I have no idea how you are supposed to spell that, hopefully you could tell the sound effect that I was going for in the title. lol
Ive got a busy couple months ahead. Its technically my off-season right now from racing, but that just means that Im even more busy than before. Ive got races and riding planned for the next 5 or 6 weeks. But I dont even have a place planned to stay. Im in the dorms this semester and I have to be out of my room for christmas break by Dec 10... And I dont plan on flying home until Dec. 21. Gotta plan the important stuff first!
But the Duhn Duhn Duhn was for the sort of "revealing" of my truck. I haven't seen it in months, but I hear that it has come a long ways. Im sure some of you have been wanting to see pictures of it finished. So I have! I was supposed to get it back about a month ago, but of course, some delays happened. Now Im planning on driving it back to Vegas on Jan 1 when I leave Boise. The last time I saw it we had just barely finished up the rear shocks and suspension. Ive been told that since then the rear fiberglass has been mounted, a bumper has been built, the bed has been customized so it is still removeable in the future with the shocks going through it ( I absolutely HATE the designs that everyone does that when you bend or break something, you have it cut it off. Why the heck would you just weld your front bumper to the frame! Spend just a little more time to make it bolt on!) Along with maybe some bed liner sprayed in there. And the biggest detail, that I think is delaying it the most.... something that no other pre-runner has.... a rack system for my quad. Im a professional racer, so there is no way I can have a truck that I can't load a quad into. So my truck will eventually have a system to pull the quad up and over the shock hoops. Stoked to see it!
I was a little bit of a failure this weekend in the way of Media. I have no video or pictures to show from my weekend in Dumont. I dumbly forgot my helmet cam... and so did a couple other friends that have them. And its just too hard to carry my camera out when I go ride.
I found a few jumps. Nothing spectacular. A couple of the same jumps from last year. Spotted a dirtbike doing a 130+ ft double with a gap in the middle. I didn't have the cajones to even make a run at it.
One night we spent a while watching a group of drunk people try and get their trucks un-stuck behind competition. First a Toyota dug in and decided to just keep spinning the wheels until they were completely barried. They brought another truck, broke the front driveline and barried that one also. One more truck and tried to pull the second one out at an angle instead of straight... no surprise, another one stuck. Somehow found another truck and pulled the third out. Then get that one stuck again trying to turn around to give another pull. Found an even bigger truck, managed to pull a few of them out, then broke the driveline in that one also. At one point, had 4 trucks stuck plus another pulling. One vehicle of every major brand stuck, a few too many beers, no real tow straps, and all in the middle of the night.
Seemed like there wasn't all that many people out there...
Anyone else got any good stories from the desert, sand, snow, or mountains during Halloween?
I planned on taking this week and weekend off from riding/racing. I deserve a weekend off after a season of racing right? Plus I was hurt and waiting for parts so I couldn't go to the Quadcross race anyways...
So for my weekend off, I spent Friday working on my broken quad, and someone elses broken quad. I got up really early saturday morning and went to Dumont dunes. Since my quad was broken I drove a borrowed yamaha rhino. And today Im going to Red Rock to go hiking/ mountain biking for a work out...
I guess I never really take any time off from quads or the off-road industry. My life is just so much wrapped up in it I dont know what else to do with my time. When I get bored and have nothing to do my first thought is always to go work on my quad...
Is anyone else so involved that they find themselves not knowing what to do when they can't ride?
Coming in to the final World Off Road Championship Series ATV Nationals in Mesquite NV, HotSeat Powersports/Yamaha rider Justin Waters sat 10th in points – but in a tight battle. Six riders sat with only 7 points separating them. He knew he had to finish well to reach his goal of a top ten for his first season on the Pro circuit. And have some luck on where the other riders finished, so the points would fall his way.
"Our goal from the beginning was a top ten this season. It seemed to be a realistic goal based on my lap times and the riders I know I can run with, but then as the season went on, several top national-level Pros also came out to try the series and the competition really ramped up. I’ve never worked this hard – on and off the track."
The Mesquite race had all the excitement and drama fans could ask for, with several top GNCC and ATV MX pros coming out to shake up the mix in Sunday’s Main Event - but when the dust settled, Waters had the finish he needed, earning the #10 plate.
"I'm even prouder of finishing with no DNFs. The companies I'm working with are turning out the best equipment in the industry. They understand the extra demands racing puts on their products. The Yamaha YFZ450R is a bike that anyone can get on and ride, you don't have to hire a master mechanic or pour thousands of dollars in to maintain it. Fox Racing Shox, Teixeira Tech A-arms and a Rekluse clutch were absolutely key to several of my best finishes this season. It was also great to have Maxxis support right at the track. I can’t thank them enough, and I’m anxious to work with them all again.”
His sights are set even higher for 2010.
“Now that we’re on the front row, I want to put my sponsors on the podium. Get a single-digit number for the year.”
#95 Justin Waters (WORCS #10) would like to thank his 2009 sponsorship partners, including:
Hot Seat Powersports, Yamaha, Teixeira Tech, Fox Racing Shox, Precision Racing Products, AC Racing, G4-Graphics, Rekluse, Spider Grips, Powermadd, GYT-R, MotoX Nutrition, Flexx Bars, MSR, Scott USA, Gaerne, DP Brakes, DWT, Maxxis, Motion Pro, Spectro Oil, Quadtech, Regina Chains, SkorBordz.
