The final California round of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross series took place inside San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium this past weekend where the near capacity crowd was treated some very exciting racing.
Getting the day off to a good start was the Hooters-Moto XXX Tamer duo of Antonio Balbi Jr. and Eric Sorby. Both riders made it cleanly through the afternoon's practice sessions landing in heat race one and two, respectively.
Antonio Balbi started the night off strong as he sat well inside qualifying position in the first heat race. Right around the half way mark Antonio made a couple of costly mistakes allowing riders to slip past him and bump him out of qualifying position. With only a couple of laps left Balbi was catching the riders in front of him but another slip-up left him two spots short. He would cross the line 11th, less than five seconds away from qualifying, and be forced to line up for the last chance qualifier later in the night.
Eric Sorby faired quite a bit better than his teammate as the French rider pulled a monster holeshot in the second heat race. Sorby rode comfortably toward the front of the pack for the entire eight laps and notched a solid fifth place, easily securing his spot on the line for the main event.
The last chance qualifier got under way with a mid-pack start by Antonio. The LCQ is the toughest race of the night due to the abbreviated number of laps and this would prove costly for Balbi as he had quit a few positions to make up. Although he put in a solid effort unfortunately for Balbi he fell short as he missed the cut with a sixth place finish. With the riders all loaded into the gate for the main event, Eric Sorby was hoping to nab another holeshot and take home the $1,500 Progressive award. When the gate dropped and the 21 riders slid into the sandy first turn Sorby was stuck toward the back of the pack. He quickly weaved his way up to 14th place by the end of the first lap and set his sights on making it into the top 10. However, Sorby had a tough time finding his groove on the peaky track and struggled making passes. Sorby rode his own race for the entire main event and when the checkered flag flew he would be credited with 16th place. Even though Eric struggled a bit this weekend he has high expectations as the series heads east. He has a new training plan and is looking forward to earning some strong finishes in the races to come.
Next weekend the series heads to the Lone Star state of Texas and the city of Houston. Reliant stadium will be the site for the seventh round of the series and always one of the better races of the year. The Hooters girls will also be making the trip out east and have become quite a fan favorite at the races. So be sure to make it by the Hooters-Moto XXX Tamer rig to get some pictures and autographs with the hottest girls in the pits. See you there!
Moto XXX Tamer Racing is proudly supported by:
Hooters, Cumberland, Moto XXX, Tamer Racing, Perfex Corp, Akrapovic Exhaust, American Honda Motor Co., Race Tech Suspension, Pirelli Tires, Wiseco, Sidi Boots, O'Neal MX, Motion Pro, Ti Lube, Moto XXX Performance, Honda Genuine Parts, Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals, Enjoy Graphics, Deluge Sport, Vortex Sprockets and Bars, JD Jetting, Excel A60 Wheel Sets, RK Chains, Tamer Billet Starting Devices, VP Fuels, Mock Racing, ARC Levers, Honda Rider's Club of America, Cometic Gaskets, Metaltek, Crower Power, Group D Pit Wear, Interlakes Sport Center, KG Clutch Factory, SDG USA, Polisport Plastics, Ogio, Ready Filter, Vortex Ignitions, Scott USA, Carbon Fiber Works, Bud Racing, Clutch Wipes Hand Cleaner.