This is Moto 1 from Sunday May 29th. At the start of the video Jack is the 2nd bike in line, white helmet. I apologize for the shaky camera work.
Click the link below!
Moto 1 (50cc 7-8)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Greenbush - May 29th
We woke up to a small disappointment on Sunday morning as we learned that there were no other riders in the 50cc Oil Class where Jack is currently in 1st place for the season. This meant that Jack would only be racing in the 50cc 7-8 Class for today.
After a lot of discussion regarding the previous day's race, Jack was ready to redeem himself on Sunday. In the morning we worked on getting a good start and talked about the new clutch setup so Jack could get a better idea of how it would power the bike. Practice went smooth and he was ready for the racing to begin.
Jack was finally able to get a solid start in Moto 1 and found himself in a 3 way battle for the lead going into the first corner. He slipped to 3rd and got stuck behind another rider which allowed the 1st place bike to get a huge lead. With his focus on moving up, Jack was able to make the pass for 2nd on lap number two and did not look back. He put in 3 solid laps while showing great cornering speed which was lacking on the previous day.
I told Jack to go out and do the same thing as in Moto 1. Fortunately for him, he did not listen. When the green flag dropped for Moto 2, Jack was a little too eager and got stuck on the starting gate. He was able to quickly free himself but was back in 4th place. Jack was not about to let that stop him as he rocketed through the corners, over the double jumps, and made the passes for 3rd and 2nd, before the end of the first lap. The 1st place rider Evan Christian, was within striking distance and "Dirt Sandwich" would not let him get away. With the added speed, a scary moment transpired on lap 2. Jack entered the whoops section with a good drive off the corner, and with too much speed, landed in the middle of the whoops causing his head to slam into the handlebars. Despite bouncing around on the bike, and not being able to see clearly for a few moments, Jack refused to crash and kept the throttle pinned as he was able to save the bike from going down. The misstep allowed Christian to open up a sizeable lead until the last turn when he went down right before the finish line. He quickly recovered and Jack was not quite close enough to make the pass for 1st place. He would settle for 2nd in the Moto and 2nd overall on the day. It was a huge step for "Dirt Sandwich" as he was able to find speed that he didn't know he had up until that point.
After a lot of discussion regarding the previous day's race, Jack was ready to redeem himself on Sunday. In the morning we worked on getting a good start and talked about the new clutch setup so Jack could get a better idea of how it would power the bike. Practice went smooth and he was ready for the racing to begin.
Jack was finally able to get a solid start in Moto 1 and found himself in a 3 way battle for the lead going into the first corner. He slipped to 3rd and got stuck behind another rider which allowed the 1st place bike to get a huge lead. With his focus on moving up, Jack was able to make the pass for 2nd on lap number two and did not look back. He put in 3 solid laps while showing great cornering speed which was lacking on the previous day.
I told Jack to go out and do the same thing as in Moto 1. Fortunately for him, he did not listen. When the green flag dropped for Moto 2, Jack was a little too eager and got stuck on the starting gate. He was able to quickly free himself but was back in 4th place. Jack was not about to let that stop him as he rocketed through the corners, over the double jumps, and made the passes for 3rd and 2nd, before the end of the first lap. The 1st place rider Evan Christian, was within striking distance and "Dirt Sandwich" would not let him get away. With the added speed, a scary moment transpired on lap 2. Jack entered the whoops section with a good drive off the corner, and with too much speed, landed in the middle of the whoops causing his head to slam into the handlebars. Despite bouncing around on the bike, and not being able to see clearly for a few moments, Jack refused to crash and kept the throttle pinned as he was able to save the bike from going down. The misstep allowed Christian to open up a sizeable lead until the last turn when he went down right before the finish line. He quickly recovered and Jack was not quite close enough to make the pass for 1st place. He would settle for 2nd in the Moto and 2nd overall on the day. It was a huge step for "Dirt Sandwich" as he was able to find speed that he didn't know he had up until that point.
Greenbush, MN is where Jack's racing career started three years ago. The track was not kind to him back then and ended up producing his nickname, "Dirt Sandwich". It may have taken three years but Jack finally dialed the track in by the end of the Memorial Day weekend.
Greenbush - May 28th
Saturday's practice went well as Jack learned the track and found which lines would be the fast ones around the track. Confidence was high as he was getting comfortable clearing the double jumps (two jumps with a gap in the middle), while the competition was content with just rolling over the doubles. Jack was also getting used to a new clutch setup that we had not tested prior to the races.
The gate dropped for the 50cc 7-8 class, Moto 1, with Jack getting a terrible start; already a turn behind the leaders he went to work trying to chase them down. The track was perfect especially in the corners which all featured high banked turns making it very fast and easy to carry speed. Jack however was a notch behind the leaders in every corner, making up time over the double jumps and whoops section (a series of 7-8 single jumps spaced in a row), but losing what he gained in the corners. "Dirt Sandwich" would finish 3rd in Moto 1.
In Moto 2, Jack once again had a horrible start and had to work his way forward. He pushed the bike just a bit too hard and it slid out from underneath on a backside corner. He was able to get the bike back up quickly and took off once again. On the final lap Jack had 2nd place back within reach but chose not do the double jumps which would have placed him ahead of the other rider. On the last turn the bike in 2nd place went down and it looked like Jack would make an easy pass right before the checkered flag. As he was making the turn Jack's handlebars clipped the leg of the parent helping the downed rider and Jack went over the handlebars. With his foot caught underneath the rear tire, he was unable to get up before the other kid and would settle for 3rd in Moto 2 which gave him a 3rd overall on the day. A good ride for sure but Jack knew that he gave up 2nd place by not jumping the doubles on the last lap.