Ok, so every weekend in Vegas is a busy weekend, but its a busy weekend for racing outside Vegas. In Primm this weekend is the final round of BITD racing for the quads. The top 5 spots in the Pro class are still yet to be decided. Watch for Cody Mitchell and Jeff Hancock to be battling all race long. If you are thinking about maybe going and doing this grand prix, ( apprx. 8, 8 mile laps) the pro entry fee is $475.... Make dang sure you have a good reason to even do this race.
If paying over $8 a mile to race is way too steep for you also, maybe head out to the WORCS race in Mesquite, NV. For the same price you could do 3 or 4 hours worth of racing. Being the final round of the year, this race is sure to be packed, and the Pro class is guaranteed to be exciting. Beau Baron hasn't secured the championship yet, but only has to finish better than 12th. There is currently about a 5 way battle including myself for 7th through 11th position in points. Everyone wants to earn one of those single digit numbers for next year. I plan on getting all of you some helmet cam from Pro practice this weekend so keep your fingers crossed that something doesn't go wrong again.
On a non-offroad side note, this week and this weekend is also the NHRA finals at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
So if you live near Vegas, pick a race, and have a good weekend! Im headed to the track in Mesquite in just a few short hours.
You can see here just how hard it is to know where you are going at Speedworld MX night riding. A lot of really dark sections. When you get a little mud on the goggles, its nearly impossible to see.
It was an exciting night of action with Chad Wienen and John Natalie dominating the main event. Both riders established fast lap times in practice and qualifying sessions leading up to the race on their Team Motoworks / Can-Am DS 450 ATVs. Wienen won by an impressive 20-second margin on second place teammate John Natalie. Natalie, in turn, beat third place by nearly 20 seconds as well. This was Wienen's debut on the DS 450 and he wasted no time establishing himself on the machine.
I think everyone would agree that times are hard right now due to the economy. Sponsors are putting less money into racing series', and less racers are travelling long distances for races. I would also assume that most people aren't spending as much money to go to a track and pay to practice every weekend. I would think that right now tracks would be wanting all the riders they can get.
But apparently the mx track in Mesquite NV doesn't need more riders. They are just one more track to eliminate quads from their facility. I went to their track 2-3 times last spring with multiple quads every time and we never heard a word from the track complaining about us. I don't doubt that the hardcore bike riders were still being babies and didnt want us riding there, but when it gets bad enough we usually hear from the track owners/managers. Maybe tell us something like "Go slow in the corners so you dont hurt the ruts." Ive never seen or heard a pro bike rider say " If this track didnt have perfect ruts in every corner I wouldnt ride here". I think only the real beginners struggle without having ruts. But that is a whole nother issue that you dont want to get me started on.
When I showed up on Saturday morning and pulled up to the gate shack apparently I was already a hot topic of discussion while I was waiting in line. My quad was on top of my truck bed so they were preparing to tell me I couldn't ride. I was excited to ride the new track because they re-did the entire thing over their summer break. But I guess over their break they also decided that they don't want any money from quad riders anymore. They also decided to not make people aware of that either. I was on the website and listened to their voicemail before I left and there was nothing about quads not being alllowed. I made them aware of that, and I appreaciate that they let me ride because of that. But they made it clear that I wouldn't be allowed again.
I also thought it funny that the person at the gate told me they were no longer having any quad races either. Hmm... As of right now I already know of two quad events scheduled for their facility. One in just two weeks in fact.
Maybe someone can explain to me what is different about my $30 because I ride on two more wheels?
WORCS- Rnd #7- , Devore, Ca
Bakersfield, Ca- 9/27/09: H&M Motorsports returned to the famous Glen Helen track, where Haagsma would take on Rnd #7 of the World Off-Road Championship series. Davi came into round 7, knowing he had to keep a good run here in the late rounds as Motoworks’s pilot, Zimmerman was ahead in points. Davi in classic Davi fashion motored his way to a first place overall and continue to let people know he is not one to be reckon with. Although Davi picked up another win, Zimmerman was able to post a 3rd place O/A and secure the 2009 Pro-Am Championship. Haagsma did finish off the year with a Production A Championship in the WORCS series and now looks to roll into Mesquite (WORCS finals) and win out the 2009 season.
"This was a bitter sweet win for us, although we didn’t have enough to win the Championship, Davi continues to run strong and were looking for two in a row at Mesquite. We (H&M Motorsports) would like to congratulate Dillon Zimmerman on his 2009 Pro-Am Championship. He earned it, with his horrible accident in ITP and his continuos consistency, he deserves high props for his efforts for sure." Allan McCostlin of H&M Motorsports
ITP- Rnd #7- Surprise, Az
H&M’s Davi Haagsma would come into Surprise, pushing his efforts in the Open Pro class and continue to gain this MX experience for 2009. Haagsma would not disappoint as he would post 5-2 motos and secure a 4th O/A and retain 2nd in points on the year in ITP Open Pro.
* Note from Davi Haagsma
“I really want to take time this month and thank my trainer Vernie Ogdon. That guy has been keeping me in shape all year and it shows in these WORCS 2-hr motos. Also- Elka Suspension was superb this past weekend in WORCS, soaking up all the rocks and ruts that the back end of Glen Helen has and Curtis built me a bulletproof engine. No DNF’s this year related to mechanical shows how good these engines are for these high profile races ” said team pilot Davi Haagsma