Netra Dam Good Sprint enduro and HS 08/22-08/23

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This past weekend Had the group heading to the Thomaston Dam Events. The events are held by The Pathfinders Club out of North West CT in affiliation with NETRA. This race was exciting for me as I had missed the last few events. We flew into Bradley CT from a week long work/play trip to Tennessee on Friday @ 12:15 pm and we were on the road to the event by 2 p.m. Thanks to my family for working as a team as loading up can be a daunting task at times.

Now for the races…….
Saturday I lined up my County Cycles/Motoworx prepped Beta for the pm B Senior Sprint Enduro. I was very excited to finally race my bike as Brian has tried to take ownership since I received it. Due to the B Senior HS Races running with the main event I chose to be a support pit person instead of a racer. This way I can help Stephanie with her races in the morning and Brian in the afternoon. This event was to be run on Saturday and was the first sprint endure format NETRA has tried. The format was to run 3 sections 4 times each, Extreme, Enduro, Euro Moto. I thought hmm this could be fun as we check in to a section then check out. This gives you time to refuel grab a drink take a quick break etc. The only requirement is to try and finish all of the sections with in a 2 hour window. My goal as I have been competing in the shorter vintage races this year was to complete all section with in the 2 hour window. I did not realize that each lap of three section were 13 miles total in length. This had my running 52 race miles in 2 hours in hot humid sun. I pushed hard at every section and ended with over 10 minutes to spare. I was able to complete the event and was awarded first place in my class. Even better I completed many of the sections with a few friends which made it very exciting.

Sunday AM Race had Stephanie up first. She was going to be running a 7 mile variation of the course from Saturday. She was excited and nervous as usual to get going and finish the event. She ran the challenging course with ease and liked her trials tire in the rocky up hills that she had to climb. Many of the racers compliment her on her positive attitude and determination to keep pushing forward. She does very well at the toughest course as she will not quit. As the dust settled she finished in 2nd place in her class and felt very good completing the event. Her confidence level to tackle every course has risen drastically over the last few events and it is evident when she will not pit during an event.

Sunday PM Race had Brian up for the mains. Brian’s girlfriend had to work this weekend and we all missed her at the event. Brian was aboard his County Cycles/Motoworx prepped Beta. This would be his second time riding this bike. The first time was his previous race at Richardson Farm HS. Rob and Brian @ Motoworx called and suggested a few suspension suggestions prior to the event for the bike. This event was running late and started closer to 2 pm. It was scheduled to run 4 laps at 11 miles per lap for a total of 44 miles. This event had drawn quite a few of the top NE racers due to not having conflicting races and the location. Both of the AA line and the A lines had 50 % more racers than normal. The only advice I gave Brian was to finish the race and ride smart and finish the race. He needs to finish races to obtain his AA Red Plate for 2016 but that change quickly by pushing too hard and crashing out. When the flag dropped Brian was in 6th going into the first corner. At the pit area which 1/3 into the lap Brian was up to 4th and had all three in front of him in his sights. After lap 1 when they passed the pits Brian was running in 2nd with his best friend running closely in third. At lap 2 Brian was now in the lead his friend in 2 and the other racer in 3rd. All 3 racers burned 2 very quick laps and pushed themselves up into the AA pack. The AA line leaves the start 30 seconds ahead of A 250 line. I was slightly concerned as it was very hot and humid and at 11 miles per lap this was a long event. I thought by running so close for the first few laps that all 3 racers could wear down, crash or fade back. I pitted Brian at the start of lap 3 and with help of the my wife Patty , Stephanie and my friend Matt we had a killer quick pit. Brian continue to hold the lead and I was hoping it was almost over….Wrong Brian was running up front with the AA guys so made all the top 15 guys run another lap this included his friend in his class. At the checker Brian finished 1st in A 250 10 th Overall and squeezed out a last lap past on an A open Racer to grab A Highpoint. One of the highlights was when the other 2 racers pulled off the track they all stopped and congratulated each other and talked about the fun and mixing up during the event. All in all another great weekend in the books. Brian’s girlfriend had to work this weekend and we all missed her at the event.
Thanks to the Pathfinder club and Netra for giving another race opportunity. Thanks to all of our sponsors County Cycle, Motoworx, Fly, Kuta Electric, 139 designs, Acerbis, Enduro Engineering and Renthal.