The 50cc Oil class once again did not pose a challenge to "Dirt Sandwich" as there were only two riders who were at the beginner level. He easily post 1st place finishes in Moto 1 and 2 to give him 1st overall on the day in that class.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Finley, ND - May 14th
Finley, ND marked the location for Jack's second race of the season and despite positive forecasts, the weather was far from positive. When we awoke at 4:30 am to rain and sub 40 degree temperatures we knew we would be lucky to race. We left at 5:00 am and arrived to Finley a few minutes after 7:00 am to a sloppy mudhole that was becoming more wet by the minute. Despite the cold, mud, rain, and gusting winds, the race was not canceled.
The weather did keep most of the competition home however which resulted in an easy win for Jack in the 50cc Oil class giving him back to back first place finishes on the year! A great start and nice points lead so early in the season.
In the 50cc 7-8 year old class, Jack was joined by 3 additional riders including hometown kid Evan Christian. In Moto 1 Jack was very hesitant in the mud on the first lap and found himself in third place with only one lap remaining. On the final lap he decided that the mud wasn't so bad and put the hammer down. Despite being 1/3 of the track behind second place, Jack charged through the mud and at the checkered flag he fell short by only a bike length.
Following the strong finish to Moto 1, Jack's confidence was high going into the 2nd Moto. A poor start left him in fourth place and his luck only got worse from there. Jack was getting ready to make the pass for third place when the rider in front of him got crossed up and crashed. "Dirt Sandwich" had nowhere to go and t-boned the other bike sending "Dirt" over the handlebars and faceplanting in the mud. After a short recovery both riders were back on their machines. With over half a track distance to the second place rider Jack had to settle for 3rd once again, although just as in Moto 1, he had closed the gap by the checkered flag. An overall 3rd place finish was an excellent achievment despite the weather and bad luck, and Jack was in high spirits the rest of the day!
The weather did keep most of the competition home however which resulted in an easy win for Jack in the 50cc Oil class giving him back to back first place finishes on the year! A great start and nice points lead so early in the season.
In the 50cc 7-8 year old class, Jack was joined by 3 additional riders including hometown kid Evan Christian. In Moto 1 Jack was very hesitant in the mud on the first lap and found himself in third place with only one lap remaining. On the final lap he decided that the mud wasn't so bad and put the hammer down. Despite being 1/3 of the track behind second place, Jack charged through the mud and at the checkered flag he fell short by only a bike length.
Following the strong finish to Moto 1, Jack's confidence was high going into the 2nd Moto. A poor start left him in fourth place and his luck only got worse from there. Jack was getting ready to make the pass for third place when the rider in front of him got crossed up and crashed. "Dirt Sandwich" had nowhere to go and t-boned the other bike sending "Dirt" over the handlebars and faceplanting in the mud. After a short recovery both riders were back on their machines. With over half a track distance to the second place rider Jack had to settle for 3rd once again, although just as in Moto 1, he had closed the gap by the checkered flag. An overall 3rd place finish was an excellent achievment despite the weather and bad luck, and Jack was in high spirits the rest of the day!
May 5th - Brooks, MN
The 2011 race season began for "Dirt Sandwich" in Brooks, MN. Jack had mixed results in Brooks last season as he raced exclusively only on the Micro Track. 2011 would be a new challenge for Jack with him moving up to the main track in the 50cc 7-8 class on his 2008 KTM 50 SX.
Practice went well as Jack learned the track and tried to figure out where he could use the new skills that he learned at MX School. When the green flagged dropped for the 1st Moto, #54 fired out of the gate and held second place for all three laps. Jack did not challenge for the lead, however he did become faster with every lap by railing the corners and finished solid in his first moto of the season.
The 2nd Moto was more of the same, aside from mechanical difficulties caused by the pit crew. Lead Mechanic Andy, forgot to turn the choke off which resulted in the bike loading up with fuel and stalling out on the backside of the track. Once the issue was resolved "Dirt Sandwich" put his head down and put in two great laps to secure another second place finish and second overall in the 50cc 7-8 class.
The biggest surprise of the day was when a fellow race family offered Jack a free bike to ride in the 50cc Oil class. The 50cc Oil class is where Jack has placed 3rd overall for two straight seasons. With no intentions of riding in this class for 2011 it came as quite a shock. Jack thankfully accepted the gift, and did not disappoint as he notched his first overall win while racing with the DMC series. For a more detailed breakdown of the 50cc Oil class check out the 13 Towns (May 24th Edition).
Practice went well as Jack learned the track and tried to figure out where he could use the new skills that he learned at MX School. When the green flagged dropped for the 1st Moto, #54 fired out of the gate and held second place for all three laps. Jack did not challenge for the lead, however he did become faster with every lap by railing the corners and finished solid in his first moto of the season.
The 2nd Moto was more of the same, aside from mechanical difficulties caused by the pit crew. Lead Mechanic Andy, forgot to turn the choke off which resulted in the bike loading up with fuel and stalling out on the backside of the track. Once the issue was resolved "Dirt Sandwich" put his head down and put in two great laps to secure another second place finish and second overall in the 50cc 7-8 class.
The biggest surprise of the day was when a fellow race family offered Jack a free bike to ride in the 50cc Oil class. The 50cc Oil class is where Jack has placed 3rd overall for two straight seasons. With no intentions of riding in this class for 2011 it came as quite a shock. Jack thankfully accepted the gift, and did not disappoint as he notched his first overall win while racing with the DMC series. For a more detailed breakdown of the 50cc Oil class check out the 13 Towns (May 24th Edition).
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