Catra/Netra Black Fly Hare Scramble, Fish House, NY

After missing my blog assignment from last week’s race at Eastford, CT, its time I cranked one out again from this weekend race.

PC- Leanne Dutlinger

Unfortunately as it worked out with the schedule, this week’s NETRA race in Fish House, NY fell on the same day as the JDay River Rush GP….a bummer because I would really like to run both series. We decided to go to New York as that one is a better preparation race for Erzberg, coming up in 2 weeks. Two plus hours of pounding nasty NETRA trail…what could be better than that? I’ve had some pretty good NETRA races so far this season, winning my class in the 1st two events, so I wanted to continue this trend. We made a few small changes to my bike set up again, hoping to get closer to “perfection”….who knows, by the end of the season we might be there.

PC - Leanne Dutlinger

My start was decent (not great but good enough). After a few turns I jumped out to the lead, only to wash out over some hidden roots and got passed by my buddy Layne Dutlinger. I finally figured it out and was able to stay upright, get around Layne, and check out.

I found a decent rhythm and had a 1 minute gap by lap 2. The course was actually quite fast and flowy, but the shadows made for pretty bad visibility in the woods considering how fast we were going. I think I had enough close calls to last me an entire season. Dad pulled me in for fuel after lap 4. My sister helped with the pit stop as usual, she’s getting quite good at that. Dad fueled me up and as I left the pits he told me that 2nd place was closing in on me and I needed to sprint for a few laps. So I did…I put in 2 sprint laps, and was able to increase my lead to a little over 2 minutes, and in the process, move up in the overall ranking. I pushed to the end, though I have to say, by the last lap my hands were gone and I was happy to see the checkered flag. I ended up winning my class - A250, and earned the A High Point top amateur trophy, overall I finished in 5th place. I’m pumped with this result, and while I realize that I still need to improve to be able to run with the top pros in New England, I feel like I am closing the gap.

PC - Tammy Neuwirth

As far as racing goes, this is it for me…while I will ride a lot over the next 2 weeks, I am done racing until the Red Bull Erzberg Rodeo. We are flying out on the 30th, visit with my grandparents and then head to Eisenerz in the Austrian state/province of Styria – Arnold Schwarzenegger’s home state - where I will get to meet my race bike for the 1st time…a 2015 Husqvarna TE 300. We’ll spend a little bit of time setting it up for me and then its “balls to the wall” to get through qualifying. Wish me luck!!!

PC - Tammy Neuwirth

If you would like to contribute to my overseas race fund, you can still do that here: www.gofundme.com/747to Erzberg We can still use your support!!!!

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As always, a huge thank you and shout out to my awesome sponsors!!! Like them, visit them, share them, buy from them!!!!

Fly Racing, Kenda Tires, Magical Gogo, EKS Brand goggles, Carbon Zero (Scott Keller's reforestation program is really cool - I will write about that soon), SRT Offroad, Panic Rev Ministries, Renthal, offroadpaparazzi, www.fmfracing.com, www.tubesaddle.com, www.ccycle.com, mom & dad and my sister, and my grandparents here and in Austria.

A huge shout out to Brendan Sheehan…he has taken over my fitness program from my dad, its been nothing short of awesome!!!

Thank you all for reading! The next blog will hopefully be a cool report about my trip to the Red Bull Rodeo in Austria....I am so stoked to go!!!!

Keep the rubber side down!!!

Hunter "747" Neuwirth

PC - Wolfgang Neuwirth

Double Header Weekend – long weekend, short report:

PC - Tori Desmond

We had another super busy weekend, as we decided to hit the JDay Sprint Enduro at Crow Hill on Saturday, and the NETRA Hare Scramble at the Tuxedo Ridge Ski Resort in New York.

PC - Art Pepin, www.offroadpaparazzi.com

The Sprint Enduro was a new format for me. It really was a lot of fun, but my riding was off the mark. I decided to run the Magical Clapper YZ 125, and struggled with it all day. It’s just not set up for that kind of racing, but we wanted to save the YZ 250 for the next day. With the exception of the sand cross test, I never felt good on the bike and just used the race as a practice day, logging seat time. I pushed, but could not find a rhythm, I fought but couldn’t really get it done.I ended up somewhere around 20th overall…not horrible, but not anywhere near acceptable to me. By the end of the day I was already thinking about Sunday, and how I was going to redeem myself…sooo…

PC- Leanne Dutlinger

Sunday was good. The Tuxedo Ridge Ski resort is a pretty gnarly place to race. Very rocky with lots of elevation changes, and since it was a NETRA event, it was going to be at least 2 hours long. All of this was right up my alley.
Go time. I got a good start, and by the time we hit the woods I was able to jump into the lead. After a little bit of a battle with a couple of guys I was able to check out and build a good gap. The bike felt pretty good, and I knew the longer this race went on, the better it would get for me. When I came in for fuel after 4 laps, dad told me I had a 1.5 minute gap on second, and I was running in 6th overall. This fired me up. I wanted more. Forget the class win, I was in it to fight for the overall. 2 laps later dad showed me the pit board – 3rd overall with 2 laps left. Sweet!!! I decided to crank it up another notch, no reason to hold back. The bike ran unbelievably well, and other than a few blisters, physically I felt like I was getting stronger with every lap. I pushed to the very end, and got rewarded, winning A250 as well as high point A, and I was able to fight all the way up to 2nd place over all behind Jacob Heins.

Things are coming together just in time for my big trip to the Erzberg Rodeo in Austria…my training is starting to pay off, physically I think I am just about ready, I am gaining more and more confidence on the bike, my sprint speed is getting better thanks to the JDay GP series (it forces me to hammer down right from the start), and the NETRA racing tests my stamina and mental readiness, not to mention my rock riding.

PC - Leanne Dutlinger

I’d like to give a huge shout out to John Day for starting a sprint enduro series. It’s big fun, and I will definitely hit another one. Another shout out to the Tri State MC club for hosting the NETRA Hare Scramble. This was our 2nd time there, and being able to race at a ski resort is simply awesome.

Dylan McRitchie (the toughest dude I know), I hope you heal up fast, you need to be out there so I can learn from you!!!

If you are interested in my Red Bull Erzberg Rodeo trip at the end of this month and would like to help, please visit my fund raising page at www.gofundme.com/747toErzberg

As always, a huge thank you and shout out to my awesome sponsors!!! Like them, visit them, share them, buy from them!!!!
Fly Racing, Kenda Tires, Magical Gogo, EKS Brand goggles, Carbon Zero (more on that to follow), SRT Offroad, Panic Rev Ministries, Renthal, offroadpaparazzi, www.fmfracing.com, mom & dad and my sister, my grandparents…

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Thanks for reading. Keep the rubber side down!!!!

Hunter "747" Neuwirth