Editor's Note: This article is about the D14 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.
The 93rd annual Cowbell Classic, The Jack Pine Enduro alongside the Pine Cone Family enduro was held this past weekend at the Lansing Motorcycle Club, located in the Moorestown, MI area which is near Lake City. This enduro is regarded as one of if not the oldest annual running off-road motorcycle events. Huge turnouts for both days which made a successful weekend of competition mixed with bench racing and fun for the riders and spectators. Around 340 riders raced the Saturday Pine Cone and roughly 280 to 300 riders lined up for the Jack Pine on Sunday.
Saturday’s family enduro was timekeeper format which gave competitors a set speed to average and a schedule to remain on time in order to attain the least amount of points possible. I could go into depth with how timekeeping format works but the article would turn into a novel. The Pine Cone had roughly a 48 mile course, starting at the club grounds putting riders through some very tight and technical trail. At the first gas, buddy classes and some youth classes ended the day and from there on the speed was increased for the adult classes and fun riders to challenge themselves. All the kids had fun and to get kids out on motorcycles is the goal for our sport to continue to thrive.
Sunday’s event was essentially a restart format with six sections joined by transfer trail. The first section was tight from the get-go. Very twisty, very technical, and a lot of ground debris. Roughly a five mile section. Then we rode a lot of transfer to first gas. The second test opened up quite a bit through some choppy grassy fields. Dust was a slight issue but not too terrible as the high humidity in the morning kept the soil from getting too dry. Test three used some ORV trail and the old whoops are intensified greatly after rows of riders attacked them. Test 4 was some ORV mixed with tight event trail and Test 5 was open with high speed sections. The final test was one last mega shot of super tight trail before the day ended with unscored road sections back to the club grounds. Pretty much every section was roughly six miles. So sprinting was the name of the game. Total time accumulated using LiveLaps scoring determined the final standings for the day.
It feels good to be back. I had a lot of fun the whole weekend and rode with good performance throughout the day. I wasn’t were I wanted to be speed wise but since I haven’t raced after getting run over at the X Factor GNCC I didn’t go into the event with a lot of pressure on myself other than to have fun and do the best I could and get back into the groove. The first test gave me a small shot of arm pump as I had to get my bearings back in me getting used to tight event trail. Once I got to the first gas I got some fluids in me, relaxed a bit, and moved on to the next sections. I loved the open field test sections. It was very choppy but the Yamaha KYB stock suspension has to be the best around. It handled the rough ground greatly and allowed me to keep momentum up through the corners. Well karma bit me a little in the fifth test. I clocked a tree going third gear and bent my rear brake lever down to the point where the level couldn’t push the piston to activate the brake. I think I launched 10 to 15 feet and tumbled. I got up quickly and was determined to finish. To be honest, I think I burned more energy finishing out the last bit with only a front brake. It’s very difficult to get through very tight trail; especially in the 6th test with only front brakes. I finished mid-pack in the 250 A class. But I still felt today was a great day.
to Tyler Vore on the overall Victory. He edged out Corey Parlin, who was defending his last two consecutive overalls of the event the previous years. Give a lot of credit to the Lansing Motorcycle Club. They battle a lot of adversity to put on this awesome event for us year after year and they deserve a lot of credit. Next race I will be hitting is the Dutch Sprint Enduro. I plan on finishing out the year hitting select races that I choose to do. To everyone going out to Polka Dots next weekend, stay safe and have fun!
#681 Cameron ProchnowCongratulations