Big 6 GP round 4

This weekend was round 4 of the Big 6 Grand Prix Series. My Dad and I loaded the trailer Friday morning and headed to Palmdale, CA. We had a little detour on the way because the wind was so bad that Highway 14 was closed. Instead of taking an Hour and a half it took four hours. Oh well we were there and the drive wasn’t too bad. We got our pit set up and got signed up. My dad cooked dinner and we hung out with the Henderson’s. We all went to bed pretty early that night because the unclassified race started at 7:30am. In the unclassified race I started in the last row just so I could take it easy and learn the course. My first real race was four stroke Expert. It started at 10:30am. We got lined up and ready to go. Finally the race got started. I got a really bad start. The start was on asphalt, which made me a little cautious. I came around the first lap in about 5th place. I could see the leaders getting away so I started charging. I made my way into 3rd quickly. The leaders were battling hard and I could see them opening a big gap on me. I put my head down and charged. I made up a lot of time quickly. I got right behind the two leaders and then I blew a corner!!! Man I was mad at myself for making a mistake. They pulled out a big gap again so I had to work even harder. I noticed 4th place Bobby Garrison catching me quickly. He was really putting in some fast laps. While I was charging to catch the leaders he caught me and made a good pass at the end of the drag strip. I tried to stay with him and it helped me reel in the leaders. The white flag came out and I was right behind Mark Tilley who was in Third place. I made a couple pass attempts but failed to make them stick. I ended up 4th but I was happy with the way I rode and finished strong. My next race was on Sunday at 2:30pm, which was the Open Expert race. This time I was going to try and be more aggressive on the start. Well I was a little too aggressive with the gas and spun like I was trying to do a burnout for the crowd. Another last place start. I made some passes down the drag strip and then at the end of it a rider hit me from behind and pushed me off course. I was even farther back now. I pushed really hard through the motocross track and worked into 3rd by the 2nd lap. The leader had a huge gap already and 2nd place was about 15 seconds ahead of me. I pushed hard but seemed to make up no time at all. About halfway through the race I found some better lines and started riding really well. I could see I was closing the gap on 2nd place. I got right behind 2nd place and again it was Mark Tilley. The white flag came out and it was a repeat of the day before. The race was on. I tried making a pass in the off road section but he blocked me. I made a little bobble and Mark pulled out a couple bike lengths. I gained right back up on him. There wasn’t much track left, maybe 7 or 8 turns. I came underneath him in a corner and couldn’t make it stick. So the next corner I dove underneath and took his line away from him. He didn’t let off at all and we collided. I had a wheel on him so he got the worst of it going out of the rut. I still had my work cut out for me. I pushed hard to the finish and made my pass stick. I was still bummed about my starts but really happy I finished 2nd. It was another great weekend and I extended my points lead in the Open expert class. My fitness is getting really good and I charged the whole race. Thanks for everybody’s support and I will see everyone at the race’s.

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