FEB 28–Adelanto G.P. / Best in the Desert

(Feb 22-23 2003)

Saturday

Unclassified:
The first race of the day was the Unclassified race. There were a lot of good riders on the first few lines. The course this year is a lot shorter then the previous ones. It was around 8 miles, versus the 14 mile loop used in previous years. This meant the course was going to be a lot rougher, because we will be completing more loops than in the past. On the start I had a good jump and was able to take the lead, with David Pearson behind me. The course was pretty smooth and was definitely on the fast side. After a couple of laps I had a decent lead. Until I almost hit a lapper and had to try to avoid him and slid out. When I was picking up the bike and starting it, Steve Hengeveld passed me. I was able to get around him a couple of miles later to take the win. David was also able to pass him back to finish second.

125 Race:
Now it was time to get ready for the 125 race. I was really looking forward to this race, because I like riding my 125. I had an ok start, but started to get passed my quite a few guys on the straight aways. I was riding a stock KX 125 which I thought would be ok, but unfortunately everyone else was riding modified 125s. After a few laps, I was able to get up to third place going out on the last lap. Mike Healy was still leading with Joey Lanza right in front of me. Less then a mile from the finish, on the MX course, I was able to go under Joey to finish second. Mike won with a 15 second cushion over me.

Pro Race:
This is the big money race of the weekend. The Pro race had a $4,000 purse for first overall and $10,000 being split up there after. But my goal was to take the $4,000 and put it towards the house:) I was back on my KX 500. Which worked really good in the morning, but the big difference is it’s rougher now then it has ever been at this place. I believe there were a total of 60 pros all together. The start was a dead engine like at the H&H’s, which was good for me. I had another good start and was in second behind Ty. We were able to pull away from the rest of the field in the first couple of laps. I was about 5 to 10 seconds behind Ty for the first few laps. I think on the fourth or fifth lap I had a good run at Ty, and was able to pass him on a big straight away. I was hoping to be able to pull away but he pretty much stayed close to me the whole time. When I pitted I was a little worried Ty was going to pass me again, but I was able to get back on the course before he did. I was getting a little on the tired side and wanted it to be over. A couple of laps later they pulled the white flag out and I had about a 30 second lead. I ended up finishing with the Overall. Ty was 43 seconds behind me with Brian Brown taking third overall. Fourth went to Steve Hengeveld. I’m not sure how the rest of the results went. One thing I will say is this was one of the roughest races I’ve ever raced. I really think one of the biggest reasons I was able to win this race was the fact that my Kawasaki worked great! It’s really important you have your bike set up perfect here. Team Green mechanic, John Braasch, and Darryl at ACME Suspension really helped me out. Thanks!

Sunday

I was going to race the 250 race today, but I decided to give my body a rest and prepare for the final race of the day. My main focus for today was to win the Best in the Desert race that was in conjunction with the G.P.. Shane Esposito (my teammate) drove up in the morning to ride the race bike and make sure everything was good. We are leading the series going into the race and hope that we’ll have an even bigger lead after this race. We won this race last year and the bike is even better this year. I started for our team and was able to get into second in the first corner, behind Curt Casalli. Third was Ty Davis, followed by Brian Brown and Johnny Campbell. After the first lap, we were all still in the same order really close to each other. Not to far into the second lap, I hit a whoop and retore my Meniscus in my right knee. (It’s a reoccurring injury that I did a few weeks ago, just before the Glen Helen WORCS race. I’ve been doing some exercises to help it heal a little faster, but my doctor says a couple of weeks off the bike is one of the best ways to start the healing process.) I was hurting for a little bit and most of the open Pros’ passed me before I finished my lap to give the bike to Shane. From there Shane was on the gas and was able to start moving his way back to the front. The race was supposed to be over in 1 hr. and 30 minutes, but they decided to throw the white flag out a little early . Shane was in third going out on the last lap about 10 seconds behind Johnny Campbell. Shane was able to make up some time, but wasn’t able to get by. I really think if Shane had one more lap, he might have been able to get into second overall. Ty Davis and his partner Nathan Woods won the race. Second was Johnny and Steve Hengeveld. Fourth went to our other Kawasaki team of Brian Brown and David Pearson. The one good thing is we still have the points lead leaving the race.

Other Notes:
The organizers said they had about 30,000 spectators for the weekend, and close to 2,500 entries for the races.

A LEM 50 was stolen from a good friend of ours (Phil) on Saturday night. They also took his helmet and a couple of other things. If you find any info on this, please let us know. Thanks!

My knee is doing a lot better already, but I won’t be going to Florida this weekend. This will give me a couple of weeks to heal and be ready for my next race.

My next race will be the WORCS event in Lake Havasu on March 15-16.

Nathan Woods turned some heads this weekend, by winning the 250 race over fellow teammate Ty Davis.

I really need to thank all the people that helped me this weekend. Most importantly my wife and kids, my dad, John Brassch, Jason Smigel, Curtis Walker, Phil, Shane Esposito, and Darryl. Thanks for all your help!!!

Best Wishes,
www.destryabbott.com
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