Whiplash Fort McDowell - October 5th, 2008

Posted by Webopper on 2008-10-06

Whiplash Racing had their second visit of the year to the Ft. McDowell Stone Grinder MX Park for round 7 of the 2008 series. After the turn on the weather from the last Whiplash race at Snowflake, people were looking for some redemption, both on the track, and from Mother Nature. Well, Mother Nature did her part with the first cool spell of the fall. Sunny skies and temperatures in the 80’s were a pleasant and welcome surprise for both the racers and spectators.

The course layout at “The Fort” is more akin to layouts for the WORCS series with a split between desert racing and classic motocross. Though the motocross portion at Stone Grinder is a well laid out, almost natural terrain course, it has plenty of obstacles to test the riders without being overly technical and dangerous as fatigue sets in. Some table tops, sweeping turns, and a couple of gap jumps over the washes which ran through the track were a majority of what the racers had to deal with in the motocross section. The desert sections were comprised mostly of some high speed flats, and dominated by “The Wash”. The wash is a fairly typical desert wash with few obstacles except for the occasional tree island that provided multiple lines through it. After that, all the riders had to contend with were the abundant and seemingly never ending whoops. Though not as deep and punishing as others I have encountered (Lake Havasu and Mesquite come to mind), they were still a force to be recognized – especially considering you would be going through them every few minutes on the relatively short 6 mile course.

As is customary in the Whiplash events, the quads and bikes alternate start times, with one set running the first race, and the second running last. As the quads ran first at Snowflake, it was the bikes turn to run first. With this also being a short course that also meant an additional split in the classes for each vehicle type. So, 2 bike races followed by 2 quad races with Pro’s and Experts running first, and the rest of us running second was the order of the day. End result, I had to wait 3 races to get my turn and the anticipation was building.

The line up and start is also much like a WORCS race with the entire class on the start and taking the green flag all at the same time, racing for the holeshot. I didn’t get the holeshot, but did come out of the first turn in second place right behind the #602. That’s not a bad start for me, and one I was happy with. I was also happy because I figured if I could just pace off him for a while and see what type of pace he sets, as long as no one was passing us, I would do fine. About midway through the 3rd lap, in the MX section, I decided it was time to make my move. On one of the gaps, with the first place rider rolling them, I decided to jump it clean and see if I could get the pass. I jumped it, and though it wasn’t a real clean pass (thanks for letting me by 602), I got by and started setting my own pace. From there I went pretty hard the next few laps, but probably pushed myself too hard with too many laps still to go. At one point I found myself trying to check my watch to see about how many laps were left, but the watch was covered in mud, so that didn’t work. I would just have to push as hard as I could for as long as I could.

Well, it was shortly after that that Jim passed back by me again. I tried to stay with him, but I really had nothing left in the tank. Shortly after that, another rider, 613 passed me. I was bound and determined to keep my 3rd place finish. As I took the white flag signaling one more lap, I committed to myself that no one else gets by me. Well, in the wash and dealing with the whoops, I was passed and knew there was nothing I could do about it. Whoo-hoo, it was a 900 class rider, and not someone in my class. I was relieved and rejuvenated to still be hanging on to third. I knew if I could just get to the MX portion, I would probably be okay as I was one of the few riders in my class hitting the gaps. Sure enough, I make it though and take the checkered flag for what I think is a third place finish.

I make my way back to my pit area and begin the process of waiting for the results to be posted. Of course, the customary thing to do is see how everyone thinks they did. “So, where’d ya think you finished” was a common question. “I think I did pretty well, I’m thinking 3rd place” was my response.

Results are posted, so I run and take a look, hoping for the official word on my first ever podium on a quad. Sure enough, there I am, IN 7TH PLACE!!! WHAT THE…yes, I was not happy to see that as even the 4th place rider is saying, “Yeah, you were right in front of me”. I look over the scoring and times and quickly realize that they are missing my entire second lap. A quick trip over to the scoring trailer and it’s revealed to me that an unfortunate mishap in the scoring area where a utility quad rolled over on its rider (hope she’s alright) caused a traffic jam – which I was in the middle of – right under the scoring receiver. Fortunately, the manual scorers had me in the right spot, so it was easily fixed. New results are posted and I’m where I felt I should be, in 3rd place. Now I’m feeling good again…

For those of us that ran the 6 hour GP at Stone Grinder, we remember all too well the dust situation that arose. That was a fear going into this race, with it actually being 4 races back to back. I have to say though, the folks at Whiplash, Stone Grinder and Fort McDowell Yavapai Materials did an awesome job on the course preparation and in keeping it watered. The track was laid out great, maintained its condition, and dust was never an issue. Great job to those folks and all the folks that make these events what they are.

Read more about this race from other members in the Whiplash Fort McDowell results thread.