ECEA Blue Diamond Race Recap!

The final round of the 2009 East Coast Haresramble Series was held this past Sunday at Blue Diamond MX Park in New Castle, DE. With a coastal nor’easter hitting the area during the week it seemed as if we were going to have the same racing conditions as last year. I must say that after one lap around the 8+ mile course the club promoting the event (DER) did an awesome job with the layout. There were few changes this year, all which were great, and the regular parts of the track were as always a lot of fun. This track has everything; a motocross track, a supermoto section, off camber trail, sand, mud, grass track, rocks, flat track through a quarry, slick roots, super fast straights, hillclimbs, a straight down rock hill and not to mention the amusement park that you get to race through. Since this race is the last race of the year and being able to race at such a great facility, everyone shows up which makes for a great turn out.
Pitman Jimmy B and AMohar weren’t able to make the trip so it was just DHaggs Sr and I who headed down to Delaware. I would be the only one gearing up for the race though - DHaggs Sr. decided to fill in as pitman for the day since his bike was broke and torn down in the shop.
Rolling up to the starting line I knew that a great start would be important at a wide open track like this. I always get good starts - with the exception of the last race where I didn’t have a pitman so I didn’t have my stand - so my confidence was high and I got a great spot on the line. The green flag dropped and I was first to the foot of the hill and then someone from the outside just beat me to the top. Right after the start we went down a straight where the bike was topped out in 5th gear. Then we made our way onto the motocross track where although it was muddy it wasn’t nearly as bad as last year, you could actually jump some of the jumps. I usually struggle right off the start with setting a pace too early but I was conscious about staying on the gas for a bit longer at this track. The supermoto section and the amusement part were all wide open and in the first couple miles of the loop. I stuck to my lines and was riding slightly out of my comfort zone just to try and push myself and use that hard charge from the start. If I need to work on anything it’s to go faster on the first lap, it’s always been a problem for me.
I held my position through the first half of a lap until we hit the woods section. The woods were super slick and filled with tree roots. I don’t remember it being so slick back in the woods last year but for some reason this year I was riding with two feet out. The trail went to the right and I was locked up and sliding so I had to loop around to the left and about 4 guys in my class passed me. Before getting out of the woods there was a bad mud bog section which I made it though without any real problems except for one time. The course worker pointed to a line that had some wood in it so I thought, “cool they filled this line in so it wasn’t so deep”, well I hit the line a pinned the gas and my front tire was gone and I looked at the guy and said, “why would you point to that line!?” He eventually helped pull me out and I thanked him. He pointed out better lines for the remainder of the race. After the woods was the sand quarry and that was FAST. The coolest part was where they dropped you off the back of this rock hill that went straight down. Even getting up there was cool because the track snaked its way up the mountain of rocks. It was difficult because the rocks were all rounded and they resembled the size of golf balls and some even baseballs. They rolled under your tires so you had to focus on your weight shift and make sure that the bike stayed under you when making the turns. And when you got to the top it was like dropping of a skyscraper, you didn’t see the bottom until you were over the edge looking straight down at it.
The rest of the track was for the most part, open and fast. I felt really good on the bike and I felt like I was really riding hard. I know that I was riding harder that usual because some sections I really couldn’t see to well and in some sections both feet were off the pegs and I wasn’t slowing down, I was twisting the throttle a little more. I made a few little mistakes throughout the race and it didn’t take me long to regain my composure so they didn’t take off too much time. There were some top Pro’s (Lafferty, Palmer, Bakken, Stoner, DeLong) there and it was a really important race within the series because the top two guys were only points apart. Mike Lafferty showed up on his new Husaberg again, and when he passes me I always try to stay with him, at least for a little bit. Like always a little bit turns into where’d he go after 10 seconds. Those guys are super fast and I’ll never know how they do it but it’s sure fun to watch them race right in front of you. I kept charging throughout the race and managed to pick off a few riders. There were a lot of guys getting stuck in spots and getting thrown off their bikes in others. It was a fast and technical race track, and yes it was fun too; but there is a fine line between going as fast as you can and staying in control. I was kind of surprised when I came around and the checkered flag was out because we didn’t get the white flag. I still felt great and was ready to make a charge on the last lap but that never happened. I got the checkers and managed to hold on to a top five spot getting 5th Place for the day.
Overall it was a great day of racing, the track was awesome, the weather was perfect, I rode pretty well, I didn’t get hurt and my bike made it back in one piece. It was a good way to end a so-so season.
Thanks to DHaggs Sr. who sponsored the team for the day and took pics and video. I really look forward to getting back on track next season.
I would like to thank my sponsors for all of your support: DHAGGSRacing, MSR Racing, Scott Powersports, Kenda USA, T.M. Designworks, DP Brakes, Scott USA, TAG Metals, Decal Works, Twin Air, IMS Products, Elf Oil, FMF, Cycra Racing, Regina Chains, and MotoSport