Race Report July 25th, 2010

Week #12

When we looked at the NBL National schedule in February there were a few races that were in direct conflict with our program but maybe the most significant one was the Trumbull National this weekend. We tried to compensate by pushing our starting time back one hour thinking that it may give riders who are interested in racing both Trumbull and Torrington, a chance to make the 1 hour trip and arrive on time. When the registration cutoff time arrived at 1:30 the parking lot was pretty empty. With a registered rider count of only 115, it signified that this would be one of the smallest races in the last 5 years at Foothills.

Before we started Alexus Doty was presented with a trophy for being named the Rider Of The Week for her efforts last week at the triple pointer where she kept her undefeated season intact here at Foothills. She named Bryan Basile as her favorite rider.

As the scheduled gate drop time approached there were still 9 riders who had registered but had not yet arrived? A quick check of local Doppler radar showed approaching storms so now we were faced with a no-win situation. Holding the gate for tardy riders with an impending weather front simply wasn’t fair to the riders who were there. It was either drop the gate or wait so long the rain wiped out the whole race. At 2:40 we decided to get going after announcing it would be a two moto system.

With sprinkles falling pretty much throughout the afternoon the motos were run pretty quickly. In reviewing the finish report at the end of the day, deciding not to wait any longer proved to be a good decision as 4 registered riders never made it at all. Two riders missed just the first round of motos.

In 26 & over Experts (26-34 / 35-40) Don Hottes, who was the second rider to arrive in the morning at about 8:30, made his long wait to race well worth it with a perfect score. A tired Mike Greco was second with Scott Merenda third.

The 17-18 Expert class was combined with the 19-25 expert class. With four riders competing, the two younger riders: Andrew Cox and Justin Markie would hold off Kyle Strong and Pauley Maher. It was the same finishing order in both rounds.

Because one rider was a “no-show” in the 15 Expert class only two riders were on the track. Austin Cyr topped Tim Osborne in both rounds. The 'no-show" was Roberto Elizondo and he arrived just as his moto was crossing the finish line in the second round. What a bummer but we appreciate the effort to get here.

It was the same situation in the 14 Expert / 15 Novice class with a “no-show” causing a two rider moto. Chris Pfeffer (Georges Music Center sponsored expert) aced a perfect by beating novice rider William Chaput. Chaput, primarily an ABA racer where he has enjoyed a couple of wins as an intermediate, joined the NBL at this race and we hope to see him on a regular basis.

13 X – 14N featured another “no-show” but this time there were still three rider racing. Chris Pannullo (Fusco’s Used Auto Parts), Dan Delisle and Dylan Vadney was the finishing order.

12 yr old expert Josh Blankquart, another ABA rider giving us a chance looked impressive as he handled 13 novice riders Wes Reel and Matt Bovat well enough for a perfect score.

Dave Moody was the only expert in the 5 rider 11x – 12n class and he showed the difference between expert and novice rankings can span ages. The “D-Man” was perfect with Neil Bachman second and Erik Dugan third. Dugan, the first rider at the track in the morning, arrived at the track at 8:00 am and must have been tired of the six and a half hour wait. Bachman is yet another ABA rider to give Foothills version of the NBL a try.

10 and 11 Novice ages were combined and the five riders in the group mixed it up pretty good. Bryan Basile won the first round but the ty breaking second round went to RJ Miville. Finishing third overall would be “The Marshall” Matt Dillon.

16-17-18 novice action saw the order as Jason Kellogg, Jon Daversa (Dave’s Auto Detailing) and Jim Ferris finish 1-2-3. Alex Hubbard finished fourth as he was obviously hurting from a morning practice crash. Definitely no fun practicing crashing but it appears he has the technique figured out after the last couple of weeks.

In 9 Novice action, Colin Riggs was the overall winner with Craig Lumbra second and Garrett Fosbrook third. Garrett was right in the mix in his first race as a Novice after earning his move up at Bethel last Wednesday.

