75th Annual Sandy Lane Enduro

Thanks to Art Pepin for the photo!

Race Report: ECEA Enduro Series Round 1: 75^th Annual Sandy Lane Enduro

Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: MotoFIT KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 6^th

Point Standings: 6^th

Report: 

I have never worked as hard for a race season as I have this year.  The daily cardio workouts have brought me into the race season stronger than I was last year and I have a little more confidence as well.  With school being busy, it has been hard to keep up with training and racing.  It is becoming a regular routine to leave Friday after school and come back to school early on Monday.  These past few weekends have not been relaxing as I’ve been getting bikes ready, racing, cleaning bikes, doing homework, etc. 

This past weekend was the 75^th annual Sandy Lane Enduro near Chatsworth, New Jersey.  

My dad and I woke up early on Sunday and drove down to the race.  My dad helped me get everything ready for my race and then I was off on minute 46E.  I felt ready and strong for this race and confident that I could ride well.  This weekend, I was the most experienced time-keeper on my row so everyone depended on me to keep us on pace and make smart decisions.  Two years ago, I burnt a check by 4 minutes here, so I have learned my fair share of mistakes since then.

After meeting the other riders on my row, we were soon off down a few fire cuts.  For the first 15 miles, we just kept on time while we rode fire cuts and roads.  Soon, we came out of the forest into some soft sugar sand where the speed average went up to 24mph.  I knew that we were going to be approaching a check.  As we went down a row of pine trees, the scoring crew was ahead and I slowly approached until the card flipped.  I sped into the check crew and then was off into some trail.  The trail was fast flowing with a lot of saplings and got tighter in some sections.  I felt great in here but made a few mistakes here and there.  Coming out of the section, I dropped 3 which was comparable to what others dropped in my class.

We caught back up on time and rode some faster flowing trail.  Before the first gas stop, we rode another piece of trail which was a little tighter and had a cool motocross/endurocross section in the middle of the woods.  Three corners into this little area, there was a deep berm which I may have drug my bars on the ground (I’m hoping my dad got video of that).  I felt good in this section and minimized my mistakes, but I think my gearing could have been a lot better.  I couldn’t carry 3^rd and 4^th gear the way I wanted to and had to use the clutch a lot.  I ended up coming out of the section with the 7^th fastest time in my class, so I will need to work on the tighter trails this summer.

At the first gas stop, I fueled up on some cheese, crackers, and water.  My dad looked over my bike which was great because it gave me more time to relax.  I felt strong and was riding well so far.  The only thing I was worried about was my clutch which I was afraid it was fading at that point.  Between the 2^nd and 3^rd gas stop, we rode three sections.  The first section started out in a burned area of the forest which was fast-paced and had a lot of lines all over the place.  It was hard following the trail because the lines crisscrossed all over the place.  I felt good in here as the faster pace suited my style.  After this, we went onto the last section of the day which was a start control at the c-split.  I was expecting ten miles of trail but I believe it turned out to be a little more.  The section started off great with a lot of fast flowing trails that were a lot of fun.  Towards the middle, it started to get tighter and didn’t flow as well.  After a while, we rode into a pit area with some logs and hills.  While going down a hill, I tried to hit the rear brakes but they had faded for some reason and I hit a tree really hard.  I got back up but had to take it easy as I had no rear brakes.  I thought the section had ended, but the check crew said to keep racing.  It was a hard back-to-back section which tired me out a little more.  I rode fairly well but I could definitely improve without my rear brakes fading and better gearing.  I’ll be putting on a Mika Metals 48T for the next sand run.  I didn’t know this quite yet, but this would be the last points taker of the day.

At the second gas stop, I was ready for a fun, fast section.  My dad bled the rear brake since it had gotten soft and the fluid was black.  I had just changed the fluid recently but the abuse and using of it must have boiled it.  From the 2^nd gas until the end, it was all time-keeping on fire cuts.  It was a nice ride, but I wanted to race down some fire cuts.  I will have to wait until next weekend because I know Curly Fern will have some fast fire cuts.  At the end of the day, I placed 6^th but was not far off of the leaders and around 65^th overall out of 500 riders.  I know I need to work on riding better in the tight, sandy trails.  I think a 48T will be more helpful than the 46T I am currently running and will help me in the tighter trails.

