As I reflect back on the season, it had a lot of ups and downs, and I would not have changed a thing because I had an awesome time and a safe year.  I finished in 8th in the 250 C and 7th in the Open C classes.  I definitely ran harder and faster than last year, but also had a lot of crashes which hurt some of the results. 



The competition this year was also tougher as a result of the improvements to the Ultimate Series which drew in better riders.  This is a good thing because running against faster riders teaches you to ride faster. I can't wait for the American Suzuki Triple Crown Shootout on Oct 25-26 and look forward to 2009.

From Tntmoto.com:

Another beautiful day with 84 degrees and sunny skies for Round 3 of the District 6 Ultimate Series Championship.  Since Dutchmen is run so poorly, turnout was medium and no classes had qualifiers.  The crew included Kirsty, Chris, and Roberto.  Today was a better day for Justin than yesterday.  In order to get extra track time, Justin entered both the 250C and Open C classes since it has been 2 years since he last rode here.  In the 250C class, Justin ran 17th and 13th for an overall 14th out of 37 riders.  In the Open C class, he did really well with a 7th and 10th for an overall 7th out of 26 riders.  These results made up for yesterday and are a good note to finish on while going into next weekend's event.  Our protest of B-class rider #74 Joshua Black was heard, and the promoter forced him out of the C-class - Thanks Dutchmen!

From Tntmoto.com:

75 degrees and sunny are perfect conditions for racing on Round 2 of the District 6 Ultimate Series Championship.  Both Kirsty and Chris were along for race support.  As expected, the turnout was big so both the 250C and Open C classes had qualifiers to get to the main.  Justin had a mixed day due to some unfortunate luck in the Open C.  While in the top 10 in the qualifier, he tipped over in a corner so dropped back to 15th which still qualified for the main.  In the main, another rider got into him and he went down on the first lap.  With most of the field going by, he still managed to get back up to 34th.  He scored an overall 33 out 56 riders total.  Our protest of a B-class rider in the C-class was ignored by the promoter.  We are not taking this and will pursue it with both the district officials and in a public forum on the D6 message board.  Watch and see.

From Tntmoto.com:



A cold wind and threatening skies made the 54 degree temp feel chilly.  This was Round 1 of the District 6 Ultimate Series Championship, so the turnout was huge.  Unfortunately, Justin's leg was still in bad shape from last week's big crash, so he was in marginal shape to compete.  Despite the pain and an obvious limp, Justin entered both the 250C and Open C classes.  Both classes ran qualifiers since the 250C had 71 riders and the Open C had 50 riders.  Justin pulled the holeshot in the 250C qualifier, and led for the first couple of turns!  He slowly settled back to 10th place by the last lap and had it pretty much locked in, but tipped over in a corner and fell back to 17th out of 36 riders.  In the Open C qualifier, he stalled on the gate and had to catch up, but salvaged a respectable 14th out of 25 riders.  Both finishes qualified him for the main events which had full gates of 40 riders.  Justin finished 21st in the 250C and 19th in the Open C.  Since Pagoda scored the race like a regular 2-moto format (instead of the qualifier format), he had overall scores of 25 in the 250C and 21 in the Open C.  Both were solid mid-pack finishes but were just out of reach of the coveted points for the top 20 places.

This was my first Motorama and I was a bit nervous. They ran 2 qualifiers with 11 riders in each, so I only had to beat 1 guy to make the main. I grabbed the holeshot and finished 2nd in Saturday's qualifier. Then rode to an 8th out of 20 for the main.



Sunday I took the holeshot again and finished 3rd in the qualifier. Sunday's race was red-flagged twice for big crashes, one of them being a Suzuki landing in the first row of the audience. I was in the front of all 3 starts and kept things smooth until the last lap where a rider landed on me. I had been in 4th place but fell to 11th from the crash.



This was a good start for the 2008 season and I can not wait for the D6 Ultimate Series Championship.

Last weekend was the second last race of the season at Doublin Gap MX Park. It was chilly and overcast but the weather provided excellent track conditions. In moto one I stalled the bike in the holeshot and fought back to second place. I wiped out in a turn and slipped back to third.



In moto two I I quickly took over second and never looked back. That gave me a second place overall out of seven riders. It felt good to get into a podium spot again, but the main focus of the day was to improve in the sections of the track that I had trouble with this year.

I dialed in the rhythms, got the large double in the back before the escalator section, and found a good line around the whole track. Next year I'll be ready for my competition.