Tuesday, April 21, 2015

2015 JDay Season Opener - SOUTHWICK!!!!!!!

PC - Art Pepin, www.offroadpaparazzi.com

 I haven’t written a blog in a while, it’s just been crazy busy as I’ve been trying to get ready for the season. I spent some time in the south, racing a few GNCC’s, the Alligator enduro, and just tried to beat the winter blah to get some bike time in. I was so pumped that it was finally race season here in NE and what better way to kick it off than with the opening round of the JDAY GP series, held at Southwick…yeah…THE WICK. While I’m really not a moto guy, I love that place. We rolled in at 7.30 in the morning and as expected, the place was packed. Perfect weather, warm temps…winter is finally out of here.
I went into this weekend with mixed emotions…my preseason races didn’t go well, I had some DNF’s due to bike problems and my suspension was all “confused” on both bikes. Dad and I tried to sort things out last week, but didn’t have a lot of time to test, so I wasn’t super confident. Not how you want to start your season really. I decided to race the 125 pro class (the magical clapper in action) and the A250 class to get things rolling J. Physically I’m there, I’ve put in the time as I am getting ready for the Erzberg Rodeo in June, so running 4 motos wasn’t going to be an issue.
PC: Art Pepin, www.offroadpaparazzi.com 

125 pro moto 1: My first 125 moto went pretty well. I got a decent start and went into the woods in about 6th or 7th place. With every turn, with every obstacle I got more confident and comfortable on the bike, and, I was actually able to compete with these guys and engage in a few awesome battles. I did have one big crash on the motocross track that set me back a little, but managed to fight back up to 6th place when all was said and done. I was really happy with that…it’s a great result for me. Now if the 250 handled as well as the magical clapper…
PC: Art Pepin, www.offroadpaparazzi.com

A250 moto 1: I got another decent start…this is new…I’m not used to running upfront at the beginning of a race, but I LIKE IT! I was curious how the class would stack up, all the guys put in work in the offseason, now it was time to figure out where we all stand. I ended up battling with Anthony Federico for 2nd place for a while, we were hauling through the trees. I ended up getting the best of Anthony, as he had what I would call the crash of the day, after slapping a tree with his rear wheel he wadded up real good. Fortunately he was able to walk away from it, but man, that was gnarly – glad you are ok bud! I finished the moto in 2nd behind my “homie” Mikey Maksymiw. He was too fast for me on his home track, I could not catch him in this moto, but I was happy with 2nd and more so, I was pumped with the bike. We really made some major progress on it. A few more adjustments before moto 2 and it should be good.

125 pro moto2: Again…I got a decent start!!! I went into the woods in 5th !! Yeah baby, I was feeling it! As we were heading into a sweeping left hander I felt a little pressure on the outside…who the heck is leaning on me like this and not letting off? None other than the legend, the Junk Yard Dog – John Dowd!! I wasn’t going to give it up that easy…I stayed in it and held him off for a couple more turns, and actually made up a few spots in the process! (No worries, Dowdy got me shortly thereafter and went on to smoke us all). The moto went decent, I did make one little mistake, and when you have 30 fire breathing 125 pros behind you, one mistake usually means you are losing some major positions…and I did. I slipped from 5th to 9th , but was able to settle in there and not lose any more spots. With a 6/9 result for the motos I ended up 8th overall in the 125 pro class…and any time I can get a top 10 finish with these guys I am satisfied. The 11 year old Magical Clapper Yamaha YZ125 came through again (slightly scarred) and provided me with a SUPERFASTGOODTIME as always!!!

PC: Art Pepin, www.offroadpaparazzi.com
You can see Anthony right on my rear fender
A250 moto 2: I lined up in the same spot as I did in moto 1 as that seemed to work pretty well. Yeah!  I got another decent start and went into the woods in 3rd with Anthony Federico right on my tail. We made a quick move and jumped up a spot, running 2nd and 3rd behind Mikey. Anthony and I had another sick battle going. He passed me for 2nd and we were trying to chase down 1st. This was huge fun! I love racing with a guy I can trust. No dirty moves, no reckless riding, just good clean racing. At one point we went into a left hand turn into the woods in 4th gear tapped side by side. I would not do this with anyone else but Anthony. Neither of us let off, neither of us was worried. It was awesome! I did finally get the better of him and moved back up to 2nd. Time to charge, I wanted to win this. I hit the extreme section and saw that Mikey, who was running in first, crashed on some logs J. I passed him and knew it was time for me to grind this out. I saw the chance of taking this one. My last 2 laps were actually my fastest laps of the day…and with a win in moto 2 I ended up winning the A250 overall. I’m pumped, this track really isn’t my style, I didn’t expect to do that well here and figured I would be dominated by the moto guys. I’m happy I was able to hang and engage in some super fun battles…winning A250 is just a nice bonus! 

PC Art Pepin, www.offroadpaparazzi.com
Levitation Station
Now it’s back to work…big picture for me this year is Erzberg, I want to represent. 

Thank you to all that have contributed to my gofundme page to raise funds for my overseas trip to Erzberg – could not do it without you. www.gofundme.com/747toErzberg
Thank you to my awesome sponsors – I really appreciate your support – please visit them, buy from them, like them! 

Fly Racing, Kenda Tires, Magical Gogo, EKS Brand goggles, Carbon Zero (more on that to follow soon), SRT Offroad, Panic Rev Ministries, Renthal, offroadpaparazzi,  mom & dad and my sister, my grandparents…

Thank you Poacher for your advice – love lining up next to you. 

Thanks for reading – Rubber side down folks!!!

 Hunter “747” Neuwirth

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