WORCS
Lake Havasu, Arizona
March 16, 2008
Race Day:
I had a great start, and was around 4th after the first two corners. Not too far after that a few guys passed me, because someone came in on me and gave me a love tap. The first few laps went pretty well, considering I usually start slow. I was on the tight side, but I started to loosen up and get up to speed. At this point it was around the 45-minute mark, and I believe I was 10th or 11th. I had quite a few guys right in front of me, and one was my teammate Damon. I know he's a slow starter too, and I figured we'd work our way up together. The next lap I over jumped a big double, in the infield, and landed in a huge square edge pothole. When I was in the air, I knew it was going to be bad. As soon as I landed, my left wrist buckled and let's just say it was a horrible pain. I had to pull off right away, and I actually thought I broke it. I've been dealing with the wrist injury the last couple races, and have been taping it, but this hit was the worst it ever felt. I sat there on the side of the track thinking about how bad it was going to be to miss a lot of races. After a couple minutes it started to feel better, and I slowly worked my way back on the course to finish my lap. I went into the pits, and told them to tape the heck out of it so it wouldn't move. I wanted to get back out there, and see if I could get any points since I had a DNF from the previous round. After the next lap it wasn't too bad, but I definitely wasn't as aggressive. Now I was around 24th place, and needed to be in the top 20 to make any points. I knew my fitness was good, and a lot of guys would start hitting the wall so I just kept plugging away. With 4 laps to go, I made it up to 14th or 15th and then I knew something was going bad with my rear tire. The Tire Balls started to pop, and now I had to ride with a rear tire that was pretty much flat the rest of the race (3 or 4 laps). I lost some of the spots I made up, and finished 17th pro.
Overall Summary:
It was a disappointing weekend, but at the same time I feel good about how everything has been going (besides the wrist). The bike is working really well, and I've been happy with my speed and fitness. I just wish I could be better in the first few laps, and not lose so much time to the front pack. I'm really looking forward to the next WORCS round in four weeks.
Results (top 20 pro's):
1st Bobby Garrison
2nd Ricky Dietrich
3rd Damon Huffman
4th Bobby Bonds
5th Kurt Caselli
6th Robby Bell
7th Sean Collier
8th Tim Weigand
9th Jamie Lanza
10th Kyle Lewis
11th Kyle Summers
12th Dennis Stapleton
13th Gary Sutherlin
14th Russell Pearson
15th Darly Ecklund
16th Arik Swan
17th Destry Abbott
18th Kyle Kubitschek
19th Ryan Reina
20th Todd Gosslaar
On Monday I went and had my wrist looked at, and it looks like it's a bad sprang. That's really not the best thing, but I'm working on it so it will be better by the next race.
I actually have this weekend off and it's much needed. I'm looking forward to going Easter egg hunting.
I was super happy for my two teammates Ricky, pulling off a second, and Damon getting his first podium with third. Then we had Josh Morros and Taylor Robert go one-two in the Pro2 class. Monster Kawasaki had a good weekend!
I attached a few different photos from practice and the race. Thanks to www.fastphotolab.com , Beau, and Kelly Achey.
Best Wishes,
Destry
http://www.destryabbott.com
2008 Sponsors:
Kawasaki Racing, Dunlop, Stephen Gall Training, GPR, Thor, IMS, Shoei, Pro Circuit, Kawasaki Accessories, SIDI, Acerbis, CTI2, Jonre Multimedia, BRP, Motion Pro, Works Connection, OGIO, Kicker, Hinson, Hoy Fox Toyota, AP Designs, Braking, Renthal, Scott Goggles, Team Hawg Racing, Twisten Wrenches, Cyto Sport, Red Baron, Trick, Zip-Ty, RK/Excel, N-Style, Maxima, ZLT, Bent, Steahly, Parkway Chiropractic, and Tire Balls.