6/23/12 – Round 5 of the Yamaha Quad X series was held in Surprise, AZ at Speedworld MX Park. The first of two Saturday night races on the schedule for 2012. Speedworld in June is hot, as in temps reaching 108 during the day, but usually makes for some hot racing as well. The racing didn’t start until almost 9pm so luckily for the racers the temps had dropped to the high 90’s!
Moto 1: Davi Haagsma took the holeshot with Josh Row and Jesse Goss close behind. I spun horribly off the concrete gate and rounded the first turn in 7th. I hugged the extreme inside through turn two and was able to slide into 5th. Near the end of the first lap I made an aggressive move into 4th past Beau Baron while he was trying to set up Goss for 3rd. Haagsma was starting to pull a small gap out front when I made my way past Goss with another inside move on lap two. Haagsma and Row were riding very fast and it took a couple fast laps to get to Row’s grab bar. I capitalized on a mistake from my teammate on lap four to take 2nd and set off after Haagsma. The very next lap, with about a three second gap, Haagsma’s bike came to a stop down the long start straight. Just as I inherited the lead, my temp warning light came on. I had come through the pack so I’m sure my radiator had plenty of mud packed in it but we were also struggling with detonation problems in the extreme heat. I went into conservation mode and tried my best to keep my small gap without pushing the bike too hard. I’m very thankful for Yamaha’s great durability and was able to cross the checkers first with Row only one second behind. Third was local boy, Goss, followed by Baron, who was also nursing a poor running bike to the finish. Rounding out the top five was Jason Fife.
Moto 2: Goss shot off the line to take the second moto holeshot and the $250 from Yamalube/GYTR. I was a close 2nd just to his outside, while Haagsma was 3rd. The track was very fast and slick for the second moto, making passing very difficult. Goss was riding very fast out front but I had some better lines and a little more speed. Problem was that every time I made a run for the lead, I either ran out of room or was pushed off the track. I had one close call that put me up on two wheels through a high speed left hander; by the time I saved the near crash Haagsma had passed me for 2nd. Later that lap Haagsma’s bike failed him again and I was back on Goss for more pass attempts. Just before half way I was tired of having the door slammed on me and made and aggressive block pass with some contact in the right hand U-turn just after the finish. I was immediately able to put a few bike lengths between Goss and I but he had Row to deal with now. Row had charged to the back of our battle and had some great lines on tap to make another inside block pass on Goss. At the finish I took the win with Row close behind and Goss third. Fourth was Fife and another local standout, Evan Spooner, came through in fifth.
Round 5 of the Yamaha Quad X series was great for us. We came out with a Nelson Racing/Yamaha 1-2 and were able to retake the points lead. Big thanks to GYTR and Motoworks for going the extra mile and finding us a few more HP during the break. I went into this weekend with a very sore shoulder from a WORCS crash a week ago and didn’t know what to expect, so I’m very excited about returning healthy and stronger to Glen Helen for rounds 6 and 7 on July 14-15th.
Top Five Results
- Dustin Nelson (Yam)
- Josh Row (Yam)
- Jesse Goss (Suz)
- Jason Fife (Yam)
- Evan Spooner (Hon)
Top Five Points
- Dustin Nelson 116 (Elka)
- Davi Haagsma 111 (Elka)
- Josh Row 97 (Elka)
- Beau Baron 87 (Elka)
- Jason Fife 87
Full race report available at www.atvriders.com