Marty Michels' MPOR Race Report (2008)

Race Report: Kentucky Off Road Hare Scrambles Series (KORHS) - Round 1
Rider: Marty Michels- Bike 4th Place
Bike: 08 Yamaha YZ450f

The first race of the season brought good weather and an excellent turnout which is completely different from the weather and conditions many of us were faced with last year for the first round.  I am like the rest of you, I try to block that one out too.  My preparation for the race was a bit off because it is fairly dry at my house and I only live about 120 miles to the north.  While I was driving down Sunday morning I started noticing the highway was wet and there were puddles everywhere.  No big deal, I figured it would just make the race a bit more interesting and I would rather ride in a bit of mud any day rather than ride in the dust. 

I like the first race in any series because you see some folks that you have not seen in a while and it gives you a chance to catch up a bit.  Everyone wants to know how their new bikes are working and of course the normal bench racing with your buddies.

My race started off well with a second place start behind Al.  Everything was going good as we rode through the first few miles of the course.  We were both being really careful on the trail because it was super slick.  All of the ruts were full of water and the water was not clear so you could not see how deep the water was, so I cautiously continued to follow Al and let him be the guinea pig.  He kept slowing down like he was wanting me to pass and eventually I took the invitation like a rookie.  I was feeling good and started to pick up the pace when, before I knew it, I was lying on my head and all I could hear was Al laughing as he motored by. 

I gathered myself up and got going again only to notice that my front wheel was pointing at 10 o’clock while I was holding the bars at 12 o’clock.  Everyone who has taken a good spill knows what I am talking about.  So it seemed like it took me forever to find the perfect tree to straighten the Yamadog back up.  In the meantime, Mr. Summers came motoring by and I tried to keep pace, but that aggravating arm pump flared up like a wild fire.  It was mainly because I was trying to stay glued to Scott’s rear tire with a jacked up front end.  I finally had enough and had to stop and fix it and try to calm down.  This went on for like 2 ½ laps.  At one point Harvey passed me and he was my saving grace.  I rode behind him for a while or I guess I should say he dragged me along.  He was going good and picking his way through all of the bottlenecks and just being smooth.  That is what I needed to get my wits about me again and relax. 
           
Finally, the arm pump vanished and I started feeling like my normal self.  Harvey kindly gave me some room and I was on my way to try and salvage what I could out of the race.  I knew I probably was not going to catch Scott or Al because I basically gave them a half race head start because I am stupid.  So I just wanted to ride as hard as I could and see what would happen.  I was able to string together some consistent laps at the end, but I still came up a few minutes short.  I guess it could have been a whole lot worse, but it does not mean I am not thinking about that bonehead first lap crash that brought me some frustration.  Congrats to Scott and Al and a big thank you to Mr. Whitaker for pulling me along .  The KORHS crew, like always, deserves a big thanks and congrats on the record turnout.  I will see you all soon and I promise next time I will leave the Marty Michels who crashes at home and bring the one who can win!(haha) 

Take Care.

Marty Michels  #439
Yamaha YZ 450F
Sponsors:  Maxxis Tires, House of Horsepower Suspension, Cannon Racecraft, All-Finish Concrete, Caywoodslawn.com, Lexington Motorsports, MSR, Berik, Dirttricks.com, MotoXtremes, Tire balls, Rex’s Cycle Shop, Scott USA, Clarke mfg., Enduro Eng., Fasst Company, Spider Grips, EVS, FMF, No-toil, Wasting Time Films