Hey all, this past weekend I raced the Amp'd World Supercross round in Vancouver B.C. which is my hometown race. I was super pumped going into the race because of my past weekend in Toronto. After the Toronto round, I knew that I had the speed to run up front which greatly boosted my confidence. Another confidence booster was the fact that I got to ride my own race bike, unlike Toronto where Yamaha Canada helped me out with a stock `07 loaner for the weekend. I also had the opportunity to do the Vancouver SX Press Day on Thursday before the weekend to get some local exposure in the media.
Vancouver was Saturday only unlike Toronto where we had practice on Friday, so that meant less time on the track. I showed up at B.C. Place Saturday morning excited to get on the bike and get out there and put some hard laps together. We had the track walk at 11:00 and quickly noticed that the dirt was very similar to last year's event. There were tons of rocks and boulders popping out of the loose sandy soil. The soil broke down greatly throughout the day of racing and rocks were popping up on the jump faces making the track very slippery and the jumps sketchy. You really had to pick your lines wisely out there to avoid sliding out from hitting rocks. The whoops this year were fairly big but I was smooth and consistent through them. Enzo Racing Suspension hooked me up with some factory SX suspension for this round and wow did it ever work amazing. It made the whoops and jumps much easier. The bike also handled really well once the track started to deteriorate and get rough.
The practice sessions went really well for me. I dialed the track in pretty quickly and got all the triples and rhythm sections nailed down. After the first practice I was sitting 10th fastest in lap times and I was happy with that, although I still knew I could charge the track harder. The second practice session went even better and I lowered my lap times by 2-seconds. I also tried some different jump combinations through the two different rhythm sections. I was 8th fastest after the second session of practice and was pumped up for the racing.
The qualifier didn't go the way I had planned. I didn't get the jump I wanted off the start and was about mid pack going into the first corner when I got hit from behind by another rider and was sent to the ground. I got ran over by a couple bikes and my left arm and shoulder were really sore. I shook it off, picked up my bike and got going again. I was way behind at that point but I just put some hard laps in while getting used to the track and looked for the best lines out there. By the end, I was outside the top nine so I was forced to go to the LCQ (last chance qualifier). I got the holeshot in the LCQ and went on to take the win and a spot in the main event.
The main event was up right after the 450 class LCQ. I had a terrible gate pick (19th) but I wasn't too worried about it. I was lined up on the far outside of the starting line and was most likely going to get pushed wide going into the first corner. The 30-second board was up and quickly turned sideways. I was focused 100% on the gate and getting the best jump I could. Bang!! The gate was down and everyone was off. I got a really good jump and charged into the first corner and miraculously managed to squeeze around the outside. I was in around 10th place on the first lap and just put my head down and started charging my way through the pack. I was just being smooth and consistent and trying to make sure I nailed everything perfect. I got by five guys before the halfway point which put me up into 5th. I started pulling away from the guys behind me and slowly inching my way up on the riders out in front.
Towards the end I closed in on last weekend's winner Martine Davolos, but I ended up running out of laps and settled for 5th at the checkers, which was one of the best rides of my career! I was smooth and consistent for the whole 15 laps and the main thing is that I had so much fun out there racing. It felt so good to finish 5th in front of all my friends and family; everyone was so happy and excited for me.
Well that pretty much sums up my race weekend in Vancouver. I would just like to thank everyone who helped me out: Yamaha Canada, Clearbrook Racing, Shift Racing, M2R, Oakley, Gaerne, Sign Works, Enzo Racing Suspension, Pro Circuit, DC shoes, Ogio, Sunline, CTI 2, Orthoflex and all my friends, family and fans out there for cheering me on. See yah!