I would like to thank the support of my family and friends, especially my dad for his race support (especially this weekend for driving and pitting for me), as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, Mike at MotoFIT, PowerSeal USA, FMF, Jerod Stoner at JSdesigns for the jersey lettering, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Sixsixone, Mika Metals, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, Fly Racing, DT-1 Filters, Motorex, Hinson Clutch Components, Acerbis, and Clockwork KTM. I would like to thank Mike at MotoFIT for all of the KTM support and help with parts.  Lastly, thank you to Art Pepin for supplying me with this great photo! 

For more information:

Check WER Suspension out on Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check MotoFIT Motosports out on Facebook “MotoFIT”

Check Zack Huberty out on Facebook “Zack Huberty”

Check Zack Huberty’s Blog http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

Round 1: NEOC Cumberland County Fairgrounds

Race Report: NEOC Round 1: Cumberland County Fairgrounds Hare Scramble

Rider: Zack Huberty
Bike: MotoFIT KTM 200 XC
Result: A-Light 10^th, 44^th overall
Point Standings: 10^th

Report:
After the last race, I was extremely disappointed with my performance.  However, when it comes to overcoming a set-back, I am always determined to improve and get better the next time.  This past week, I was able to work on my race bike and take it to New Jersey to ride with an AA rider, Tanner Thomas.  I was able to straighten out some of my suspension settings.  It is very helpful when I can go out and mess around with suspension clickers.  For me, it is all about learning from my mistakes, and I am able to do that.

This past weekend was the first round of the NEOC Hare Scramble Series and it kicked off at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds.  This race hasn’t been my favorite since the course gets very rough and I’ve raced it quite a few times.  But it was going to be a good test of my endurance and a test to see if my suspension adjustments helped.  Upon arrival at the race, I quickly realized that everyone had come out to the race.  The main event was huge with a 220+ racers.  I raced in the A-light class which combined two-strokes and four-strokes into one class, which is different from other series which usually do an A-200 class.

The main was set to go off at 2pm.  I got dressed in my sweet Fly Racing Kinetic Gear and my F2 Carbon Kevlar helmet.  I have to say that the Fly helmets are impressive and remind me of a high dollar Arai or Shoei street bike helmet with all of the vents and 3-inch thick helmet padding.  I was also fortunate enough to have Jerod Stoner at JSdesigns.com do some vinyl lettering for me on my jersey which turned out great!  If anyone is looking for some jersey lettering or custom t-shirts, he is the guy to go to.  Additionally, Drew Smith helped me make some suspension changes during the week which I was anxious to try out.

A little before 2pm, I headed up to the line on my MotoFIT KTM 200XC and warmed up the bike.  Before I knew it, the flag dropped and we were flat-tracking it around the first turn.  I had a fairly solid start but my inside line wasn’t as good of a choice as the outer line where riders were able to carry more speed.  In the first corner, I got plastered by dust and rocks, and had to back it off a little.  I lost a few positions but kept my composure.  By the time we got to the woods section, I had picked off a few riders and was settling into a comfortable pace.  To my surprise, we headed across the street where some nice new trail waited for us.  This trail was fast and fun.  I felt a lot more comfortable in the woods than out on the flatter grass track style course.  I was able to pass a couple more people in the woods, and follow a few other riders.  Early on, my plan was to settle into a pace and then slowly turn my speed up each lap. 

After the first lap, I was 13^th and was feeling a lot better than the weekend before.  The next lap, I made a pass up to 12^th, and then made another pass for 11^th on the next lap.  I kept pushing and putting in consistent laps.  By the halfway mark, I was finding my stride and was able to pace myself.  I wasn’t as tired as I expected.  In the last couple of laps, the track started getting extremely beat up with lots of square edges, whoops, and roots.  The ruts in the grass track were forcing me to pick wider lines or alternative choices.  Towards the end, lappers also became worse and I made a couple dangerous passes in order to pass people.  The more it got rough, the more I tried to piece together lines that were less rough and I also tried to ride on the outer edges of the whoops to avoid hitting the deep spots.

