Images – Amanda Paradisa
The 5th round of the 2008 WEBEracing.com calendar
at Angel Fire, New Mexico
was nothing less than stellar. Angel Fire has become one of the most
anticipated off-road events in the Rocky
Mountain region and this
years attendance set an all time high for a non co-sanctioned WEBEracing.com
event with over 200 rider entries.
Angel Fire is packed full of character. Unlike a typical race
where everyone camps trackside for the weekend, the Angel Fire Resort plays
host to hundreds of riders and families. The night before the race, the lodge is
packed with riders swapping stories, relaxing in the indoor pool and Jacuzzi,
and hanging in the parking lot prepping machines in effort to due battle on one
of toughest courses imaginable.
This year, Brett and the crew from WEBEracing.com decided to
change the course direction completely, and in doing so introduced many new
sections, including massive downhill descents that riders have battled to climb in
the past. There was a great vibe in the air all weekend, despite the grey skies
that opened to countless downpours throughout the race. A brilliant green tone
lined the course that twisted and turned up and down the mountainside. Wet rocks
and tree roots made it feel as if you were riding on butter through bar tight
single track, and as a result many riders found themselves wadded up multiple
times throughout the day.
I headed up to the event with a pretty large crew. Corey Dry
and I came from New Mexico
and met up with the Topar Racing / Valcom Motorsports posse that consisted of
PJ Marquez, Tony Paradisa, Kyle and Jesse Summers and their dad Jeff Summers
AKA “Old Guy,” Bret Pike, Wade Stalker, Jase Nuckles, and the Cavinder
brothers.
The ride of the day without doubt went to Corey Dry aboard
the number 617 Kawasaki,
as he rode to victory in the 250 B class. On lap three Dry played victim to a flat
tire, but manned up and pounded out the remaining five laps amongst
what Kyle Summers referred to as "brutal gnarly conditions." Summers jumped out
to an early pro class lead and engaged in battle with Colorado’s Eric Rhoten. Summers leed was
short lived as he also fell victim to a flat with his tubeless tires. While we
are on the topic of flats, PJ Marquez, who was en route to a 40+ A class win, had to
call it quits due to a flat, as well.
Bret Pike holeshoted the 250 A class and minutes into the
race cased his Yamaha into a boulder, resulting in a broken oil pump and a short
lived day on the mountain. Jeff Summers rode to an impressive 40+ A third place
finish as he tried to chase down Fritz Kadlec and Jon Csakany. Topar Racing’s Tony Paradisa battled back from a
first lap t-bone wad to an eighth place overall in the 40+ B class. Jase Nuclkes
called it an early day due to a sticking throttle on his Kawasaki 450 that looked
as if it had been run down by a freight train. Wade Stalker brought home 4th
place in the 40+ C class aboard the #119 Honda 450 in his first attempt at taming
Angel Fire. Derek Cavinder rode to a seventh overall in the Open A class after
a hard fought day filled with crashes, soaking rain, and sketchy conditions.
The pro class rapped up in this order; Eric Rhoten, Tim
Hillsamer, Russell Garcia, Lance Eveatt, Tony Scarponi, and Bryant Cope.
Arizona’s
Gary Sutherlin, who is having an outstanding WORCS rookie season, had possibly
the toughest day of all. After grabbing the pro class holeshot, Sutherlin’s
chain broke and twisted up into his sprocket and frame in what was described as
the furthest possible point from the pits. Sutherlin spent nearly two hours
pushing his bike through the mud, rocks, trees and rain. When we spoke to
Sutherlin his spirits were high, as he made reference to PJ Marquez of Valcom
Motorsports as being the most supportive of all of his sponsors. PJ, who had a
flat, stopped and spent his afternoon helping Sutherlin push his wounded Kawasaki back to camp.
In all, this was by far the off-road event of the year here
in the Rocky Mountain region and the crew at
WEBEracing.com once again did an amazing job with the course, the event
hosting, and race management. I would also like to note that the staff at Angel
Fire Resort, as always, did a great job in providing friendly guest service and
comfortable lodging.
WEBEracing.com will return to action August 9-10 at Bull
Hollow Raceway in Monticello, Utah. This event will be Co-Sanctioned with AMRA (WeBe run event). Be sure and visit
WEBEracing.com to learn more.
A special thanks goes out to Amanda Paradisa for the
imagery and pit support for our crew.
{gallery}20080713_angel fire{/gallery}
