Pro Diary: Destry Abbott Race Report AMA National At Lakewood, Colorado - Dirt Rider Magazine

AMA MX National
Lakewood, Co.
July 21-22, 2007
Pre-race:
This is going to be a fun weekend. The wife and kids were flying up with me to give me a little support. We're also flying in a little early and plan on staying until Monday night. It looks like it might be on the hot side, but I think that will work to my advantage.Saturday Practice / Qualifier:
In the first session we had a little over 50 guys out on the track. I felt pretty good, and really liked the track. This track was definitely more my style then the two East coast races I tried. I was able to put in a few hot laps, but still nothing I was super excited about. After looking at the lap times, I was 36 fastest including the seeded practice. This would put me in the main event, but we still had one more session to go.I can tell you that the track was gnarly! I only got to ride the second moto, but it was hammered. It felt a lot like the Havasu WORCS race. There was nowhere you could rest, and I couldn't wait to see the two lap board. I have a ton of respect for all these guys, and it amazes me how fast they go for the whole race. My next race will be another MX race and it will be up at Washougal.Best Wishes, Destry http://www.destryabbott.comSaturday Practice 2 / Qualifier:
Before I took off, I saw the laps times were slower for most guys and was thinking this might be good for me. I still went out and tried to ride hard, but for some reason I wasn't flowing like I was before. I just seemed to struggle with the track this time. I usually do a lot better when it's rougher, but this wasn't the case today. I wasn't able to go faster then my first practice and now was hoping my time would hold up. unfortunately I found out I was 40th fastest and on the bubble. I knew Stewart was going to be racing and that would bump me out. I missed automatically qualifying by one spot and by one tenth of a second! Unbelievable, but I guess I get first pick in tomorrow's LCQ / Consolation race.Sundays LCQ / Consolation Race:
I had the first pick and felt good about this race. I knew they would only take two guys and that still doesn't mean I would be in the main if I got first or second. When the gate dropped I had a horrible jump. I tried starting in second, which was a huge mistake. I wasn't able to practice any starts and I thought this would be fine (I was wrong). By the time I got to the top of the hill, I was around 20th or so. I made some aggressive passes right away and after the first lap was around 8th. I just kept plugging away and picked off a rider every lap or two. I wasn't trying to ride at 100% since this was a little over a 25-minute race. With 3 laps to go, I made it up to 2nd after the leader went down. Now I was closing in on Michael Sleeter who was leading. The two lap board was out and I was a few seconds back. I still felt really good and started to put in a charge, but I started to make more mistakes and finished 2-seconds back at the finish. This put me in the altternate spot and I was really hoping I could race now.Moto 1 MX Class:
DNS! I went up to the gate, but only one other rider didn't show up. This put Sleeter in, while I rode back to the pits to get undressed again:( Not really a good feeling.Moto 2 MX Class:
I was really hoping I was going to get a shot this time. Then I was told Jeff Alessi wouldn't be racing so I knew I was in. I'm not sure what happened, but I do hope he's ok (they've always been a really cool family to me). When the gate dropped, I really didn't try and take off that fast. My plan was to stay a jump behind the fast guys up the hill, and see how that would work out. It actually worked out really well and I was around 22nd. After the first lap, I was still in 22nd and feeling like this was going to be great. I was riding a good pace, and felt like I could ride this pace the whole race. I actually passed one rider, but then another guy would pass me. After three laps I was in 24th, and had a big group of guy right in front of me. Then on the 5th lap, I lost my front end going down a hill. I tried to get up as fast as I could, but I had a really weird problem. The clutch lever went through the handguard and I couldn't get it out. The lever wouldn't move in or out, and I finally just tried to rip the thing off. By the time I got going again, I was in 38th and not to happy. Now I started to try and push it and work on catching some guys in front of me. I was making some passes and then I started to get this massive headache. The only thing I could think was the altitude was getting to me. From this point on, I kept going but I was only able to ride around 80%. I just couldn't focus and it's something I've really never dealt with. About 20-minutes into it, the leaders were coming and I just wanted to make sure I didn't hold anyone up. I seemed to look over my shoulder more then in front of me. I was really surprised to see the lead group of riders were all so close (five of them). As you could imagine, I was happy to see the two lap board come out. I ended up finishing 31st, but I know I could have done better then that. Hopefully next week at Washougal.Overall finish (both motos combined):
34thOverall Summary:
I was pretty frustrated to say the least, when I missed making the main event by that close. The great part was racing the second moto, but at the same time I really didn't get to ride like I felt I could've. I know I get better as each race goes, and there's no doubt this is going to help me out with my off-road racing. I've been having a great time and I feel really good about this weekends race.Other Notes:
Ryan Clark was a huge help to me this weekend. He pointed out some good lines to take and he also let me park with the Team Solitaire guys. I really appreciate all there help! Ryan put in a good ride and finished 12th for the weekend. The coolest thing to see this weekend was how many off-road guys were here. We had Ricky Dietrich, Bobby Garrison, Kyle Summers, Bobby Bonds, Matt Karlsen, Robby Bell, Eric Rhoten, Rory Sullivan, and myself who all race the WORCS series full time. Ricky's mechanic Gary Sutherlin was also here trying to qualify. That's pretty cool to see 10 off-road guys racing moto. We had four of us that made it in through; Ricky, Bobby G, Kyle and myself. I think that shows a lot for the off-road world. I really want to thank all the people that stopped by, and also everyone that was cheering me on. As a racer it means so much to have spectators out there cheering us on. Thanks for your support!