Team Solitaire/Kingdom/FLY Racing Honda Event UpdateAnaheim, CaliforniaJanuary 6th, 2007The official kickoff of the 2007 race season blasted out of the gate in Anaheim, CA this past Saturday evening. In front of a sold out crowd of 45,050 adrenaline charged fans, Team Solitaire had a solid outing putting two riders in the main event and showcasing our new look and attitude for 2007.Saturday Practice: The dismissal of Friday practice adds a new dimension to the already challenging task of racing Supercross. Having to quickly learn the track and put forth fast “qualification times” is a skill in and of itself. Jiri and I have been working hard on sprint laps in preparation for this new element, but we still have some work to do. Jiri qualified 21st after our two practice sessions while I lingered around 16th. The good news is that 40 riders advance to the program from these qualifiers, so we were well within where we needed to be.Heat Race One: Team rider Jiri Dostal has been turning heads lately. With his dedication and strong work ethic, Jiri has made huge gains over the past year. Jiri proved his worth by taking a mid-pack start in the first heat race and turning it into a solid eight place finish. This task was not an easy one, having to move past the likes of Kyle Lewis, Jeff Gibson and Paul Carpenter. After a solid eight laps, he would advance to all-important main event.Heat Race Two: My heat race would not work out nearly as well as Jiri’s. After a mid-pack start, I found myself playing bumper bikes down the first rhythm section. I felt a tire on my left hand and a boot to the ribs which sent me high-side into another bike out of control on my way to the ground. Somehow, someway I managed to careen off bike two and stay upright. The other two riders were not as lucky. Fast forward a few turns where I was not comfortably in qualifying position. An untimely (when is it ever timely?) mistake in the whoops lead to me stalling my bike. I re-fired it fairly quickly and reentered the fray. I was making time and was still only a few positions out of qualification when the next “incident” took place. This time I saw the yellow flags early and jumped all the way to the right side of the track to avoid the carnage on the inside. Unfortunately the flagged me right into a dislodged tuff-block, which sent me off course yet again and into oncoming traffic. By this time I was pretty discouraged, but as I reentered the track I saw Chad Reed zoom by. He had been in the first turn melee, and I knew he would be blazing a path to the front of the pack so I tried to latch on. On the final lap I was in 12th but just behind Nathan Ramsey, Reed and another rider. My last miscue involved another tuff-block and an off-track excursion. I returned to the pit area for a quick rest before the LCQ.LCQ: Not my favorite race, but this one proved to be good across the board. Since the race was airing live on CBS, any additional airtime would be welcomed for the team and our sponsors. After a tenth place start I was a little nervous, but I managed to work through the field fairly easily taking advantage of the whoop sections for passing purposes. By the last lap I was in second position, which would be enough to transfer to the main event. I was content with qualifying, but I wanted to win to get the feeling of crossing the line first (even if it was only in the LCQ). I made the pass for the lead with only about four turns remaining and crossed the finish line for the victory and the transfer to the main event.Main Event: The parade lap gives us a quick peek at the course in which we are about to do battle. This time, we could all tell it was going to be a tough one as the whoops were especially cupped out and slick. When the gate dropped, I found myself near the tail end of the pack with my teammate just ahead. The long twenty laps would give us time to work through the field, but a start would make it so much easier. For the first six laps we ran nose to tail, with Jiri pulling out a second or two. We were up to 12th and 13th at this point and keeping pace with the riders just ahead. That is about the time I would lose sight of Jiri for the rest of the race. I got sideways in the long whoop section and shot off the inside of the course and into a metal sign. As I slid into the sign I dropped the bike but kept my hand on the clutch and the engine running. I picked it up quickly and tried to get going but my rear wheel had become lodged in the sign and it immediately killed the engine. After de-tangling the wheel and re-firing the bike I had lost about 30 seconds. I rode as hard as I could for the remaining laps but could only climb back to 17th position. Meanwhile, Jiri kept putting in strong and consistent laps. One small mistake near the end of the race dropped Jiri to 13th, where he would ultimately finish.Summary: All in all, I feel that we had a good start to 2007. Both Jiri and I rode well, our equipment worked fantastic and the team has really worked together to reach our goals this season. Our technicians, JR Boyd and Jesse Black, have been working feverishly for the past few months and I can honestly say our bikes are the best they have ever been this season. Rick Williams, our transport driver, made things happen and our new Freightliner Columbia is ready to traverse the United States and showcase the Team Solitaire program.Additional Notes: The next event is at Chase Field in Phoenix, and it is our hometown race. This week will be filled with television, radio and other promotional events that we cover for Live Nation (the event promoter) as well as our local supporters. If you happen to be in town for the event, please drop me a line and stop by to check out our facility. My last batch of thanks go out to Mike from Enjoy, Randy from Group D, Thom from Ohlins, Bobby and Austin from USA Sport and Simon Cudby from RACERX for their last minute efforts to make sure everything was perfect for Anaheim.Best Regards,Ryan ClarkTeam Solitaire/Kingdom/FLY Racing Honda is an independently owned and operated professional Supercross and Motocross race team based in Phoenix, AZ. Our 2007 marketing partners include: FLY Racing, Kingdom Clothing, American Honda, Dragon Optical, WPS, Dubach Racing Exhaust, RideNow.com, Ohlins by Coppersmith, Hoy-Fox.com, Michelin, Vortex, Team Hawg Racing, ASV, Coachseiji.com, Dirt Pro, Polisport Plastics, Enjoy Mfg., Ride Engineering, Boyesen, Pivot Works, Ready Filter, Sano Systems, Twenty20, Honda Pro Oils and Chemicals, RK Chain, Excel, Group D, DC Auto Wraps, Champion Tool Storage, Motion Pro, OGIO, Ron Davis Radiators, Crank Works, Hot Rods, CP Pistons, Barnett, Sidi Boots, RPM Science, Brembo, Pro Grip, Hammerhead, USA Sport, Cytosport, Lakai, NGK Spark Plugs, Rocky Mountain Bicycles.http://www.teamsolitaire.com/
