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By: Ray Larez
ITP Quadcross Round 7
Glen Helen Raceway
Devore, California
Aug 6, 2007
Open Pro Class 3-way battle. Who will
prevail? |
It is a hot, blistering summer day for round
seven of the ITP/Yamaha Quadcross. Once again
the race is held at the home track of the
Quadcross, Glen Helen Raceway. There have been
some major changes to the track and the track
seems to be in mid transition for the Dirt Bike
nationals coming in the next month or so. The
newest addition to the track was the quite large
red bridge that spans the big down hill and the
return line up Mt. St. Helen. This gives the
spectators a literal bird's eye view of the
track as the racers speed under you. This view
also provided me with some very much needed
shade between motos. Looks like the next time
they return to Glen Helen it will be a treat,
with an entirely new track layout for the final
rounds of the season.
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Speaking of new, the Leatt Neck Braces are
now hitting the west coast racers. This pretty
costly neck collar has been a hit on the
supercross and dirt bike markets. Now ATV racers
are starting to use them as well. A lower cost
version is also offered and seems to be well
worth the investment. After Motorsports Industry
having tragic events like Ernesto Fonseca and
Jeremiah Jones suffering neck or back injuries,
it's always good to see advances in safety
equipment. Also new at this round was Team
Rockstar/Suzuki/Yoshimura Kory Ellis's new
rides. Suzuki stepped up big time with a brand
new white and also a new yellow LTR-450, the
white one was entered to race Pro class and the
yellow one was to race Open Pro. Another racer
in the Open Pro class that received a new '08
machine was Team Duncan Racing's Doug Eichner.
He willingly showed us his new Outlaw Predator
525 S. The main difference between this Predator
and his WORCS Series machine the Predator 525 is
that the S model is a straight axle and the
other model is Independent Rear Suspension
(I.R.S. and no not the one you are thinking
about).
Kory and mechanic washing the new 08
Suzuki prepping for the next moto. |
Pro Class Moto 1
Well it's on to the racing action!! As
the pros gathered in staging for the first moto,
some of the younger riders were getting a few
pointers from Kory Ellis. After staging they all
lined up at the gate except for a few racers.
Dustin Nelson was injured a few weeks back at a
WPSA race in London, KY. and was sidelined with
a broken femur. With an injury like that this
late in the season, he may not be able to hold
on to his Quadcross Title. Also missing from the
line up was Mike Cafro, and Levi Marana of Team
Temecula Motorsports. Team Capitan Mike Cafro
was spotted in the pits taking it easy. As for
Levi he will be running the Open Pro Class and
John Shafe will be their only Pro Class Rider.
Shafe has been doing really well in the Pro
class and would continue to run up front as he
proved he could do at the drop of the gate.
Shafe would grab the hole shot and pull ahead of
the field. Although his lead didn't last long,
he still held down second place for the first
moto. As for who worked his way around Shafe, it
was none other than the 53 of Kory Ellis. On the
second lap Ellis made his pass and began to pull
away from the pack. Kory looked really strong
and rode his first place position all the way to
the checkered flag. Team Epic, consisting of
Josh Frederick and Jeremy Schell, would wrap up
in the third and fifth positions. I am told
these two will be sporting their new machines by
the next round in AZ. They will be aboard their
new Can Am DS450's. Dustin Terry, the Yamaha
support rider, went down pretty hard on the
start of the second lap. It looked as though
Terry had some trouble with the whoop section
right after the finish line jump and would sit
out the next moto. The lead pack had to be
yellow flagged as they came around for the third
lap.
The Master of hole shots John Shafe pulls on the field in the first moto. |
Pro Class Moto 2
Again the Pros lined up for another
moto and again Shafe nailed the hole shot!!!
Maybe before this round his brother strapped a
rocket to the back of John's TRX450R. He seems
to just take off and rocket down the straight
away into that infamous large sweeping turn at
Glen Helen. Right behind Shafe was Jeremy
Schell, and a close third was Kory Ellis. Shafe
and Schell had a brief battle for the lead but
by the end of the first lap Schell had made the
pass as well as Kory. Now Schell had a new
problem, the fast approaching Ellis. Kory looked
like "a man on a mission" this weekend and had
just raced the first moto of the Open Pro Class
as well. So, one would figure in some fatigue at
this point, but not Kory Ellis. He had just
finished two hard motos in which he had to work
his way to the front and won both motos. Ellis
looked fresh as ever and was pressuring Schell
the "So Cal Hick" for the lead. After making a
couple of inside line attempts to pass Schell,
Ellis would finally make one stick and take the
lead. As for Shafe he had Frederick knocking on
his back door. Shafe would hold his position and
take home a second over all, followed by Schell,
but Kory Ellis took home the 1-1 finish for the
overall Pro Class win.
Kory Ellis given the underclass men
(boys) so helpful tips. |
Open Pro Class Moto 1
The first moto was great! Darrell
Patton took the hole shot on his Yamaha Raptor
700 followed by Doug Eichner aboard his new
Polaris, and Kory Ellis. Patton would lead for a
lap or two, but only until a three-way battle
broke out. Kory was able to take an inside line
and tried to make a pass on both Patton and
Eichner, but was only able to get around Eichner.
He had a little more work to do to get around
Patton. Ellis had just finished running a Pro
Class moto, but the other riders were fresh and
full of energy. Later Kory and Eichner would
make the pass on Patton taking the first and
second spots respectively. As for Patton he
would take a third for moto 1.
Moto two front runner Jeremy Schell till
he was past later by Kory Ellis for the
Win. |
Open Pro Class Moto 2
The beginning of moto 2 was quite
strange. As the gate dropped and the rider
hammered their machines off the line, one lone
racer sat there till they all had left the line.
Most thought it was a mechanical problem, but he
was actually waiting to be the last one off the
line. This racer was none other than Kory Ellis.
One might ask why Ellis would wait and not get
off to a good start. The answer is that Ellis
doesn't normally race this class, but was
participating in it this weekend. Was he there
to show up the new Polaris with a Suzuki? I
figure he was doing some practicing, to work his
way through the pack. Kory is one of the lucky
few to be hand-picked for the Inaugural AMA Pro
ATV Open at Steel City in the upcoming weeks.
This is the first time ever that bikes and ATVs
are going to race the same course on the same
weekend together. Well, let's get back to the
race at hand. Kory would work his way up thought
the pack, while Darrell Patton and Doug Eichner
were riding their own race. As the laps wound
down, Kory was gaining on the lead riders. Kory
would finally take the lead and just
Doug Eichner's new machine
after the fist Open Pro Moto |
when you
thought he had the win, Eichner would make a
pass to take the lead and the overall with a 2-1
finish for the weekend. It was great racing, and
what a debut for the Duncan Racing/Polaris Team
with a win on the new machine.
Since we are just past the half way point,
the race is anyone's game. Kory Ellis has a
commanding lead, but there are more than four
races left in the series. Will Team Epic make up
ground or will John Shafe make a mad dash to the
finish? We will just have to wait and see. The
next round will be in Arizona and will be held
under the lights. This will make it interesting
to say the least.
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