Matts_12GS Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 The big show was in Jacksonville last weekend and I took my 8 year old down to see his first race. It was a lot of fun and made possible by some donated wristbands. Thanks Danny!!! I took the camera along and really enjoyed shooting the races, here's a few of the photos I got there. One of the things I liked about where we were sitting is that the riders and their families were sitting there in the crowd amongst us. This guy here, Matt Lemoine was sitting a row in behind us and I was able to learn a lot about the track and how they handled things as he was explaining the racing to us. The SX Lites charging down the whoops into the last turn on the track Mike Alessi took the holeshot in the first heat and had about a 5 second lead at the end of the first lap Within two laps Ryan Dungy (1) with Ivan Tedesco (9) on his tail, would close the gap and challenge for the lead And pass Alessi the next time around The main event was all about this guy, Trey Canard (shown during rider introductions) Canard would fight with Chad Reed (22, base of the jump) throughout the main eventually getting a second or so lead on him to take the victory. You can't see it here, but the #1 bike of Ryan Dungey is just entering the turn where he had passed Alessi earlier... One, two and three no more than 2 seconds apart. It was great! Link to comment
outpost22 Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Must have been fun. Good shots. What did they charge for admission? Alessi's 350 has been doing well on starts lately. It's fun to watch the old Kmart Trail Master pulling holeshots and giving up 100cc's. I caught the race on SPEED channel. What happened with Stewarts back injury after his crash? They took him off the track on a meat wagon. Link to comment
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Yeah BABY! I missed the show when they were in Oakland. Disappointed I couldn't make it. Your pictures help me get over it. Well, (don't forget to switch to HD and full screen. epic at 1:30) Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 That's a killer video! I think the tickets were in the $30 range. My son had a ball and was really into it since we found this show for him to watch and learn. That's how he knew about the deal with Alessi's dad being such a prick (although he was friendly to us at the katoom truck). I never did see what happened to Bubba until I saw the replay of the race. I may have to start traveling to more races now, supercross, some dirt track... Hmmm, I think a whole new reason to go riding just appeared! Link to comment
drzep Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Hey Matt, glad to hear you and your boy had a great time at the race! Supercross is really an awesome sport, especially live! Not sure if you heard about this and I haven't posted anything about it here, but my little bro Ian, who is a rookie in the SX Lites class for Rockstar Suzuki had a pretty bad crash during practice a few weeks back at Daytona. (He should have been in that pic you posted with his teammate Jason Anderson coming through the whoops!) Daytona was his second Pro race after getting 5th in his debut in Houston. He could use some positive energy from all of you motorcycle devotees out there right now, be it SX or touring! Here is a link to one of our initial updates through Suzuki. You can find lots on Google: IT - #77 Love ya bro! Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 Joe, Definite thoughts and prayers for your bro! If he's still in Daytona and you or the family need a place nearby, we're only an hour north and have room here at the house. I'm just saying. Link to comment
TEWKS Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Definite thoughts and prayers for your bro! Count me in, sorry to hear. Pat Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Is that a 2 wheel drive hub on the front of that bike, or just an over sized mud guard for the brake disk? Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 It's a big mud guard Link to comment
outpost22 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 It's also a rock guard. Stuffing disk brakes into deep ruts/rocks is usually not a good fit. We also used to call them "fenders", as when you're stuffing that front wheel in front of somebody Link to comment
dhanson Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I watch all the races also, a lot different when we ran outdoors in the 70s. I keep thinking I can get back out there, then someone wrecks, I come back to my senses. Toronto, 483, I think was his number was knocked out after highsiding at end of a jump while trying to allow 2 leaders to make their pass. Never did hear how he made out? Link to comment
outpost22 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I watch all the races also, a lot different when we ran outdoors in the 70s. I keep thinking I can get back out there, then someone wrecks, I come back to my senses. Yeah, me too. It was fun watching Decoster, Joel Robert, Bent Aberg, Jim Pomeroy, Ake Johnson, Heikki Mikkola, all up close and personal at the Trans-Am races. Now, if I bump my knee it hurts so much that I cry like a baby. I can't see running that hard anymore. Crashing sucks. Maybe we could ride with inflated air bags around our bodies? Link to comment
drzep Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Maybe we could ride with inflated air bags around our bodies? Usually its the most innocuous crashes that do the most damage. When Ian went down at Daytona it was during a sight lap in practice, in the whoops. Nine times out of 10 he would have jumped back on and ran that section over, and over, and over. Not much could have changed the way it turned out; all the safety gear available wasn't enough and it was a very low velocity impact. Crashes happen and you can't predict the outcome. My dad raced pro for Penton back in the 70s and its amazing to meet all those guys and to talk to them about their perspective on racing these days. The elixir of youth is a game changer for sure! Hell, G--y Bailey came by to see us in the hospital and you can imagine how different his perspective on SX is these days... Link to comment
dhanson Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I was racing novice at Monroe, La. when Bailey raced his Bultaco in open class. He went through a long whoop section that was killing my lap times, like it was a straight away. Think my bike had like 6.5" travel, TM250 Suzuki. Hope Ian heals up like new soon! Link to comment
Ron_B Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I watch all the races also, a lot different when we ran outdoors in the 70s. I keep thinking I can get back out there, then someone wrecks, I come back to my senses. Yeah, me too. It was fun watching Decoster, Joel Robert, Bent Aberg, Jim Pomeroy, Ake Johnson, Heikki Mikkola, all up close and personal at the Trans-Am races. About the time I started racing amateur, this is the first pro race I ever attended... I have some photos of later races but this batch is long lost. Here are some pictures of the series, starting on page 56. Results Link to comment
Huzband Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Glad you two had such a good time. Nice pics, too. On a related note, looky what Bubba's got himself into. Link to comment
Ron_B Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I was racing novice at Monroe, La. when Bailey raced his Bultaco in open class. He went through a long whoop section that was killing my lap times, like it was a straight away. Think my bike had like 6.5" travel, TM250 Suzuki. Dave, did the 250 handle better than the 400s? Those things were killers. Forty horses with a powerband like an on/off switch and a flexing frame. Two of my friends raced them. They crashed a lot, then one bought a Husqvarna and started winning races. The other guy quit. In 1970 I had the pleasure of talking to Gary Bailey one morning at a amateur race in Byron Illinois. Nice fellow. He had held a motocross school the day before. As you say, he and his Bultaco were fast and smooth. There were 2 local riders who were able to keep up, at least for most of the race. Link to comment
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