ABA BMX Quaker State Nationals_Pre-race
Upon arriving at Bumps-N-Berms we were surprised to see the track had this ski-slope appearance to it. That is to say that upon the completion of your run down off the hill you were faced with an uphill climb back to the staging area. The only difference was the lack of a T-bar or lift to get us up there. Likewise, this was the first track that we have been to that had paved berms, steep sided 180 degree berms. It was certainly going to be a quick run from the top to the bottom.
Once the motos were posted we were glad to see that Hunter had a moto of 5I riders. The pre-race was going to be a total points race for the 3 riders. Both of the young boys were very nice and we certainly had high hopes for Hunter that night. The first moto Hunter finished first by half the distance of the last straight. He was confident and really rode a clean a race. The second moto was nearly a mirror of the first race. In essence, Hunter had the lock on first place, being that it was a total points race. Fortunately, Hunter does not have a "cool-it-gear" on his bike so when he is racing he is racing.
When it was time for the mains the story changes. When the gate dropped all three riders were off and running. However, when Hunter and another rider entered the second turn they were side by side. Hunter was on the outside and the other boy was hugging the very inside lane. This is when it got ugly.... The rider on the inside swept nearly straight up the exit of the berm and left Hunter with NO WHERE to go except OVER THE BERM (see video on website). He not only hit the top of the concrete-capped berm with his left knee, but he did a complete flip in the air before landing on his backside and sliding down the opposite side while his bike remained at the top. TALK ABOUT FRIGHTENING!!! I was videotaping the race from the starting line and the moment he disappeared over the berm I was on the move to get to him completely unsure of where he might have ended up. Needless to say he was scared to death and quite banged up when I did get to him. Special thanks to Debbie at SixSixOne (www.sixsixone.com) for getting us the protective equipment we needed for Hunter this past weekend with such short notice. He was scratched up as it was...I can only imagine how bad it would have been without the Pee-Wee chest-protector, and Comp elbow/forearm guards.
In the end, and due to his earlier efforts in heats 1 & 2, Hunter earned the overall 1st in the pre-race. It was certainly going to be interesting to see how he handled the rest of the weekend after that crash.