Round 5 USDR Series

May 27, 2007 USDR Round 5

This round brought some serious competition looking to claim the $1000 dollar first place money. There was Bobby Bonds, Mark Tilley, Ryan Kudla, Mat Henderson, Justin Morrow, Dylan Murdock, Anthony Modica and Jeff Truelove. I drew my start position and picked the second start position. Before the race my dad and I discussed some race strategies. Ryan Kudla was starting first and I was starting second. Ryan is a really fast and good desert racer and hard to pass. Also due to the lack of rain the dust is worse than it has been in years and this makes it extremely hard to pass a rider who has good speed, like Kudla. With Bobby Bonds, Mark Tilley, Mat Henderson, Justin Morrow, Dylan Murdock Anthony Modica and Jeff Truelove starting behind me I needed to get around Ryan and pull out a good lead. My dad suggested that if I catch Ryan and can’t get close enough to make the pass safely, then I should pit early, at the end of the second lap. We knew Ryan would probably pit on the 3rd lap so at that point I could get in front and hopefully pull away without the dust. The race began with the Pros starting one at a time on 30-second intervals. Ryan started and then I started 30 seconds later. I was able to catch Ryan and as we completed the twelve mile first loop I was 13 seconds behind Ryan. I tried hard to get close enough to pass but the dust would slow me down because I couldn’t see. As Ryan and I came around to complete our second lap I pulled into the pits and my dad fueled my bike and I took a drink of water. The pit took about 10 seconds or less and I was back out on the track. Now I had to get close enough to Ryan so I could pass him when he pitted. At the end of the third lap I was back to 10 seconds behind Ryan. My dad was right! Ryan pulled into the pits and I went right by for the easy pass. This was a nice change I had clean air (no dust). Now I was able to ride my pace without dust slowing me down. At the end of the fourth lap Ryan was hanging tough and riding really good and was only 10 to 15 seconds behind me. Our plan was working; Ryan and I were pulling away from the other pros with third place over four minutes behind us. My hands were starting to hurt but I kept concentrating on the course and riding as fast as I could. At the end of lap 5 I had put a little more distant between Ryan and me. The white flag was out and this was the last lap. My hands still hurt but I wanted to win and I put the pain out of my thoughts. The last lap was really cool because people were cheering for me as I made my way around the track. At the finish I had pulled a 35 second lead over second place Ryan Kudla. Add my start time of 30 seconds and I had won by one minute. Third place Bobby Bonds was five minutes back. I waited at the finish line for all the pros to finish and Dave Earl (promoter) announced that I was first, Ryan Kudla second, Bobby Bonds third and Mat Henderson fourth. I took my gloves off and I had huge bleeding blisters on both hands. The course was fun but demanding due to the high speeds and rough trails. The next race won’t be until September as it is too hot in the summer to race in the desert. I’ll do some motocross to keep busy until September. There are four races left in the series and I expect more great races with Ryan Kudla. The purse will keep attracting fast Pros and every race will be very competitive.

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