Glen Helen kicked off its 1st annual 2 stroke MX Championship on Sunday, April 11th 2010. Dirt Rider gave me a chance to borrow a 2010 Yamaha YZ 250 for the weekend. I was so excited on the drive home that I kept glancing back in my rear view mirror, seeing the 2 stroker sitting back there made the L.A. traffic seem worthwhile. When I got home I cut up some extra back grounds off my Honda with my number to go on the new blue YZ. With my race number 703 on the bike, I made a slight handle bar and lever adjustment and I was ready to go ride. I rode Pala Raceway for a little bit Saturday to get use to the bike. After all, I haven’t ridden a 2 stroke in a few years and haven’t raced one since 2005. The Yamaha felt great and I had a lot of fun getting some needed time on the bike before the race.
Sunday morning I pulled in to the local gas station around 7 AM near Glen Helen. To my surprise, there were a handful of guys at the pump with ratio rites mixing up pre mix for their bikes. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile. As I pulled into the event, I noticed the atmosphere. Everyone seemed happy and relaxed in the pits. Practice got started shortly after. The track was amazing. The track workers did an excellent job at coming up with a challenging yet fun design.
In practice I felt pretty good. It seems like all of us pro’s were pretty close in speed. After I prepped some goggles I went up to the gate for my race. As I looked over my shoulder I saw some big names. Kurt Caselli, multi time off-road champion, Bobby Garrison, Worcs title contender, Mike Sleeter, top supercross and motocross racer along with KTM test rider. Austin Howell, amateur champion (keep an eye on this kid). Tye Hames, local fast kid who has a go for broke style. He can crash out or win the moto with a huge lead, you never know. And let’s not forget Doug Dubach. This guy is 46 years old and as Chris Denison and I talked about on the phone, He is like a fine wine. He just gets better with age.
So as it turns out, I had my work cut out for me. The gate dropped for the first moto and I got an awesome jump! I looked over to my left and right as I was about 50ft off the gate and I definitely had a top 3 start. I was running top three until I decided to take an outside line to get a good drive before the uphill of Mt. Saint Helens. If you give those top riders an inch, they will take a mile. I got squeezed out by 3 guys in one corner and ate roost for the next couple laps until we all spread out. I ended up finishing 7th that moto.
For the second moto I had a new plan. I needed to ride more aggressive and not get bumped around. As the gate fell, I was a little over anxious as I hammered down the throttle on the crisp running YZ. I spun the rear tire off the concrete like a dragster doing a burnout. I ended up getting a bad start and tried my best to make up ground and catch those guys. I felt I put in some good laps and rode strong but did not get the results I was looking for. I rounded out the moto in 8th. All in all, I had a ton of fun riding the bike and really enjoyed the track and all the people I met and hung out with at the race. I look forward to the race next year. I will get some more time on the bike and have to come out and redeem myself.
Top 10 Finishers at Glen Helen 2 Stroke Nationals
1. Bobby Garrison (Hus) 4-2
2. Austin Howell (Suz) 1-5
3. Mike Sleeter (KTM) 3-4
4. Kurt Caselli (KTM) 5-3
5. Doug Dubach (Yam) 2-5
6. Tye Hames (Yam) 9-1
7. Dakota Garner (Hon) 6-7
8. Ricky Yorks (Yam) 7-8
9. Dustin Pulliam (Hon) 8-9
10. Rob Deeds (Hon) 12-12