THE BATTLEGROUNDS: Round 7 Missouri Hare Scrambles; Newark, MO; July 19

STEVE LEIVAN

2009 RACE REPORT

WHICH YAMAHA I CHOSE: WR450

WHERE I FINISHED: 2nd Overall

GETTING READY: Hell’s Holler is the most “different” race there is on the Missouri schedule. Virtually no rocks and some really major hills highlight the course. It is probably the least technical of any of our races and that usually means that the pace is quick and there are several guys on that pace.

The weather conditions were amazing for July in Missouri – moist dirt and temperatures in the high 70’s. In practice it became apparent that the course was even more, fast and flowing than previous years and also obvious that many alternate lines were going to develop. With everything being the way that it was, I was pretty sure that this one would be a battle and it would be a difficult one to win.

“GO TIME”: I got to the woods mid-pack and then some guys crashed and it was kind of chaotic. I really didn’t know what position I was in so I tried to count heads and I thought I was around fourth or so. We were rolling pretty well, and the trail was really fast so I was just trying to stay in the pack and settle into a groove. I caught a glimpse of the white bike in front and knew it was “Little Micky” Kirkness so I was stoked for him to be leading.

Caleb Wohletz was right behind me and I let him by and watched for lines for later in the race. I passed him back and then not long after, I got by Ken Yount. So I thought I was in fourth and I finished lap one and got the pit board from Mom that I was fifth. I thought “crap, someone got away” It turned out that Toby Atkins had his white bike in front of all of us and was pretty much in another zip code. I later found out the he was over a minute ahead of me after one lap.

Wohletz got back on me so I let him by and he pulled us for a while. Brandon Forrester fell at the top of a steep hill and I got by him there and then I reeled in Micky. He was riding awesome but he immediately gave me some room and I went after Aaron Shaw. I got on him and I was still trying to see if I could tell who was in the lead and then Wohletz wadded it up over a slick log. That brought me up to third.

Micky and I raced hard through a grass track section just before the check and he “allowed” me to stay in front. Then he had to gas which was a blessing for me since that kept him from sliding his way around me in the pits – and bruising my ego. I wasn’t fast enough in the first couple of miles of the course and Shaw gapped me. I picked it up though and reeled him in – sometimes yelling that we needed to “go”. We rode quickly and then at the end of the lap he nearly stuck it in a sand bog so that put me up to second with Forrester right behind me with one lap to go.

I caught a glimpse of Atkins going through the pits and I tried to step it. In that same first couple of miles though, I didn’t go fast enough and Forrester was all over me. He passed me entering a sandy creek bottom and I nearly cleaned us both out when I swapped right in front of him. Forrester was hauling and I did what I could to hang on to him while he reeled in Atkins. Then Forrester lost the front end and I swerved around him and went after Atkins. By mile four I was pretty much on him and a bit later he made a mistake and crashed.

That put me in the lead and I was trying to do my thing and take good lines and be steady. I could hear both of those guys back there though so it was pretty tense. We came up to a sandy bog and I stuck with my safe line to the left while Atkins blitzed through the center and passed me back. From there I stayed really close to him and hoped that I might get to return the favor in the last bog but the lines had settled in and that spot wasn’t all that sketchy.

At the finish he probably got me by a couple of feet and I got Brandon by a couple, so it was definitely a close one. I was bummed to get that close and not seal the deal, but when I found out how much time Forrester and I had made up, I kind of felt better about my day – even though I got “schooled”.

OTHER STUFF: The Missouri series is one race past the halfway point and I have a pretty good lead in the points. That’s sure to change though since the National Endurocross series is about to get started and that is what I am most looking forward to. I said at the end of 08 that I wasn’t going after the Missouri title again this year, but focus on the Endurocross events. It’s worked out that there haven’t been any date conflicts so far and I have enjoyed all of the MHSC rounds, so that’s why I’ve been there. Now it’s time to take it “inside”.

TODAYS “5 FASTEST”: 1. Atkins (YAMAHA); 2. LEIVAN (YAMAHA); 3. Forrester (Kaw); 4. Shaw (Hus); 5. Wohletz (Kaw)

WHAT’S NEXT: July 25; Round 1 National Endurocross; Las Vegas, NV

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!

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