Race Day
Basic riding gear is a must when you are going past trees at race speeds. A good set of hand guards and a drink system will both be very high on the suggestion list. A gas tank that holds three gallons or more will get you through a race without stopping. If you have a smaller tank, plan a pit stop just past the one hour point of the race. Place the gas can just off of the trail where you can get to it during the race and still be out of the path of other racers. An extra set of goggles and gloves, stored with the gas can, may come in handy.
Show up early so you can beat the crowd and give yourself some time to relax, practice, and take it all in. Gates open at 8:00. A gate fee of $10 dollars for each person 12 years old or older, will be charged at the gate. Once inside find a good parking spot then head right for the sign up location which opens at 7:30. It is usually a trailer parked alongside the track and sign up will be the non track side. Bring your helmet to sign up at every race. There will be a table with blank sign up cards. Fill out a new card at your first event. After that ensure you have your transponder and sign up all set up properly.
Once you have finished signing up, go back and prepare everything to ride. Go to the scoring lane and start from there. Be sure to pass through the scoring lane to make sure your transponder is working. When you enter the scoring lane, just follow the arrows around the track. Take it slow and learn all you can about the track. There may hard / easy lines in certain locations. The hard lines will almost always save time if you have the ability to make it through that section. The easy lines will always get you safely around a difficult obstacle.You can ride as many practice laps as you like but make sure you are back in time for the rider’s meeting at 9:30!
The riders meeting will explain special information that you will need to know about that particular event. Be sure to attend and pay attention to what is being announced. Riders line up for at the starting line about 10 minutes before the start time for your race. Each row will have a marker. When possible, the National Anthem will be played and at the end, all bikes will be started and “cleaned out”. All engines will be shut off and then each row will be started one minute apart. Several different types of starts are done. The rider’s meeting will provide information on how the start is done. You can watch the rows ahead of you to learn what to do.
Race #2 and #3 runs exactly 2 hours from the time the first row starts, not 2 hours per class. Race #1 runs exactly 1.5 hours from the time the first row starts. So, if you start five minutes after the first row, it is possible that your race could last one hour and fifty five minutes if you come in exactly at that time. This seldom happens. Most riders end up riding about two hours and ten minutes to as much as two hours forty minutes depending on track length and when you came through on you last lap.
Once all the riders are in (usually about 30 minutes after the race ends), the results are calculated. The results are posted and there is a fifteen minute protest period. This allows riders to look for mistakes in the scoring or possibly a competitor that did not choose to ride the entire course. After the protest period, awards are presented to the top four of each class. This will occur just after the Race #3 around 5:00pm.
If you have any questions you can ask just about anyone you see. This is just one big family and everyone loves to help others.
If you find racing to be fun, maybe you should experience the fun of helping with the set up of a race. The entire organization is made up of volunteers. Every race is set up by a bunch of volunteers who get nothing more than a work average to show for their efforts. If you want to know more about this, the rule book offers a complete explanation. While you are there it would be a good idea to read the entire rule book. It will help explain many of the topics that were only briefly mentioned here.
