- It was David’s birthday last week, which was another good reason for him to celebrate.
Surprise, AZ 9/29/12, Report by Dustin Nelson #94 – Round 8 of the Yamaha Quad X series was held at Speedworld MX Park in Surprise, AZ. The series’ final visit to AZ for this season and final night race was held under the lights in very moderate temps for this time of year. The track layout was very similar to our last visit but even less technical with all the rhythm sections being made into rollers. This made for a very fast, one lined track.
Moto 1: Davi Haagsma grabbed the holeshot with teammate Beau Baron in tow. Local rider Evan Spooner was 3rd while I spun off the concrete gate and was relegated to 4th. The top two immediately began to open a gap as I tried to find a way around Spooner and into 3rd. I made the pass just before the end of lap one and started trying to reel the leaders back in. By lap three I was up to the rear grab bar of the duo of Haagsma and Baron. I tried over and over to find a way past Baron for 2nd but only filled my radiator with mud as the temp warning light came on around the halfway point. With the warning light on and another moto to run I decided to back it down a bit and make sure we didn’t have a DNF. At the finish it was Haagsma, Baron, me for the top three.
Moto 2: Haagsma once again pulled the holeshot and collected the Yamalube/GYTR $250 Holeshot Award. I wheelied slightly off the line but nearly made the pass on Haagsma as we rounded the first turn. He quickly drifted outside to block my line when he heard me coming. Baron slotted into 3rd and we started a three rider freight train/battle that would last the entire 20 minutes plus one lap moto. I had a couple lines and sections where I could gain on, and nearly pass Haagsma but the track was just too fast and one lined to make anything stick. I couldn’t try anything too drastic because Baron was so close to me, that one slip up could move me back to 3rd and every point counts at this point in the championship. Haagsma was fast and never made a big mistake even under the intense pressure as he held on to win. Baron got pretty aggressive in the final lap as he plowed into my left rear wheel in tight turn with only a few corners to go. The hit spun me off the track and into the infield, but the hit also slowed him enough to let me re-enter the track just ahead and we raced to the finish in our same positions.
Round 8 of the Yamaha Quad X series was a tough one. We have made up some ground in the power department but I still need the starts when the track is so one lined. The second moto was a really fun battle all the way to the end but I’ll never be happy with a 2nd place. Time for some more work to see what else I can bring to the table for our next race at Cahuilla Creek MX on October 20th.
Rnd 8 Top Three Results
- Davi Haagsma (Hon)
- Dustin Nelson (Yam)
- Beau Baron (Hon)
Points after Rnd 8
- Dustin Nelson 180
- Davi Haagsma 172
- Beau Baron 149