|
Jarrod McClure Pro ATV Race Report “The Spartan”
With three weeks off between Ohio and
Kentucky, I took the time to complete tear down
on my Honda and grease every bearing and check
over everything in an attempt to avoid the
issues that I encountered in Ohio. Once
everything was re-assembled, I broke it in at a
local race in Pennsylvania, and it allowed me to
get everything dialed in and ready to go for
Kentucky. With the quad ready, I then
focused on preparing myself for the next round
by meeting with Moto Pro Trainer, Marc Sparta,
who has been working with me for several rounds
on conditioning, and the results of my pre-race
efforts spoke for themselves with my second top
5 overall finish of the season.
Enough about the break, lets talk about race.
Before heading to the line, I spoke with my good
friend and up and coming youth racer, Derrec
Robinson, who won the 90 Modified class and
finished 2nd Overall. He gave me a little info
on the track conditions, and from what I heard
it wasn’t really dusty and it had some fast
sections. I also knew the start was going to be
slippery from all the freshly cut hay on the
track.
With the heat and high humidity, I was
thankful for my vented shift racing gear, which
kept me fairly cool waiting on the starting line
for the start of the race, but in no time, the
flag flew, and I had a great jump! If I had been
closer to the inside I would have had the
holeshot! Instead I tried to cut in and got
punted like a football sideways into the second
turn across the slick grass. I some how got
straightened out and faired out about tenth-not
bad.
The track was pretty sweet. It had a little
bit of everything, tight woods, open sections,
up-hills, down-hills, you name it this track had
it. I rode smart the first lap and was able to
pass Bryan Baker and Santo Derisi. I also saw
Chris Borich flipped in the creek. By the second
lap, I was up into fifth behind Matt Smiley. I
got around him on an uphill section, and just
tried to keep riding smart. Near the end of the
third lap, Bill Ballance came ripping by me. He
was moving! I could tell he wanted to win in his
home state. He was on a mission!
By the fourth lap, I had Bryan Cook come up
behind me and eventually make the pass.. From
there on I stuck right behind Cook, and we
charged to the checkered flag. By the 10-mile
marker, we each gained a position when we passed
Adam McGill sidelined with some tough luck as he
appeared to have a chain or sprocket issue.
In a final dash to the finish line, I tried
and tried to make the pass on Cook, but I just
couldn’t make anything stick. I was using
a new breathing technique that Marc showed me,
and it really helped me push till the end, but
Cook is just a super smooth rider, and I
couldn’t get him to make a mistake. I crossed
the finish line in fifth, and was happy with the
top five finish.
I had a flawless day, and would like to thank
my pit crew for a quick pit stop, which helped
me stay with the lead pack, and with two top 5
finishes, I am really starting to build some
confidence in myself, and I now have my sights
set on a Podium finish before the end of the
year.
Between now and the GNCC Round 8, I am going
to race at Miles Mountain, which is
round 3 of the AMA Hare Scramble Championship,
so if I don’t catch ya there, I’ll see you at
Yadkinville!
Photo Credit: Kenny Hill
|
