Whoa…let’s just stop right there…race report?
There were a multitude of reasons why this was the time to temporarily “come out of retirement” as it were, and it’s been 16 years since I took a gate drop and holeshot at a motocross or supercross race. I never was too bad at starts.
I have to admit, I actually wasn’t nervous at the gate. I was that morning though. Friday at 4 a.m., about an hour before my alarm would normally go off. Of course, I start thinking about what it’d be like 12 hours later, and my heart and adrenaline instantly start bringing me to an uninvited start of the day. Not a chance of getting back to sleep.
Of course, it’s different now. I’m 47 years old. My thoughts aren’t exactly running frantic picturing going through the track in my head a hundred times. It’s about getting in the pits as soon as they open so I can get set up, and buy myself some time in case me or any of my friends have problems with their machine. How am I going to act if I happen to get a trophy? What’s the most important thing about what the evening is going to mean for me? How will I act if I get dead last?
It’s usually a pretty small group these days. Not exactly a full gate like it used to be. All four of us, and that’s including me, know each other and are friends. Carter is the youngest of the group. He got started with a bone stock Honda 450 last year, and now joins a gate full of Yamaha 450s with a Yamaha 450 of his own. The kid has been getting faster and smarter every time he rides.
It’s practice time. The track is absolutely mint after a week of moisture. The machine is running great. The race order comes out. 20th. That means 19 races are in front of us before we race our “heat”, and 21 are after us before we get to race our “main”. Folks, that’s a 10:30 p.m. main event. Temporarily, I start to second guess my decision to come out of retirement.
But after hanging out with people I have come to call my friends after several years, time flies by, and before we know it it’s heat time.
And I get first gate pick. There’s a first time for everything!
I select a position directly to the right of the doghouse, Carter lines up to my right. Jacob takes the far inside and Logan lines up to our left. The 2 minute board comes out. The engines rumble to a start. I had anticipated having the song “Gimme Some Lovin'” by The Spencer Davis Group playing through my head at this time to ease my nerves, just like I did during my first ever race, but I wasn’t nervous. I was instead preoccupied with making sure I was in second gear, I was at the perfect spot from the gate, and my goggles were clean. We all notice our photographer to our left covering the start of the race, and we all give a thumbs up. Everyone at this gate are friends and this photo will memorialize this time and this place for me.
The board flips over to show 30 seconds. The starting guy points to each of us one at a time and we each sequentially give him a nod showing that we were ready. And I was. The board goes sideways and the starting guy walks deliberately to the doghouse and everybody punches 3/4 throttle awaiting the inevitable. The gates drop, and so does my clutch, and the rest of the throttle. Jacob and Logan are out in front first coming up to the first corner, and when we get there, we’re all within about a quad length of each other. And that’s about where I’m reminded that, “Hey, Brian? This is a race for 3rd, not for 1st!”. Despite running my usual pace, Jacob and Logan are well in front, and I can sense Carter’s machine behind me but close.
The heat is 4 laps, and I finish in position 3 for the heat. In supercross, this means nothing. It simply determines that you get 3rd gate pick for the main.
My usual bedtime comes and goes. It’s about 10:20 p.m. and most of the pits are empty. Even the last glimmers of sunset have faded away, and the now rutted, torn up track is brightly illuminated with shadows casting from the same.
It’s go time again!
We line up in identical spots. I already know my gear is correct. My goggles are clear. The 30 second board turns sideways. The gate drops and I’m already off. I leave the gate in second. Now, for the first time this day, my 47-year-old senior class brain sees things crystal clear and I’m temporarily frightened. It’s that internal mind dialog I had at 4 a.m. calling. Why am I here? What does this all mean? I let slightly go of the throttle as I don’t want to be ahead of someone in a race for the series points. Terrible race strategy, by the way, but it’s the strategy right for me. In the process, Carter sneaks by, but I’m on him.
The track is rough. Beaten, rutted, and dark. Over 42 races have taken place on this track today. But none of that really matters. I’m still on him.
I can remember each of the corners, each of the jumps as clear as day here on Monday, as they’ve been on replay through my head since Friday night. Carter is on it like I’ve never seen before. He wants this, and I’m on his rear number plate, sometimes just a foot or two away.
Carter takes the outside preparing for the culvert step-up. A mistake! Hmmmmm, inside option, check. But it’s not quite enough. I’m still behind.
Last lap. The guy is obsessed. This isn’t the guy I was two corners ahead of in the heat race. I opened the door for an opportunity early in the main, and by God he isn’t going to shut it.
After five laps, some of the most fun, intense, laps I’ve ever taken on a moto or supercross track, it’s over. I yell out a “Whooooooooo!” and hold my clutch in while leaning over the front of my quad to give Carter a fist bump.
Just like the internal mind dialog I had that morning, this cemented it for me. This is what it is all about. Some of the best riding, with some great friends, supported by the best people. I had an absolutely wonderful time.
So, 3-4 in round 6, 18 points. Label out on the can, finish sharing the evening with a personal beverage or perhaps two with my friend.
I have to thank my sponsors. Well, I don’t have any. But Bethany has sponsored my riding by virtue over the last 16 years, always allowing me to do what I love. Isn’t that the best kind of sponsorship?
Until next time?
266MX PhotoGraphy, Bethany Schweisthal, Crystal Nicole Diederich, Carter Pollock
