This Special Off-Road article is presented by: FCA Michigan
Anyone Seen this Logo at the track and wondered what it’s about?
FCA MX has a goal to bring church to the track! We realize that racing families are at the track on most weekends, so let’s bring church to the track! If you see this logo stop by and see what the FCA is all about. the FCA has a special event June 2 at Portland Trail Riders Club, and will have items to auction, lunch provided, Games for the kids, and additional ride time after the normal open practice!
Editor's Note: This article is about the Michigan Sprint Enduro Series. For the motocross community, there is a whole other segment to the dirt bike racing you may not know about, Cam gives his thoughts on the event and how his race went. (Photos By: AMA District 14 Hare Scrambles Photos Vanessa Senyk)
Hello everyone, my name is Cameron Prochnow and this year to the best of my ability I am going to be highlighting my experience and giving race reports for as many off-road racing events as I can this year. I race mainly the hare scramble series as much as I can and plan to branch out with the other series that Michigan has to offer after dabbing with a couple enduros last year. I race the A class and help out with Yamaha demos whenever they are in the area. I am big into the sport and if you see me at the races don’t be afraid to talk it up and say hello.
Finally! It took me long enough to get going this year but I finally got to my first race in Michigan of the 2018 season. I had to miss the first round of the hare scrambles in Plymouth due to the fact I was in North Carolina picking up my YZ 250x during the Steele Creek GNCC weekend and logistically could not get to Indiana in due time for Sunday.
I was not able to compete Saturday but Josh Lobretto who is a Battle Creek club member stated, “the place was packed”! A total of 167 riders signed up for the adult program for Saturday. In the morning, they ran the youth race in the morning. Then when the noon hour hit they proceeded to begin the adult program. Chris Bach made an appearance and raced his way to the overall win followed up by Tyler Vole on the Gas Gas in 2nd. The competition boasted some big names as local riders Corey Parlin, Josh Lobretto, along with James King, Shane Spangler from Grand Haven, and Talon Soenksen all were major contenders for the event. This race was a feeder qualifier into the International Seven Days enduro and had around 20 Letter of Intent riders attempting to get themselves a ticket on a team to Chile in South America later in the year. They had specific rules and regulations held on them for bike maintenance times and had their machines impounded Saturday night at the facility.
For Sunday, it was a cold start to the day. Like Saturday temperatures were only in the mid 20’s at my 5am wake up. Thank goodness my real job starts me off at 4am everyday so the wake ups are not harsh to me. But one thing I do hate is cold weather. One saving grace was the wind letting up a bit for Sunday as my motos at Martin the previous day had gusty conditions throughout the day. I arrived at the facility around 7:30 A.M. and quickly got to sign up. The line was short as many people had pre-registered for the day. There was not a lot of wasting of time to get the event going. Once 9 A.M. hit, officials had already gotten the riders meeting done and were unlocking the impound area for LOI riders to retrieve their bikes.
The event had two tests with three attempts at each. Riders would line up in a corral style chute. LOI riders went first, then A, B, and C classes respectively. There is a clock that shows a 15 second count down. At zero a rider begins their timed attempt at each test. To determine a winner, the lowest total time of the day takes home the bragging rights. At the beginning and end of each test, your transponder is read by a smart phone app which records your check in and end times. The two courses were a cross test and a woods enduro test. The cross test was a fast motocross style section around 4 miles that had GNCC style trail in the woods mixed in. The course had you start on the motocross start stretch and wind out a few of the motocross obstacles. It hopped you on the small bike track and do a few corners before hitting the woods for the GNCC style trail section for a couple miles before concluding the rest of the motocross track with some extra sections to round out the rest of the mileage.
The woods test consisted of what many hare scramble racers have grown racing there for many years which was very technical choppy trail. Logs and sharp edge tree roots made their presence known. It was around five miles and had the famous rock pile, Log Bridge, and endurocross section. It composed of some very tight sections, elevation changes with a couple of suspension testers and dips. Also, it opened up a bit to allow some speed and for passing to occur if competitors were to catch one another.
Overall, the day went O.K. I had a major disadvantage for the first two attempts at each test as my competitors had a first look at the course the day prior. But I wouldn’t hold that excuse since if I really wanted to I could have raced as well yesterday. My first test attempt on the motocross test was not the best because I did not know the jumps and some of the corners and did not want to make a hasty decision and end up in trouble riding over my head. I made up some ground on my competitors on my first attempt on the woods section. But still I need to work on my technique. I got hung up on a lot of corners and should ride more smoothly. I came in too hot in some corners and just literally felt like I froze mid-way through the corner. The second attempts at both tests had great improvement I cut out 11 seconds on the cross test and roughly the same on the woods test even with a tip over that put a bruise on my hip on the hard ground. My third test on the motocross section was roughly the same. One positive I can come out with the day is the fact that this event allowed me to try some different set ups and my father and I made a small adjustment that seemed to do wonders with rebound on the rear shock. My last attempt on the woods section could have gone a little better. Right out of the chute on the first straightaway I snagged a nice yellow ribbon and wound it all up in my rear tire. I looked like Jeff Emig in 1997 with banner all wound up in my rear tire. Luckily my father was in the woods and caught me and unbound it before real damage could happen. I lost a lot of time but I still wanted to finish strong. In the end I didn’t finish the best due to some bad luck. But I am having fun and that is all that matters. Congrats to Tyler Vore for the overall for the day and to all ISDE riders who will be moving on to the big event in Chile later this year. For all the results go to livelaps.com
After going to my first Sprint Enduro, I will definitely be back. I would recommend this event to veterans of off-road racing as well as motocross riders and new people looking to dab their feet in some competition. It is very rider friendly allowing breaks between tests. This race was one of the most efficiently run off-road events I have ever been to. We were done by 1:30 in the afternoon! Plus everyone was super friendly and there was no hot heads or attitudes from anyone. We all got along, raced hard, had respect, and from what I saw everyone rode safely and had a great time! For all the Sprint Enduro crew, keep working hard and the fruits of your labor will definitely be rewarded. What an awesome event. Thank you to Battle Creek Motorcycle Club as well for hosting the event and putting the work in laying out all the ribbon that probably added up to a quite a few miles.
Plan on seeing you all at Portland, #681 Cameron Prochnow
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