Motocross and cycling news, reviews and opinions

Recap of my 2008 Racing Season

November 11th, 2008 • Racing Update

The 2008 motocross season is over, and it was a huge learning experience for me.

2008 was my first year on big bikes, and it was a lot of fun. I took the spring season completely off from racing and almost entirely off from riding. This gave both my father and I a needed mental and financial break from motocross. In addition, it allowed to get in better shape, so I would be ready for the bigger bikes, and it gave my dad time to find me a bike. After a few weeks of searching, my dad and X-Pro put together a 2006 RMZ250f for me. Although it is a few years old, X-Pro completely went through the entire bike, getting in back into excellent shape. The suspension was sent to Factory Connection and it worked awesome all season long. It may not have been the newest bike on the track, but it definitely was sufficient for my needs, and allowed me to adjust to the full sized four-stroke motocross bikes.

NESC Fall Series

After spending the Spring Series getting my bike together, I finally began racing in the fall in the NESC Fall Series. I had to miss the first race at MX207 because of mechanical issues with our box truck, so this meant that my first race of the year would be at CCC in Central Village, CT. This race was humbling to say the least, I hadn’t ridden in weeks, and it was my first time ever riding my new bike. After a few weeks of racing, however, I finally started to get the hang of the bigger bike. I even managed to win a race in the 125 Youth C class at Jolly Rogers. A few weeks into the season, and I had already earned enough points to move up to the 125 Youth B class. This class was a lot faster than the C, but it felt good to know that I had moved out of the Youth C class after years of racing that class on my underpowered (compared to the 250fs) KX100. My first few races were really tough in the newer class, but, eventually I got the hang of the new pace, and began to improve my results. My best finish of the year in the Youth B class was a 5th at Jolly Rogers.

Results

Although 2008 was not my best year, I ended up finishing relatively well in points, especially considering the fact that it was my first year on the bigger bikes. I managed a 2nd in the 125 Novice Class and 8th in the 125 Youth B, even though I only did about half of the races. All in all, it was a successful year, and my time spent getting used to the bigger bikes will help progress even further in motocross.

Plans for 2009

For 2009, I will be racing the NESC 125 Youth B and 125 Amateur classes. The amateur class will be a huge step up from the novice, and will take a lot of hard work on my part in order to compete. However, I believe that I have the ability to rise to the occasion and adjust to the new, faster, classes. Make sure to check back for my upcoming series of articles on Planning for 2009 which will trace my journey as I get ready for the upcoming season.