ECEA Enduro Series Round 12: Rattlesnake National Enduro

Photo by Kevin Novello

Race Report: ECEA Enduro Series Round 12: Rattlesnake National Enduro

Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: MotoFIT KTM 200 XC

Result:            Nationally: A-200 2^nd, 42^nd Overall

                        ECEA: A-200 1^st, 19^th Overall

Report:

            Following my win at the Foggy Mountain enduro, I was feeling a little more confident in myself.  I am slowly building my confidence as I finally can see that I have what it takes to win in the A200 class.  During my two weeks off, I was unable to ride because I had to catch up on work that needed to be done around the house.  I wasn’t that bothered by not riding as the long season makes a small break a good time to rest.   I pretty much kept the same bike setup going into the national enduro and made sure I had a trials tire ready in case it got extremely rocky.  I have been running a rock setting most of the year that has given me a lot of success.

            After a lot of rain throughout the week and on Saturday, the track was pretty slick at the race.  I rode on row 45 with another A200 buddy, Tanner Thomas.  Tanner has won every national enduro he has entered this year so I was excited to ride with him.  At 9:45 we took off on the first test which was fairly uneventful other than trying to stay off the ground.  The grass track was extremely slick and the woods were very dark.  I got horrible arm pump in this section which I have been battling recently.

            The next section went flawlessly as I flowed well and rode smooth.  The 3^rd section was the worst of the day for me as I rode over my head and made way too many mistakes.  I kept missing turns, almost crashing, and wadded up on two muddy logs.  This was the first time that I have ever had the rear wheel kick me in the head (pretty scary).  The rest of the day was uneventful as I focused on riding smooth, not making mistakes, and riding smart.  My strongest section came in the 9 mile A B section.  Prior to the section, I made the call to put on a Vee Rubber Trials Tire.  This was the best decision I made during the day because it helped a lot and I was able to ride very well.  The only problem I had was that I got tired towards the end but was able to ride smooth to the end of the section.

            I then decided to switch back to a knobby for the final section of the day.  I started to feel tired during the last section and it was also very loamy.  There were huge holes in the trail in this section which made it sickening as it was a rough ride.  I was so tired that I couldn’t even double the big holes.  I finished the section strong and was happy that I didn’t let the two AA riders behind me catch me all day.  At the end of the day, I was happy to finish 2^nd in my class and 42^nd overall at the National.  I was even happier to finish 1^st in the A200 class in the ECEA which now ties me in points for the lead.  I am also seeing a dietician now so I look forward to improving in the upcoming races.  I really want to get my first championship.

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.

NEPG A-200 Class Results

1) Tanner Thomas (KTM) 34:37

2) Zack Huberty (MotoFIT KTM) 47:04

3) Eric Kriberney (KTM) 49:47

4) Terry Yiengst (KTM) 53:10

5) Todd Vess (KAW) 55:00

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/