In the end, I was able to finish in 10^th and 44^th overall which is a big improvement from the previous weekend.  My class was stacked with a lot of riders, but I am looking to improve in the upcoming races.  I am unsure of whether I will attend the full ECEA or NEOC series, but I will make that decision coming up.  My primary focus will be the enduros and I will stay in shape by racing hare scrambles.  This coming weekend is the Sandy Lane Enduro and Round 1 of the ECEA Enduro Series.  I feel more prepared than I did at last year’s first enduro, so I am hoping to be top 3 in A-200.

I would like to thank the support of my family and friends, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, Mike at MotoFIT, PowerSeal USA, FMF, Jerod Stoner at JSdesigns for the jersey lettering, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Sixsixone, Mika Metals, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, Fly Racing, DT-1 Filters, Motorex, Hinson Clutch Components, Acerbis, and Clockwork KTM. I would like to thank Mike at MotoFIT for all of the KTM support and help with parts.


For more information:

Check WER Suspension out on Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check MotoFIT Motosports out on Facebook “MotoFIT”

Check Zack Huberty out on Facebook “Zack Huberty”

Check Zack Huberty’s Blog http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

Race Report: ECEA Tri-County Hare Scramble

Race Report: ECEA Round 1: Tri-County Hare Scramble
WER Rider: Zack Huberty
Bike: MotoFIT KTM 200 XC
Result: A-200 11th
Point Standings: 11th

Report:
After a couple months without a race, I was chomping at the bit to race again. With stronger support from sponsors and a stronger drive to do well, I was looking forward to the first round of the ECEA Hare Scramble series at the Tri-County site. Unfortunately, I woke up with a fever two nights before the race and was getting a sore throat, so I wasn’t feeling the best coming into the first race. Come Sunday morning, I was feeling alright, but not 100%. With my bike ready to go, we headed to Port Elizabeth. One of the things I wanted to find out early on is if my training in the off-season was helping. During the winter, I worked hard at riding the stationary bike and played a lot of basketball. My biggest struggle last year was my cardio fitness, so I am determined to be stronger this year. One of the downsides to college and a cold winter is that I was unable to ride very much. I rode once before the Tri-County Hare Scramble so I wasn’t exactly comfortable on the bike.

My dad, sister, and I arrived early at the Tri-County hare scramble. The course looked like it would be a little wet but fairly nice. I waited in line with my Fly Racing F2 Carbon helmet for a while before we got new trick transponders. After getting signed up, I watched the starts of the C-race to see how bikes reacted to the track. The torn up areas were very soft, so I had to be careful in those spots.

At 1:30, I rolled up to the A-200 line on my MotoFIT KTM in my fresh Fly Racing gear. I warmed up the bike and focused on a good start. Soon the flag dropped, and I got a horrible start as my foot slipped off of the kick starter. In the first couple turns, I got by 3 or 4 riders before we got into the woods. I got by a few more riders in the woods, but then my day started to go downhill. Soon, more and more 250 riders were flying by me and the trail was getting rough. I learned early on that my suspension was set-up all wrong. I had rode with the suspension in some sand before this race and it worked great, but the whoops here needed a much stiffer set-up. With my bike not working the way I wanted, I wasn’t comfortable to run a faster pace.

As the laps went by, I slipped further and further back. My confidence got lower as I knew that I wasn’t riding anywhere near where I felt I could. I wasn’t comfortable and I hadn’t ridden enough before the first race. I continued to ride and not give-up. During my last lap, I found some more motivation and comfort on the bike, and was able to put in a stronger ride for the last half of a lap.

At the finish, I was definitely disappointed. At the end of the day, my result was disappointing, but I need to look at the positives and negatives. A positive is that I had more energy and feel that I will be able to push on the bike once I get more comfortable. A negative was my suspension, but I will get that better set-up for next race. Thankfully, Drew Smith at WER has been extremely helpful with suspension set-up. I just need to make the proper adjustments and get more comfortable for next race. The next round is the NEOC on March 11th.

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, Mike at MotoFIT, PowerSeal USA, FMF, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Sixsixone, Mika Metals, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, Fly Racing, DT-1 Filters, Motorex, Hinson Clutch Components, Acerbis, and Clockwork KTM. I would like to thank Mike at MotoFIT for all of the KTM support and help with parts.


For more information:

Check WER Suspension out on Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check MotoFIT Motosports out on Facebook “MotoFIT”

Check Zack Huberty out on Facebook “Zack Huberty”

Check Zack Huberty’s Blog http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/