MTA 2 Stroke MX Championship - Dirt Rider Magazine

Glen Helen kicked off the second year running of the World 2 Stroke Motocross Championship on April 3rd. The overcast weather made perfect conditions for racing. This year had stacked entries in the LA Sleeve Pro class. With riders like Defending champ Bobby Garrison, last year's runner up Austin Howell, fastest man on the planet over 40 years old Doug Dubach, and the addition of such talent as Motocross Des Nations champ Ryan Hughes. The Glen Helen crowd was definitely in store for some premix burning action. When the dust had settled, and the 2 stroke smoke had cleared it was Austin Howell taking both moto wins for the championship. Bobby G rode to a consistent 2nd overall while Ryan Hughes pulled off a 3rd overall with 4-3 performances on a Yamaha GYTR 144 machine. (which is almost a championship in itself, riding this underpowered bumble bee) The racing action was a blast and I haven't had that much fun on 2 wheels since last year at the first 2 stroke national at Glen Helen. Dirt Rider was kind enough to let me borrow a new YZ250 for this race to try my luck against the competition. I felt great in practice and had top 5 lap times on the transponders, with a good start it could be a good day of racing. First moto I got mid pack start only to go off the track in the 2nd corner and drop back to almost last. I put my head down and rode my best to pass back into the top 10 with a 8th place finish at the end of the 30 minute moto. For the second race I figured I would try something different and line up on an outside gate. My plan was to pull a Mike Alessi start and hold on the gas longer thru the turn and come out in the lead. Problem was my box stock 250 with a bald tire was not enough to get me to the corner first. I got to the corner top 5 on the outside only to be pushed out and in the back of the pack again. In the second corner I tried a all or nothing line on the outside to make some passes, only to blow the line and go off the track and come out in dead last. I got back on track and rode my butt off only to catch up to 10th place. Now, on paper my results do not sound very good, but I couldn't help but pull off the track with a huge smile on my face. I rode 110 percent and had a awesome time twisting the grip on the Yamaha 2 stroke. I truly love the atmosphere of the event and it brings back memories of growing up racing the lighter, premix burning machines. I can't wait till next year for the 3rd year running of the event! -Ricky Yorks