For 2011, we’re off to a good start on our Stage 2 CW CRF-DT’R, thanks to a little, okay, a lot, of technical help from Yoshimura R&D. Yosh’s Sean Gutierrez met me at Glen Helen the Wednesday before Salinas, where Gary Jones—former National MX champ—prepped us a little test track… effort appreciated.Friday, brother Glen, nephew Nathan and yours truly—making a total of three Cernickys!—drove all night to the Salinas Sports Complex for the AMA Pro Singles National, the first AMA Pro Grand National Event to be held on the Central Coast, at a track just north of the famed Laguna Seca Raceway.
Working on no sleep, early Saturday revealed a TT course with a quarter-mile long straight dumping into a fast, sweeping left Turn 1, which lead into a tight left, a right and then a little jump. We (the torque-intense Yosh Honda 450 and me) got a great start, moving into fourth before getting in a little hot, but not hot enough, apparently, for the miscreant behind who rammed and high-sided me out of my heat. In my semi, I started outside row four (19th), then worked my way to sixth on a super slippery track surface—sadly, only four transferred.
Easter Sunday tech opened at 6a.m. The short track was nicely prepared and the first fragrant damp-dirt VP-fueled practice was worth the long drive in spite of my 25th fastest-ness. Second session I got to 19th, then 14th then 11th—my best time earned a second-row start for my heat. This time I made it a point to finish; a safe sixth got me a direct transfer to the Main. Are we wising up?
First lap of the 18-lap main, there I was in the middle of a rabid pack in 10th—just before Johnny Reckless-seed high-sided right in my grill. Thankfully, nobody ran me over while I was running his bike over. Red flag, owie on elbow, holed front number plate—the only real damage was that I’d restart from the fifth row. If you hit the dirt dirt trackin’, you start from the back. Keeps it simple that way.
Al Ludington, AMA Pro Racing Technical Director, checked on me, and at the 10-second board, walked off the track saying, “Now you’ll have to show them what you’re worth.”
From the fifth-row restart in a pack of 19 ne’er-do-wells, I didn’t do too bad, battling hard for every pass to finish a respectable 12th. Meanwhile, William Cato, Gerit Callies and Michael Martin were busy winning, placing and showing. And, ahhh, a girl, or should I say woman named Shayna Texter also finished two places ahead of me.
In any case, our Yosh/Southland Racing-suspended Honda CRF450DT’R worked awesome, which is the most awesome of superlatives, and to think it’s back at Yoshimura in Chino, California, getting even faster and readier for the Springfield TT and Mile, keeps me slightly giddy most of the time.
We’ve got one more SCFTA event at Perris to test new mods, maps, and an opened-up airbox to let ’er breathe better before it’s off to Springfield, May 28-29. See you there?
