Race Report May 20th

Week number 3

Well week number 3 and the weather was the issue. At 9:00 a.m it was pouring at the track. Then, at 10:10 the sky over the track started to show some blue, was it the infamous vortex at work again? By 11:00 the sun was out and the wind was drying the track. Practice started at 11:20 and the track conditions continually improved right up to the on time gate drop.
184 riders plus another 18 registered for the first of five scheduled “Ultimate Warrior Pro-Am” races equaled 202 riders on a day that started off wet and gloomy.
Lets start this report with the new “Ultimate Warrior” Pro-Am racing action as some of the East Coasts best riders were on hand. With 18 riders three groups of motos were required to transfer 12 riders out of the motos into the semi qualifiers. Making the final eight was a chore and the main event, featuring nearly $400 in posted awards, was certainly memorable. After rider introductions the gate was locked and loaded. Starting in gate 5, last years champion Steve Oldham was surrounded by Chris Keller on his right and Billy Ripley to his left. When the gate dropped Currier, starting in gate 8 absolutely blew his gate and was pretty much left on the hill. As the other 7 flew towards the first jump, Oldham picked up as normal but some say his right hand came off the handlebar. Whether he got bumped or simply rider error, the results were the scariest seen at Foothills in recent memory. Steve veered sharply to the left and exploded into the first jump slamming his right side and head into the front face. Momentum carried him over the top as he flipped with his bike flying alongside in a cloud of dust. A gasp came over the crowd as the rest of the pack raced for turn one. Chris Keller had the lead with the “Ripper” all over him and Darrin Merli on Billy’s rear wheel. Ripley passed Chris on the second straight. No changes until turn 3 when Max Egdorf dove to the inside of Merli and would challenge all the way up the back straight for that spot. Out of the forth turn Ripley had the lead, Keller second and Merli and Egdorf still battling for third. As handlebars were banging Egdorf got in front of Darrin resulting in the finish being Ripley, Keller, Egdorf, Barna, Merli, Currier, Lorenzo and Oldham. Steve would be transported to the hospital, as we all feared the worst. After 4 hours in the emergency room he was released with no broken bones but some muscle separations and tears in his back area.
In the growing 35 & over novice class Fred Roy, on his Home Sweet Home Cleaning sponsored ride, was the fastest holding off Danbury’s Rich Mikelic. 12 riders made up the field in 17-24 expert action and Vermont’s Kory Buck could not be passed winning every moto plus the main event. Rhode Island’s Doug Bradley would settle for second.
17-24 novice racing had a full gate as Anthony Strong, Shane McPherson and the birthday boy Mike Zbikowski would all share a moto win. Strong would be the most consistent and edge out Mike for the overall win. Robert Sullivan won the 17 & over rookie class. Max Egdorf won the 16 ex grouping and Corey Longfellow did the same in 16 novice action.
Anthony DelVento handled the 15 ex – 15 nov combined class by scoring a perfect. In 15 rookie – 16 rookie action it would be Colby Lake successfully holding off Pat Burbank for the win.
Danielle Jolicoeur, riding under the sponsorship of Moore & Morrison Siding and Windows, kept her winning streak in tact by winning her girls class.
The 14 expert group were there in force and Video World’s Paul Maher was top dog with the much improved Josh Wedge right behind him. The 14 novice class saw Anthony Reilly, with his new sponsor Joan’s Candy Cupboard on hand, cleaning house in this group. It was great to see the return of Joel Deprey after a lengthy pause in his racing career. Alfredo’s Deli’s Jeff Beyus was riding hard in this group as well.
The fastest 14 yr old rookie would be Bryan Szabo. In 13 ex and nov combined Zachary Pirulli would come out on top. Burlington’s Daryl Schad won the 13 rookie class.
The 13 Girls division saw Krysta Zbikowski, calling New Paltz BMX her home track, get the best of Angela Therriault. Also riding out of New Paltz, Jay Patterson would be the winner in an impressive line-up of 12 yr old experts. 11 ex and 12 nov was combined together and Aggro Bike’s Josh Thimmish would find himself in the winners circle at the end of the day. Ross Motor Car’s Mike Castle topped Trevor Simmons in 12 rookie racing.
12 yr old girls only had two riders and the much more experienced Ali Thimmish, under the team Aggro’s colors would finish ahead of Nina Rintharamy.
Dan Delisle would win the 10 ex – 1 nov combined class with yet another perfect.
Gabe Cruz after having his perfect ruined in the third round of motos, got sweet revenge as he won the 11 yr old rookie main event. Austin Cyr had a solid second. Amanda Wedge was the winner in 11 girls as she was able to stay in front of the Stich Painting and Powerwash sponsored Jayna Roy. Keith Morsey, with a new sponsor; Lee trucking, won the 10 nov – 9 ex class. The pride of “Uncle Pat”, Matt Bovat, sped to a win in 10 yr old rookie action. A nice turnout of 10 yr old girls saw Jessica Maher getting the best of the other 5 riders. A main event would be required to determine a winner in 8 nov – 9 nov combined and Mike Gurin would be perfect all day long. Austin Lillis beat Robbie Desmarias in 9 rookie.
RJ Milville and the Pin Shop Hobbies Larry Coderre were both perfect in their motos. At the Main event showdown it was Larry 1st and RJ second. Ryan Towle and Justin Boissonneault had some classic racing in the 7 yr old novice class. Ryan would be the overall winner.
In the 7 rookie class, Last weeks “Rider of the week” Ethen Lazenby Olshevski would be the fastest in this field of 12 riders.
6 riders were here for the 40-44 / 45-49 Cruiser combined class. Rhode Island’s Rob (Moose) Delamare and Agawam’s Steve Rossi, after trash talking all week on www.nebmxnews.com would be battling each other as well as our locals. In the second round Delamare would self-destruct coming out of the forth turn and that would humble him enough to give up the hunt for the rest of the day. JRA Cycles Brian McInnis was the winner with Rossi, just happy to bag a Moose, in second.
In 35-39 action, The Biker’s Edge Bob Desmarais and Tom Kuehn traded wins with Kuehn grabbing the first place prize.
Lane Maher won all his motos in 6 rookie and then won the 8 rider main event.
In the rug-rat division (5 & under rookie), Alex Kuehn was the main event winner with Jagur Laymen second. The “Animal” Zach Andringa, won the 11-12 Cruiser class and finally, it was Dan Delisle winning the 9-10 cruiser class.
Thats it for another week gang. Don't forget the Double Pointer coming up on June 3rd. See you all next week.