7-8 Novice racing was interesting as the only 7 yr old beat the three 8 yr olds. Finny Milton won both rounds with Zach Ferris (Tactical Arms) second and Seth Shaw third. The fourth spot deserves honorable mention as the rider was from Birmingham Alabama. It was great to see William Seitz in the house. Had the pleasure of talking with his parents for about an hour and it was a nice conversation with some nice people.

Unbelievably, there were only five Cruiser riders here. “Leapin Lenny” Ferris Edged out Alex Rivera in 30-34 / 50 & over Cruiser. Rivera must have stopped for lunch half way around.

R.J. Miville topped Pete Franolich and Evan Merenda in 11-12 / 8 & under action.

In the Girls classes Nicole Milton beat Michaela Lourenco and Jasmine Mandelas in the combined class of 17 & 0ver woman / 15 Girls.

Autumn Classy beat a smiling Jessica Maher in the 13-14 Girls class with Ashlee Hodge finishing third.

Alexus Doty, undefeated for the season, kept it that way by getting the best of Samantha Lumbra in 12 Girls.

The 10 yr old Girls class featured a full gate of six riders registered but the finishing order would be the same in both rounds. Kyly Milton, Chloe Arnold and Chloe Bourgoin were the top three. Always a favorite to be running towards the front, Helen Elizondo arrived a little too late to make the race. Thanks so much for trying Helen.

Hannah Blankquart and Lanie Stroh (K & R Services) finished 1-2 in the 9 yr old Girls class.

Ashley Jasensky (X-Treme Marine) was perfect in the 5-7 Girls class with Azra Milton and Chloe Lee (Mirror Polishing and Plating) finishing second and third.

In the 5 & under Rookie class Robbie (Spider-Mite) Webb had a great day with a perfect score. Kraig Geissler was second and the third spot overall went to Anthony Starr-Bennett.

Austen Reid (S & R Carpentry and Woodworking) put his number 361 bike in the winners circle as he managed to keep Ian Hayes and Cody (Half-Track) Leaman behind him.

Just as it was a Webb spinning a win in the 5 & under class, it was a Webb winning the 7 yr old Rookie class. This time it was Matt Webb doing the deed. Carter Stroh (A & S Construction) had his cheering section back and he powered his way to a second place finish while Ian Fosbrook was third.

With 7 riders in the 9 Rookie Class a Main event was required to crown a winner. Jason Lee (Mirror Polishing and Plating) and Wes Keating both won their motos so it was showdown time in the main. Keating would not be denied as he prevailed but Nick Piper would finish just ahead of Lee for the third spot.

It was also 7 riders in the 8 Rookie class and another showdown as both Jon Todd and Evan Merenda were perfect through the motos. Todd would remain perfect as he won the main. Second went Dustin Souza with Cole Keating finishing third. Merenda would settle for a fifth.

In 10 Rookie action William Guido (Big Johnson’s Guitars) showed the other two riders in the 10 Rookie class how its done by winning both rounds of motos. Dale Doty (Connecticut Wells) would edge Homer “Bubba” Hodge for the second spot.

Nick Bates came back from his big wreck last week to win this week in the 11 Rookie class. Tyler Bourgoin was a solid second with Alex Gouthier third.

Connor Arnold got another win closer to turning Novice as he put another one in his impressive win column by winning the 12 Rookie class again this week. Mike Wasilonsky was second in the main event with Mason Harris third.
Tom McIlveen and Jeff Knox finished 1-2 in 13 Rookie action, Darren Zimmerman (David J. Mahoney Painting) and Nick Lafrancois 1-2 in 14 Rookie racing and it was Trevor Simmons and Brenden Aleia 1-2 in 15-16 Rookie motos.

The 17 & over gang saw Matt Bennett get the job done by winning both rounds. The second spot was definitely up for grabs and the finish report needed to be studied to determine that it was Garrett Gracie would edge out Matt Delisle for that spot.

For complete finish report

Please understand that the actual motos that were run on the report were the first and third round. The best of the two are aded as the finish in the second round (Two moto system).