Round 10
June 21, 2011
Dade City Motocross – 2011 Points Championship Series
June 18th, 2011 – Round 10
Florida summers are all about brutal heat and humidity, and 2011 will be no exception. Scattered afternoon showers are also frequent in the heat of summer, with one showing up shortly after the start of practice to douse the track. The showers did not last long, and there was no delay in the program, in fact it may have been the perfect amount of water to ensure prime conditions for the entire night’s racing.
Timed qualifying for the Vortex Lites class produced predictable results, with Pup Whatley Laying down the fastest lap of the session. Whatley had been training with the Stewart family in Southern California , but returned to race the regional qualifier at Gatorback as well as the Lites round. Close behind Whatley was points leader Jared Jackson with Austin Diperna third, previous round winner RJ Hampshire fourth and Rich Wilkes putting in a great lap to grab the fifth gate pick. Hampshire was nursing an injured arm from the SE Regional Qualifier, and time would tell if he could ride through the pain and run up front.
With a number of Sponsor’s Cup riders off attempting to qualify for the closest AMA national, Budds Creek, the field was thinner than normal. Troy Adams was fastest of the session, followed by Mike Picone, Ian Millett, Wilfredo Guzman and Alex Spade in fifth. Tyler Livesay, who has been on a tear lately, was in Maryland along with Kyle Keylon and Michael Clarke, where Keylon qualified 19th fastest, and Livesay, again, just missed a spot on the gate and would have to watch from the fence along with Michael Clarke. Kory Keylon was in attendance, but only to spectate, as he had broken his wrist at Gatorback the week before, and Robert Devonald-Batt is still out with injury as well. There is no tougher sport than motocross, and no longer season in sports than the DCMX Points Championship series, which is why it is so hard to become a champion here.
The DCMX track crew put in some time prepping the track once practice was complete, and by the time the gate was ready to drop for the Pee Wee’s it was in great shape. Heat one of the Vortex Lites featured #1 qualifier Whatley, who barely edged out the ever improving Diperna for the holeshot. Close behind in third was Jack Sigismondi, who had just made a switch to Yamaha from KTM. With very little time on the Yamaha Sigismondi looked fast and was able to stay at the front of the pack for most of the heat race. Diperna kept Whatley honest, as they both ran off a string of 1:01 second laps, but eventually Whatley pulled a bit of a gap to take the win. Cory Huberty rode strong all moto long to finish in the third spot, with Sigismondi fourth and Kevin Steele fifth.
Heat two saw Jackson just edge out Scott Westbrook for the holeshot, and Jackson quickly gapped the field. Westbrook made a mistake early on which allowed Hampshire into second and Bodie Colangelo into third. Hampshire was giving it his all, but the arm injury would prove to be a hindrance, as Jackson pulled away to take the win. Hampshire put in a great effort holding onto the second spot under heavy pressure from Colangelo who finished third. Westbrook recovered to take home fourth and Kyle Jacob finished fifth. The gate picks for the main were set, Whatley having put in the quickest heat race time would pick first.
At the gate drop for the Sponsor’s Cup Adams blasted into the lead and was the first to cross the stripe, step number two in his goal of a perfect night. Picone was right on the back fender of Adams and Millett was just behind Picone. The order stayed the same until lap four when Picone made a mistake, allowing both Millett and Jerry Kopoian by as well as handing a big lead to Adams. Kopian was putting in one of his best rider in some time, but Picone was able to make an inside move to get past on lap eight. On the final lap Picone had caught Millett and was trying feverishly to get around him, finally taking the inside in the second to last corner and pushing Millett wide. Adams led wire-to-wire and completed step three in the quest for a perfect night with Picone and Millett completing the podium.
The track was in perfect shape for the Vortex Lites main event, and all of the contenders were vying for the holeshot. When the gate fell Jackson had a great reaction time and pulled the field down the start straight to be the first across the stripe. Diperna crossed the holeshot line in second on this YZ250 2-Stroke and was just ahead of Huberty. Whatley came around the first turn in 4th of 5th, but wasted no time in getting up to second. Once in the second position Whatley made a few uncharacteristic mistakes, allowing Jackson a comfortable lead. Whatley regained his composure and began to whittle away at Jackson’s lead. As the laps wore on it appeared as though Whatley would catch Jackson, but getting around him might be another story. On lap six Jackson crashed in the right hander going onto the front straight, Whatley, who had just closed to within a bike length, ran right into Jackson’s bike, and hit the ground as well. They both hurried to pick up their bikes, but Whatley kept his running, remounted and rode away with the lead. Jackson struggled to start his Honda, and finally got it going again after he had lost six positions. Meanwhile out front Whatley had pressure from Diperna, but held him off to take the victory. Diperna came home second and Huberty made his first trip to the podium with a third. Early leader Jackson was passed by Colangelo on the last lap, finishing a disappointing 8th.
With a reduced number of entries due to schedule conflicts and injuries we thought the second moto might lack some drama. At the drop of the gate Adams, once again, appeared to have the holeshot under control. Picone, who was to the right of Adams cut over to the left and hit him pretty hard as they approached the double in the middle of the start straight. Although this ruined Adams’ perfect night and gave the holeshot money to Picone, it was an ill advised move. Adams had the inside line in the first turn and drove in extra hard and pinned the throttle. It appeared that the only contact Adams made was tire to tire with Picone, but that was enough to put Picone down on the ground. Adams was then able to cruise home to what looked like an easy victory, with Millett taking home second. Kopoian put in a great ride, passing Millett for the second spot midway through the moto, only to be repassed the following lap. Picone was only able to get back up to the 4th spot, coming from dead last.
The Lites class is proving to be very competitive, and even after missing a round Whatley is back in the points lead. Hampshire should be healthy by the next round, Jackson will no doubt want to redeem himself and Diperna is bound to win one of these soon. Now that we are at the halfway point of the season we are already thinking about which riders will be ready to move up to the Vortex Lites class next year, will we see Austin Griffis, who just one his first 250C class overall, in the hunt? Does Robbey Ruffner plan to step up? Will we see one of the Women’s riders improve to the point where they can run at the front? For now let’s focus on the rest of this season, as there are still many great battles ahead.
One more round and the drop program takes effect in all classes but the Vortex Lites. In the Sponsor’s Cup it will really tighten the points up and make for a whole new season. Livesay will go into round 12 with a perfect score no matter what happens at round 11. Adams has three wins, and appears to have regained his confidence from early in the season. Picone does not appear to be giving up his title without a fight and the Keylon brothers can always be contenders every round. Look for more highly competitive racing action at round 11 on July 2nd, it will be exciting as always.
Author: Gifford Quast
By admin
