The AMA Motocross Nationals Series made its next-to-last stop of 2007 to a brand new venue located between Dallas and Houston, Texas. Taking the place of Broome-Tioga, Freestone MX made the transformation from a local racetrack into a full-blown AMA National. In stark contrast to Broome-Tioga, Freestone has virtually no elevation change and rock-free soil. The weather in central Texas this time of year is also extremely hot and humid, so although we had no hills to contend with, Mother Nature gave us plenty obstacles of her own. The whole crew was on hand again this weekend, and we were all excited to check out the track and put in a good weekend. Here is a look at how things turned out for us in Texas. Ricky Renner: Ricky had a good practice time on Saturday, but Sunday left him 26th quickest and lacking a good gate pick for the motos. He looked to be riding well, and was hoping to put the last few races behind him. Moto One: Ricky had a pretty bad start but moved through the pack quickly. Despite the track being fairly one-lined in sections, Ricky found his way inside the top twenty and battling for every position in the very long 30-plus-two-lap moto. In the end he would finish 19th and earn two points for his effort. Moto Two: Moto two again saw Ricky start outside the top 25. He set off early and made passes each and every lap for the first half of the race. As the race wore on, Ricky took advantage of his strong endurance and moved all the way up to 16th position, his best moto finish since Red Bud. Overall: Ricky's 19/16 moto score earned him an very impressive 18th overall in the extremely competitive Lites division. Jiri Dostal: Jiri looked to be much more at ease this weekend. He carried himself with confidence and things were looking positive as he took to the track on Saturday afternoon. Jiri posted the 38th fastest time in the Motocross class during the first practice session. It seemed that things were turning around and he would get the nod into Sunday's program. Unfortunately, a few riders wicked it up in the second practice session and displaced Jiri from making the cut. He finished 42nd overall in the timed qualification, two spots shy of earning a place on the gate. Ryan Clark: I really struggled on this track from the time I rode out on the track surface early Saturday afternoon. My practice time on both Saturday and Sunday were dismal, and to be honest, I was a little worried about how I would perform when the gate dropped on the first Sunday afternoon moto. Moto One: I put myself in quite a bad situation due to my poor qualifying time. The right-hand hairpin first turn showed much favoritism to riders on the inside, and I was anything but inside. When the dust settled on the first corner was in a very poor position. The first three laps were again horrific, as I actually lost two positions and was very timid. Finally, around lap four I began to find my form. I started picking off one, then two, then three riders per lap until I had climbed well inside the top twenty. On the final lap, I had fifteenth place Ryan Mills in my sights, but a small mistake on the backside of the track left me too far back to capitalize on my late race charge. I ultimately finished 16th in the moto. Moto Two: Somehow, I was a little bit closer inside for the second moto and my start was slightly better as well. This time, I wasted little getting up to speed and picking off riders that already seemed to be suffering from the hot, humid and rough conditions of the Lone Star state. With three laps to go I made a pass on Kyle Lewis for 12th and set my sights on Gavin Gracyk in 11th and Michael Byrne in 10th, both of whom seemed to be succumbing to the treacherous conditions. When the two lap board came out, I too was spent and could only gain a little ground on the riders just ahead. My fastest lap time, however, in the second moto was ninth fastest. I was quite pleased to have turned what I thought was going to be a bad weekend into a good one. Overall: My 16/12 moto tally earned me 12th overall at the inaugural Freestone MX event. Summary: The weekend turned out to be a success for the Team Solitaire/Kingdom/FLY Racing Honda crew. Ricky returned to form with a very solid pair of motos, and I continued to ride well and gain points on my rivals in the Motocross class. Jiri rode much better this weekend, but fell just short of qualifying for the motos. He will have one more chance to prove himself next weekend at Glen Helen. All in all, though, we had a good time in Texas and left healthy and ready to finish the season off strong at Glen Helen next weekend. Other Notes Mike Battista was on hand this weekend to get a feel for things and see how the program currently runs. Mike will be taking over the Team Manager duties at the conclusion of this season, as we have partnered up to create a much stronger program in 2008. Having him there was a huge help to all of us, and all three of us riders stepped up our performance this weekend. Freestone MX Park is literally out in the middle of nowhere. Located between Houston and Dallas, the facility is a minimum one hour drive to anywhere. Despite the questionable geographic location, over 14,000 spectators were in attendance for the first national event held in Texas in nearly 20 years. Ricky and I again took care of helmet camera duties in both classes this weekend. It looks like we will finish out the year at Glen Helen running the cameras as well. Thank you to BJ Smith and Speed Channel for the opportunity to carry the cameras on board. I will send this weeks television schedule out as soon as I get a copy. Thanks to everyone for your continued support. Hope to see everyone at Glen Helen next weekend.
Best regards, Ryan Clark Team 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, MB1 Suspension, HoyFox.com, Michelin, Vortex, Team Hawg Racing, ASV, GoFast Sports, Coachseiji.com, Polisport Plastics, Enjoy Mfg., Ride Engineering, Boyesen, Pivot Works, Ready Filter, Sano Systems, Pro Honda Oils & 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, QTM/Brembo, Pro Grip, Hammerhead, USA Sport, Cytosport, Cometic, Flyin' Kolors, IMS and Lakai.