Season Opener - Mesquite Nevada January 30, 2010

The first race of the USRA desert season was in Mesquite Nevada. This is a very sandy course, but lots of moisture in the weeks leading up to the race made for great conditions.

The minis started bright and early. FAST Racing was represented by Benji Knight and Trevor Smith in the 85 novice class (Trevor was racing (and riding) his new KTM 85 for the very first time). Quinn Pincock was racing Schoolboy and Dylan Pincock was racing 65's. We were also joined by Kelton Satterthwaite racing 85 novice (and his Dad racing over 40 Amateur).



The minis all got off and before long, we received word in the pits that Benji was down just a few miles into the course. This is always a scary moment, but after getting to him, we discovered he was going to be OK, just a little banged up and scared.

Trevor finished the race as did Quinn and Kelton with great results. This is always a tough one due to the sand.



Josh Knight was racing big bikes for the first time and was a bundle full of nerves. He got off to a good start in the Amateurs, but after the first loop, he didn't arrive quite when expected. When he eventually arrived we found out he had crashed into a tamarisk bush and got his bike lodged in the sticks and it took him about 15 minutes to get it removed. At that point, he was just trying to salvage the day, but did manage three loops and avoid a DNF.



Cory Pincock finished in the top 15-20 of the Experts, and Brett Satterhwaite finished 7th overall Amateur and first in his class. Eric Smith finished the Amateur loops as well and got some great helmet cam footage.





In his first race on his new 450, James Rhodes pulled a killer holeshot and only got passed once the rest of the day and finished 1st in class and 2nd overall Novice.

It was a lot of fun to escape the cold of January and go race in the desert. It was also the maiden voyage of the new "MotoBus" and it proved to be a great road trip vehicle for the races as the kids slept the entire way home to Northern Utah. Next up, the Rhino Rally in St. George.

More video, pictures, and discussion of the Mesquite race can be found here:
http://www.dirtbikeadventures.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=34

New Near - new opportunities

Three races of the new 2010 race season are already under our belts and I've not been diligent in keeping the site current. We've been having so much fun that I feel I need to give credit to the boys for their great efforts.

So far we've raced Mesquite Nevada, St. George Utah, and Knolls Utah. The FAST racing team has done awesome this year!!! Several of the boys have moved up to the big bike classes and others have moved up through the mini ranks. We've also had lots of new friends join us so when we're all together, it makes for a busy day for the pit moms and dads.

Josh Knight, Karson Bailey, and Jonathan Morrell have all moved up to the Amateur 125 class.

James Rhodes has joined us and is racing the Open Novice class on his big 450.

Bridger Langeveld is on a KTM now and racing in the 85 Mini Amateur class.

Benji Knight and Kobee Knight have moved up to the 85 Novice class along with Trevor Smith and Josh Morrell.

Skyler Langeveld and Matthew Smith are racing in the pee-wees.

Quinn Pincock is looking for a class championship in the Schoolboy class, and little brother Dylan is racing 65's still and gaining a lot of experience.

Tyler and Colby Ekins are still racing 65's and we've had a few other newcomers as well.

Cort Simpson has decided to join the 65 ranks, and Kelton Sattherwaite and dad Brett are trying their hand at desert racing this year and doing awesome! Kelton's little brothers have also both given at least one race a try and did great.

We've had several other friends be part of the FAST racing group as well, including Carson Giles, Steve Neal, and Jason Rhodes, and there are always plenty of helpful hands ready for a quick gas stop and goggle swap.

I'll post a race summary for each of the races and keep everyone current on the latest within FAST Racing.

Be sure to also check out www.dirtbikeadventures.com for all the latest "discussion" from the FAST Racing team.

Here's a pic of part of the team in Warner Valley Utah for a New Years fun ride to start off the year:

USA-All Charity Race, Price Utah August 15-16, 2009

OK, so I've been a complete slacker in getting the site updated. Work has pretty much monopolized my life since August and justifying the time to update the site has been difficult.

It's time for the important things in life, family, kids, and riding.....work sucks.

The Charity race in Price was a lot of fun. Myself (Mike) and my 3 boys (Josh, Kobee, and Benji), and Chad Bailey and his son Karson made the trek to Price for the Saturday desert race. This event was a charity race raising money for the Utah Shared Access Alliance (USA-All) to raise money for the battle in preserving our public lands and riding areas. It was a totally worthy cause and one we were happy to support. It also happened to be a USRA points event.



Benji in the 65 class (Dave Turner Images)

The minis started in the morning and the FAST Racing crew had an awesome showing!! Karson Bailey finished second overall mini Novice, Kobee finished first Schoolboy, and Benji finished first 65B, and second overall 65. Benji's bike was running like crap again and I was praying that he would even make it one loop. He came in off the first loop in second place and held that position for another loop with a bike that would hardly stay on the throttle and required a lot of finesse. The boys all really enjoyed the course and thought the motocross track was cool.

Karson

Kobee

Josh raced his first "big bike" race.....sort of. They had the Mini Experts race with the Amateurs. They had to be the last wave off the start line so unfortunately they were eating dust for most of the first loop, but he was doing great and had worked up to mid-pack after the first loop of the course. After going out on the second loop it seemed to take him a really long time to come in. My intuition was correct and when he finally made it in, he was riding in "spode" mode. Apparently he hit a big g-out on the desert course and rung his bell pretty good and it took him a while to get his composure and get going again. As all racers know, it's difficult to bounce back from a good crash. After some coercion, he decided to go out and finish his race. Josh is learning a lot of life's lessons through the school of hard knocks out on the race course this season and will need to continue to develop that mental maturity and persistence that is a characteristic of all great racers.

Josh loved the EnduroCross section.

I had taken my bike down and was considering racing, but the Experts weren't starting until 4:00 in the afternoon and with Josh's situation, the chewed up and dusty course, and long drive home that night, I wussed out and just packed up and called it a day.

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped to put on such an event. It's a great and worthy cause and one that I hope is repeated next year.