WORCS: Round 4, Payette, Idaho

Pre-Race:

This is the first time we?ve had to fly to a race in a while (since most races have been within driving distance). We flew in Thursday night, so I could ride Friday?s MX practice. Both Friday and Saturday?s practices went really well. It?s was a little dry and dusty in some of the off-road sections, but they say there?s a 60% chance of rain tonight. I know that would be a big help and keep the racing close.

Race Day:

We got a little rain last night, but it wasn?t enough to keep the dust down everywhere. The WORCS crew did a great job watering most of the course though. Now to the race! We pretty much had a full gate (38 pro?s) and had this big long uphill start. I had the perfect jump and was third at the top of the hill. When we made the turn back down the hill, I was super pumped and that?s when the leader Tony Sherman went down. Now I just had Kurt Caselli in front of me, but before I knew it guys were just pinning it and letting it hang out. I lost a couple spots, but was still fine with that since this is a two hour race. About halfway into the first lap, they ran us on the little trail that we didn?t get to practice on. I was a little tight and the ground was super slick, and that?s about when my front end washed out and I went sliding to the ground. I was sitting in the trail sideways and hoping no one would t-bone me. I finally restarted it and was around 14th by the time I got going again. So much for my great start! I really tried to push it and that?s when my arms just blew up. I haven?t had arm-pump this bad in a long time. I basically just had to ride a trail pace until it finally went away. I was so frustrated and if you?ve ever had bad arm-pump, you know there?s nothing you can do but ride through it. Finally about 45-minutes into the race, I got in a little groove and finally started to twist the throttle. The only problem was that I was in around 15th or 16th place, and the top guys had already checked out. I made a few passes, getting by Derek Costella, Lance Smail, and then Casey Johnson after having some sort of problem. Then it was just past halfway and I made my pit stop. I headed back out on the rough course and I still felt like I had a lot of energy to push it, since I really didn?t use any for the first part of the race. I kept plugging away and making a pass here and there, but it wasn?t going as well as I would?ve liked. Before I knew it, I could see Kiedrowski putting in a hard charge with three laps to go (about 20-minutes). He was about 15-seconds back and I was going to do everything I could to hold him off. Luckily there was only one lap left now, but he closed the gap to within 5-seconds. Now I can?t make a mistake! My last lap went really well and I was able to hold MK off to finish 9th place.

Overall Summary:

I was really bummed after the race. I?ve been feeling really good, but I just need to work on my speed right off the start. I usually play it safe and don?t push it as hard as I should. I know my speed is there towards the middle and end of the race, but a lot of the guys are too far ahead to try and catch by the time I get up to speed. I?ve been nailing the starts and now I just need to work on relaxing and keeping myself up there! The next WORCS round has some more off-road sections and that will be a big help for me.

Results Pro Class (top 20 out of 38):

1st Ryan Hughes

2nd Kurt Caselli

3rd Nathan Woods

4th Robby Bell

5th Jake Weimer

6th Bobby Garrison

7th Justin Soule

8th Bobby Bonds

9th Destry Abbott

10th Mike Kiedrowski

11th Matt Karlsen

12th Scott Simon

13th Jeffrey Loop

14th Kyle Summers

15th Ryan Orr

16th Derek Costella

17th David Kamo

18th Eric Rhoten

19th Tony Sherman

20th Donald Vawser

Other Notes:

Most of my new 2007 site is up, but I?m still working on my photo section, new videos, and some products for sell. Let me know if there?s anything else you think would be cool. www.destryabbott.com

Even after a mediocre finish I?m still sitting 4th overall in points.

What a great time I had during last week! On Tuesday and Wednesday Kawasaki had their big 2008 KLX450 intro, 20-minutes from my house, here in Arizona. It was awesome and I heard all the journalist say they were amazed at how good it was (I knew it was a great bike). I attached a photo of me play riding on the KLX. Dragging the bars and no I didn?t go down! The dirt was just about perfect and the riding was even better.

Here’s a small little video (taken by ssmokem from my message board)

Saturday?s Pro qualifier (guys outside the top 10 in points) was a blast to watch. They had 28 pros and there were a lot of great battles. Bobby Garrison finished 1st (it?s great to see him back at the races after his injury), followed by Jake Weimer, and Scott Simon.

This was another event where we had some new MX?ers show up. Jake Weimer was just one of the riders that gave it a try, and did really well finishing 5th overall. I also know of a really good SX/MX rider that will be trying his first WORCS race in two weeks. It?s really cool to see these guys showing up and giving it a try. I have a ton of respect for them.

In the Pro 2 class Kawasaki swept the top 5. Josh Morros won the class and finished just in front of me on adjusted time for 9th overall (beat me by 20-seconds).

I?m really looking forward to having this weekend off! It seems like a long time since I?ve had some off time. Then the following week I actually have two big races on the same weekend. I have a National H&H in Utah on Saturday and then will fly out to race a WORCS race in Northern California (Honey Lake) on Sunday. It?s going to be a full weekend!

My mechanic (Jonny) has been riding really well and finished 2nd in the 250B race. He?s leading the points and has a great shot at winning the championship.

Best Wishes,

Destry

www.destryabbott.com

2007 Sponsors:

Kawasaki Racing, Monster Energy, Dunlop, Stephen Gall Training, Scott goggles, Thor, IMS, Pro Circuit, Kawasaki Accessories, SIDI, GPR, Acerbis, CTI2, Jonre, BRP, Motion Pro, Works Connection, OGIO, Kicker, Hinson, Hoy Fox Toyota, American Racing Wheels, Braking, Renthal, DP pads, Team Hawg Racing, Twisten Wrenches, Cyto Sport, Red Baron, Trick, Zip-Ty, RK/Excel, N-Style, Shoei, Maxima, ZLT, Bent, Steahly, and Tire Balls.