cenammo, but he
found some extra speed and got away from me in the last half of the moto. I
really had nothing for him, so I decided to settle in and try to bring this one
home without any major incidents. I did realize that I need to pick up some
corner speed to make the next step and be able hang with the top pros. I was having
a blast out there. The Magical Clapper ran
flawlessly and I felt great. I did get a little bit of arm pump, but that’s
really nothing new anymore and I have learned to deal with it. I didn’t make
any major mistakes in this moto and finished in 5th place – my best
125 pro moto yet!
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| Trying to teach Josh Toth how to ride a unicycle between motos |
Moto 2: I didn't get a good start at all… 2nd
to last going into the first turn. While I did get the jump, the bike would not
pull right away as I apparently didn’t clear it out enough when warming it up.
I cut down under everyone in turn 1, hogging the inside and ended up towards the
front anyway, as all the other guys were pushing to the outside hard. I was
running in 5th when we hit the woods, but started to get shuffled to
the back after a little mistake in a corner.
One thing I learned is that in a pro class if you make one little bobble
6 guys pass you. I got pushed back to 8th,
I just tried to relax and stay smooth because I knew I could catch them again. I struggled a little bit trying to find my
“flow” in this moto. It could have been the 10 year old suspension and the
square edged, rocky trail J. I tried to ride the edges of the trail as
much as possible to hit some smooth lines and focus on my corner speed. This worked as I was able to find my groove
and I started to reel in Justin Salo. With about 3 laps to go things didn’t
feel quite right… I don’t know why (brain fart), but I stopped to see if I had
a flat rear tire. I regret that. I didn’t have a flat, it was just the way the
dirt was in a few sections, real lose and soft. So now I put myself quite a
ways to the back of the pack. I went to work after realizing that my tire was
just fine and I let my head get in my way….I rode the wheels off the YZ and got
back up to 8th place and continued to gain on Justin – he was
running in 7th - every lap. At the finish I was right on his rear
wheel, but there just wasn't enough time to pass him. I ended up 8th in that moto.
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| Photo: Art Pepin www.offroadpaprazzi.com |
Once again
the magical clapper came through. With a 5th and a 8th
place I finished in 6th overall for the day. I’m happy with that! I rode hard and smart; the pro 125 class is
the best class I have ever raced. Being able to line up with those guys gets me
psyched up to reach the open pro class someday.
Now it’s
time to show the Magical Clapper some love again and get it ready for the next
race.
Thanks all
for reading…it really means a lot…PLEASE…take another minute and share my blog.
The exposure really helps and my sponsors really appreciate it.
Thank you to
Fly Racing, Kenda Tires, Magical Gogo, Eks Brand goggles, Panic Rev Ministries,
FMF Racing, and most recently added – Renthal. Thank you mom and dad, my grand
parents, my sister Haley (best pit crew ever). Check out Art Pepin's photos at www.offroadpaprazzi.com
Keep the
Rubber Side Down people!!!!
Hunter “747”
Neuwirth
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| Photo: Tammy Neuwirth |
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