Race Report: Clay City Race Report (2007)
There is nothing like racing in 90 degree temperatures with a ridiculous amount of humidity along with some dust, but for those of us who race in the mid-west in the middle of summer, that is usually what the conditions tend to be. The latest round of the KORHS Series was no exception and had all the ingredients for a tough and enjoyable race around the MPOR facility.
I guess I can begin this report with admitting that I was one of the not so smart people that actually missed the start!! That's right folks, I missed the start. In all of my years of riding and racing motorcycles I have never been so embarrassed. Instead of being on time, I was out in the far field doing all of my pre-race rituals and loosening up. I guess I should keep my watch on at all times on race day. It was my own fault, just plain old fashion dumb!
Once I entered the race, and not knowing how far behind I actually started. I just put it in full "whiskey" throttle mode. I was riding so angry and mad, that now that I look back on it maybe I need to start racing like that more often because I was just throwing caution to the wind passing people and just hanging it out everywhere. (I actually felt like I was riding well for a change.) Probably not the smartest thing to do on the first lap because there are so many blind drop-offs and corners at MPOR and you could get into serious trouble.
At the end of the first lap I noticed I was in fourth and immediately went to work trying to close the gap on Alan and Billy Clark who were still a ways a head of me. About half-way through the lap I got around Billy and set out to chase down Al. Did I mention that Whibs was there? It would have taken a miracle for me to catch a guy of his caliber on a fast dry course like MPOR especially after I spotted him a good (3-4 minutes?) right off the bat. Paul thrives on the fast stuff and if you ever get a chance to watch him ride in that type of terrain, it really is just plain sick how fast he goes. Anyway, after I got around Billy, Dustin Gibson caught up to me and I graciously let him by. I was staying on his tail so that he would help me reel Alan in, but in the dust I was a bit difficult staying behind him. I stayed just out of his dust range, but I could still hear him on the upcoming hills. That was a good strategy until I did not hear him anymore! I guess after he got around me he had some problems because I came through the scoring chute in third.
From that point on I just kept pushing on the big 450 trying to cut the interval between Alan and I. (I can't tell you how much fun I was having on the freshly bull-dozed hills.) Every lap I came around and the deficit was shrinking, which just kept motivating me more. This is the point where I would like to tell you that I caught Al about 2 miles from the finish and put an amazing pass on him to take second, but that was not the case. I cruised home a hard earned third place. My hat is off to Paul and Alan for riding well and for making me push myself.
I would also like to acknowledge the guys that were very nice in letting me by on the first lap, especially Harvey, Big Dave, and Maury. If any of you know these guys or have raced with them it is not very often that they give you the courtesy wave. These guys are racers and will make you work for it no matter what the circumstances may be. A big thank you is also deserved to the KORHS Crew and MPOR for a fun day in the saddle, and my boys Jim, Josh, and the Wasting Time Films Crew (Whitey and Tad) for cheering me on all day.
Take care and I will see you all at the 2-man race later this month!!Marty Michels
Thanks to my sponsors: Maxxis Tires, Rex's Cycle Shop, KTM, House of Horsepower, Dirtricks.com, Enduro Eng., SRC, Tireballs, Devol Eng., Answer Racing, Berik, Scott, MotoXtremes, Clarke Mfg., FMF, All-finish Concrete Const., Caywoodslawn.com, No-toil, Decal Works, Motosportz Steering Stabilizers, Tag Metals
Marty Michels
