Article Round 15
September 7, 2011
Dade City Motocross – 2011 Points Championship Series
September 3rd, 2011 – Round 15
Author: Gifford Quast
As the long season at Dade City wears on there are many pitfalls the racers must avoid. It takes a lot of practice and training to be successful in Florida’s largest points championship series, and avoiding injury is paramount to winning the elusive DCMX championship we all seek. All season long riders are working hard to get more speed, racing other venues, practicing at tracks both public and private, all in the quest for a spot at the head table signing autographs at the lavish season ending banquet.
Last weekend was the annual AMA National at MX338 in Southwick, Massachusetts, the only sand track on the schedule. Since they had the weekend off many of the top Sponsor’s Cup riders were there to show how fast our local boys are amongst the top pros. In the 450 class defending DCMX champion Mike Picone qualified in the 8th spot, with Kyle Keylon 17th,Tyler Livesay 23rd and Michael Clarke 35th, not a bad showing. Keylon had the best overall result, finishing 16th, but you can bet there was plenty of talk about the riders from the little night track in Florida with the Sponsor’s Cup Series.
With schools back in session and no Lites round for this race weekend expectations were for a smaller crowd, but the Dade City faithful, as usual, showed up in droves to watch and participate in all the racing. The final practice session is always the Sponsor’s Cup round, and the lap times determine gate picks for the first moto. It was great to see Troy Adams back, as he had missed the last few rounds due to some personal issues, and Ricky Renner was also in attendance for the second round in a row. The top four riders were all within 6/10 of a second of one another, with Tyler Livesay coming out on top. Mike Picone was second with Renner third and Adams a close fourth. Gate picks were set for the first moto.
With most of the contenders on hand and a few new comers, combined with a short start straight with a really tight left hander, the start would likely be interesting. At the drop of the gate Picone nailed the start and pulled one of his patented holeshots leaving the rest of the field in his wake. Behind Picone Michael Sandoval, Adams and Livesay had good starts as well. By lap two Adams and Livesay had both moved past Sandoval to take over 2nd and 3rd respectively. As Picone stretched out his lead Renner was stalking Livesay for the 3rd position, and with just two laps to go Renner took over the final podium position. Adams appeared to be satisfied with second and Picone put in a great ride to take home the first moto win.
Race 11 showcased the Open Class as well as the Open Beginner, and the Open class was dominated by Dustin Solovitch with a perfect 1-1 score after grabbing both holeshots and leading the entire time. Bradley Leachman took home second with his 2-2 scores and the final spot on the podium went to Joe Humet with 4-3 scores. In Open Beginner Diego Barreiro also put in a 1-1 result by grabbing each holeshot and leading wire-to-wire, which typically means it is time to move out of the beginner class. Behind Barreiro Joshua Groves went 4-3 to grab the silver and Ryan Renfro swapped results by going 3-4 to get 3rd overall.
Moto two for the Sponsor’s Cup Riders was full of excitement, and as the riders awaited the gate drop there was an overabundance of tension in the air. When the gate hit the dirt Picone once again got the jump on his competition and lunged just ahead of the pack. As the racers entered the tight first turn Picone had less than a wheel on arch rival Livesay, but Livesay had the inside. Livesay just held the throttle pinned, and emerged from the ensuing chaos as the leader. In Livesay’s wake lay the bikes of Picone, Adams and Sandoval. As Livesay powered away, with Ian Millett giving chase the other contenders picked up their bikes and tried their best to get underway as quickly as possible. Livesay gapped Millett in second and held a comfortable lead with Wilfredo Guzman in 3rd and Lites contender RJ Hampshire in 4th. Renner was charging through the pack after a poor start, and by lap four had moved into the 3rd position, although he had a long way to go to catch 2nd and much further to the leader. On lap seven Renner took over the second spot and set his sights on the leader, but it was to no avail, Livesay had built up and insurmountable lead. Millett took home third and both Picone and Adams charged hard all moto to finish fourth and fifth.
Once the final results were tallied Livesay took the overall victory with his 4-1 scores. Behind Livesay Renner went 3-2 to finish second and Picone completed the podium with his 1-4 result. It is not very common to have a three way tie in moto points, so the overall was decided strictly on the final moto finish. Livesay now has a 20 point lead over Picone, as the two distance themselves from the rest of the field. Twenty points is just two finishing positions in one event, so it will likely be a battle all the way to the final moto of the season. Be sure to join us for round 16, which takes place September 17th and will include the Vortex Lites class.
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