Round 11: SORR Foggy Mountain Enduro

Erin Lyn Photography

Race Report: ECEA Enduro Series Round 11: SORR Foggy Mountain Enduro

Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: MotoFIT KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 1^st, 17^th Overall

Report:

            After feeling like I couldn’t put a section together at STER, I was hoping that I could put in a solid ride at Foggy Mountain.  Going into the race, I knew that the heat would be a factor, and I also debated using a knobby or a trials tire.  Prior to Foggy Mountain, I picked up a Specialized Hardrock 29er from Lee Rogers at Bicycle Therapy in Philadelphia.  It has been a goal of mine to buy a mountain bike this summer and start training more by mountain biking.  Lee was extremely knowledgeable about mountain bikes and walked me through everything on the bike.  He also introduced me to Hammer Nutrition products which I am going to look into as I want to start focusing on fueling my body the correct way.

            We left at 4am on Sunday morning and my Dad took care of all of pitting needs throughout the day.  Through the first two sections I suffered some small arm pump as I was holding on too tight to the bars.  Despite a crash within the first mile of the first section, I rode flawlessly the rest of the day.  I focused a lot more on trying to be more aggressive down straight-aways by riding the bike a little higher in the rpms.  The day was fairly uneventful as I just tried to focus on riding smooth and mistake free.  We made two small errors throughout the day when we checked into two sections later into our minute than I liked, but it didn’t hurt us that bad.  I rode along with Pete Wright most of the day who has consistently been a top 15 rider.  For the first time in a while, I stuck behind his wheel almost all day and even made a pass in the final section.

            At the end of the day, I was able to beat 2^nd place by 3 points and my closest competition by 6 points.  I am trying to keep my riding intensity and focus up throughout the races so that I can ride stronger.  This was also the first race I used my Tech Tube in a Bridgestone M404 and it worked awesome.  It is great to know that you don’t have to worry about a flat.  My MotoFIT KTM 200 worked excellent and the small jetting change I made seemed to work all around a lot better in the heat.  I have to say that my day was a lot less stressful since my dad was out there pitting for me, filling my camelback, and taking a look over my bike at times when I was resting.  In two weeks, I head to the Rattlesnake National Enduro where I will try to put in another solid ride.

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, Tech Tube, Mike at MotoFIT, PowerSeal USA, Unabiker, FMF, Jerod Stoner at JS Designs 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.

A-200 Class Results

1) Zack Huberty (MotoFIT KTM) 17-408

2) Brad Gelwicks  (KTM) 20-399

3) Ron Decaro (KTM) 22-491

4) Steve Aretz (KTM) 23-525

5) Denny Mann (GAS) 33-722

For more information:
Check WER Suspension out on Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”
Check MotoFIT Motorsports out on Facebook “MotoFIT”

Check Zack Huberty out on Facebook “Zack Huberty”
Check Zack Huberty’s Blog http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

ECEA Round 10: Barbed Wire Enduro

Race Report: ECEA Enduro Series Round 10: STER Barbed Wire Enduro

Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: MotoFIT KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 1^st, 21^st Overall

Report:

            The past few months have gone by so fast with racing, work, and the endless bike maintenance.  I unfortunately haven’t had the time to write a race report recently but the two previous races went well with two second place finishes in technical terrain.  This past weekend, my Dad and I headed to Elmira, PA to race the Barbed Wire Enduro.  We arrived there on Saturday after a four and a half hour drive.  In the morning, we woke up to excellent riding weather and I felt good.  The only thing that was bothering me was a swollen ankle from a bee sting on that Friday. 

            The track conditions were fairly dry and loamy with a lot of roots.  I headed into the first section confident in myself and my bike.  I had a great start as I followed a fellow A rider (Pete Wright) who has been riding at AA speed all year.  I was right on him until a big root sent my bike and I right into a tree.  In the shadows of the dark, the root got me and wrapped me around the tree.  Luckily, my chest protector and handlebars took most of the hit but the chest protector left a nice gash on my stomach.  I was frustrated with my mistakes early on, and even had arm pump throughout the section from being so tense.

            At the first gas stop, I straightened out the bars and made some suspension changes.  I was so frustrated with the way I was riding and was having trouble finding traction in the hard-pack terrain.  With some helpful advice from friends and my dad, I re-gathered my composure and started putting in some solid times.  I only ran into one other problem which was a flat tire before the gas, but I had everything I needed to successfully make the tube change.  Throughout the rest of the day, I only crashed hard once which sent the bike cart-wheeling (one of the nastiest crashes of the season).  For the remaining sections,  I paced myself and let the bike do the work as I rode calm.  In the last section of the day, I finally rode consistent, with-in my limits, and was satisfied with myself.

            Even though I had a rough day, I still rode solid enough to get a class win and missed out once again on AA overall points by one position.  For the last 6 or so races, I have been inside the top 21 so I am happy with that.  This weekend I will head to SORR for the Foggy Mountain Enduro.  I am hoping to ride stronger and more consistent in every section of the day and finish inside the top 15.  I’d also like to mention that I am currently looking for support for 2013 so if anybody is interested, please contact me at ktmracing323@yahoo.com.

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, Unabiker, FMF, Jerod Stoner at JS Designs 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.

A-200 Class Results

1) Zack Huberty (MotoFIT KTM) 23-750

2) Steve Aretz (KTM) 25-813

3) Rob Trout (YAM) 26-838

4) Ron Decaro (KTM) 26-863

5) Holt Wiggans (KTM) 30-760

For more information:
Check WER Suspension out on Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”
Check MotoFIT Motorsports out on Facebook “MotoFIT”

Check Zack Huberty out on Facebook “Zack Huberty”
Check Zack Huberty’s Blog http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/