Article: Round 20

November 8, 2011

Dade City Motocross – 2011 Points Championship Series

November 5^th, 2011 – Round 20

Author:  Gifford Quast

Fast from the Past.

The penultimate round of the 32^nd annual DCMX points championship series featured an injured title contender, some dominant riders from past years and a few surprising results.  As the first of two double points races the pressure was sure to be on the couple of remaining title contenders who have distanced themselves from the rest of the field.  After a huge crash the previous weekend it was doubtful that 2^nd in points, Tyler Livesay, would even be able to race.  With a few broken ribs, bruised lungs, a broken tailbone and severe bruising in a number of places on his body it would be a miracle if he could even get on the bike, much less be competitive.

The huge crowd, some of them on hand for the Gold Cup race the following day, were in for a treat in the form of the Sponsor’s Cup class.  Practice, which is timed and determines the gate pick for the first moto showcased a blazing fast Kyle Keylon.  Behind Keylon was his long time rival Ricky Renner, and the third qualifier was former champion Michael Clarke.  Mike Picone, looking to be the first repeat winner in the history of the Sponsor’s Cup, got the 4^th gate pick, but was over two seconds off the pace and Jerry Kopoian would start fifth.  In spite of all the injuries Livesay, in obvious pain gutted out a 7^th place qualifying run, but was over 3.3 seconds behind Keylon.  It was obvious Livesay’s mission was to try to reduce the damage as much as possible, and spend the next two weeks recovering for the final round.

Nowhere is the holeshot more important than at DCMX, and in no class is it harder to pass than in the Sponsor’s Cup.  When the gate fell, relative newcomer Rai Trasolimi jumped out ahead of the pack and grabbed the cash.  There was chaos in the first turn just behind the leader and Renner got pushed wide and was unable to make the second corner, it would be interesting to see what would happen later regarding the infraction.  In second behind Trasolimi was the beat-up Livesay, followed by Renner with Picone behind him.  By the time the leaders crossed the finish line the first time Renner had put his bike into the second spot with Livesay third and Pinecone 4^th.  Polesitter Keylon had gotten a poor start, and would have to work his way through the pack if he wanted to finish up front.  On lap three Renner took the lead away from Trasolimi, while Picone also got by Livesay, giving him a little bump in the process.  Livesay retaliated, and in spite of the obvious pain knocked Picone off the track, but it was to no avail.  Trasolimi went down on lap five, while Keylon and Clarke worked their way towards the leaders.  On the sixth lap Keylon took away third from Livesay, and set his sights on Picone in second.  Behind them Kopoian and Clarke were having a battle of their own, with the two of them getting together and Clarke taking the fifth spot on lap seven.  Picone, who appeared to be riding a bit defensively, got passed by Keylon on lap seven as well, but Renner had built up a huge, insurmountable lead.  With just a couple of laps to go Clarke motored past Picone to take over third on the track, and they would cross the checkers in this order; Renner-1^st, Keylon-2^nd, Clarke-3^rd, Picone-4^th, and Livesay -5^th.  It took a while, and after review of films it was determined that Renner would be penalized 2 spots for cutting the track on the second turn, this gave the win to Keylon and put Clarke into second.

All eyes were on the starting line as the Sponsor’s Cup class lined up for moto number two.  This time around Renner took no chances on being shoved wide, by being the first rider into and out of the tight left hander.  He held the lead through the second corner as well, and took home the start cash for moto two.  Keylon, Picone and Clarke all had better starts than they did the first moto, coming out 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th respectively.  Livesay’s worst case scenario was played out on the start, when he and Kopoian got together in the first turn and they both went down.  Both riders remounted and shortly thereafter Kopoian and Livesay got together once again, with Livesay ending up on the ground yet again.  Livesay is one of the toughest riders out there, so he remounted and proceeded to ride the rest of the moto, although at a reduced pace.  Up front both Renner, in the lead, and Keylon, right behind him, were both riding a great race.  Each was pushing hard, and Keylon simply could not close the gap to make a run at Renner.  On lap six Clarke made his way past points leader Picone to take over the third spot, but was too far back to mount any kind of charge to the leaders.  The rest of the moto was pretty uneventful, and Renner held on for the win.  Keylon came home second and Clarke took the bottom rung of the podium.  Picone held on for fourth, Trasolimi fought his way up to fifth and Livesay, in obvious pain the entire moto gutted out a ninth.  The overall results were as follows:  Keylon (1-2) for 1^st, Renner (3-1) 2^nd, Clarke (2-3) 3^rd, Picone (4-4) 4^th Ian Millett (6-6) 5^th, Trasolimi (8-5) 6^th and finally Livesay, scoring some points to stay in the hunt in 7^th by going 5-9.

Picone is now in the driver’s seat with 1280 points, but Livesay is still well within striking distance with his 1200.  In double points rounds 80 points is only 4 finishing positions, and the last round always attracts a lot of racers vying for off season cash.  Although the battle for the win is down to two racers, there is also a heated battle for the final paying position, 3^rd. with Millett and Kyle Keylon tied after round 20.  The final round is always crazy with excitement, championships are to be claimed or lost, everyone is pushing their hardest and both Quad and Bike classes are present.  Don’t miss the excitement, be sure to attend the last round of 2011 on November 19^th.

By admin