Race Report: ECEA Round 16: RRMC Enduro
WER Rider: Zack Huberty
Bike: KTM 200 XC
Result: A-200 3rd
Point Standings: 3rd
(Photo Credit: Kevin Novello)
Before the Race:
It has been a while since my last race report. Since then, I have started my sophomore year at Penn State Main Campus. The semester has been a lot harder than I have expected. All of my free time has been spent doing homework or studying for an upcoming exam. This has been my first real break where I have been able to write. Additionally, I have come to the conclusion recently that I haven’t been having as much fun racing as I used to. Not sure if it has to do with the difficulty of getting to and from races while in college, or that I am putting too much pressure on myself to win. But, at the end of the day, there is nothing like to desire to ride and race on the weekends! I am hoping to figure out ways to make it easier to get to the races next year so that I can raise that level of fun I was used to.
Report:
After two cancelled enduros due to rain and my club’s race, I was pretty pumped to race. Leading up to the RRMC enduro, it rained, rained, rained, and rained some more. My dad, sister, and I drove up to New York Saturday night and we were greeted by rain the whole drive up. We slept through the rain and woke up to it as well. I woke up Sunday to the temperatures in the low 40s and a muddy day ahead of me.
With new tread, mud guards, and a desire to ride, I lined up at the starting line. I was looking forward to riding in the sloppy mud as it tends to always be a race of human and bike survival. 5 4 3 2 1 go! And I took a slow start as my wheels spun on the slippery ground. I gained speed and shot down the straight-away and lost control at the first dip, which sent me sliding (stupid me). As I was sliding, I pulled in the clutch and was able to get back upright without losing much time. The first section of the day consisted of 7.5 miles of their hare scramble track. It had a lot of grass track which was tricky since it was hard to find traction on it. Once in the woods, we rode through tricky areas with slimy roots, run-off water that formed into rivers, and big mud holes. The first section went pretty flawlessly for me as I made my way through the woods without getting stuck and used good throttle control in order to get as much traction as possible. I liked the challenge of trying to keep the bike hooking up in the fields and being on the verge of sliding out but keeping it together.
After an 8 minute break, we headed across a deep stream and up an ATV trail into the heart of the woods. Water was flowing down the mountain from all angles and everything was as slick as ice. Once we got towards the top of the mountain, the woods started to tack up and I was able to get more traction than I thought. I felt good and confident. I rode smart which was my goal. At the end of the section, we had to go down a hill which was very slippery. My bike almost slid down the side of the hill so I had to carefully maneuver my way down the mountain to the check. By the end of the check, I was ready for a new pair of gloves and decided to go without goggles for the rest of the day. After the club sent us through a couple more deep streams (3 feet deep in some areas), muddy fields, and a lot of blacktop, we got to the first gas stop of the day.
At the gas stop, my dad worked on my bike by getting all of the mud off of it. Usually my dad races with me, but this weekend we had to bring to my youngest sister along so he couldn’t. It was nice having him at the gas stop because he was able to get my camelback re-filled, tighten my chain, and get all of the mud off the bike. It was a big help. After the gas stop, we had three more sections before the end of the race. In the 3rd section, I got off to a great start and was following AA rider, Jarod Kulp, and I felt comfortable with his pace. He would pull away a little in areas but I was able to reel him back in. After 2 miles, he started to pull away and before I knew it, we were both stuck on a bank. I tried to get up the one side but fell into the creek with my bike. After struggling for 5 minutes or so, I got up the bank and was exhausted. I knew I wasted my chance for having a good day. I was frustrated coming out of the section as I knew I had made one mistake. In the A class, the winner is the fasted rider but also the rider who makes the least mistakes.
I went into the 4th section determined to ride smart and make-up time but I got stuck on a steep uphill that was covered with slick rock. I struggled to get up the bank and eventually made it after falling a couple times. My energy was shot and I just tried to minimize my errors while tired. I came out of the 2nd to last section feeling defeated as I knew my day was done. As I rested, I remembered my goal going into the day, and it was to have fun. I started the last section of the day making sure I finished the race on a good note, and that was enjoying what I do. And that is riding/racing. The last section of the day was on a part of the course that we had already ridden earlier in the day. I was able to zero this section which I was happy with.
At the end of the day, I was able to end up with 3rd which was 6 points off of 1st. I felt as if I had the speed to win, but my two mistakes cost the win for the day. I will re-group and try to come into the next race even stronger. I will be switching things up next race by racing the NEOC Series and trying to win a couple dollars with their A pay-out. Until the next race report, I will be putting in the work and wrenching on bikes (although the majority of my time is spent sitting at my desk doing homework).
Once again, I could not have done all of this without the support of my family, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, PowerSeal USA, FMF, BRP, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Galfer USA, Sixsixone, Kenda, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, AXO, DT-1 Filters, AP Brakes, Motorex, Acerbis, Matto Cycle, MotoConcepts, Renthal, Clockwork KTM, and Topar Racing.
For more information:
Check WER Suspension out at Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”
Check Zack Huberty out at Facebook “Zack’s Racing”
Check-out Zack Huberty at http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/
