2005 rowracin

[oldboyonrgv]

You guys expressed an interest in reading about my 9yr old sons expliots during 2005 as he starts the 2nd year of his race carreer, this year is a big hop up from last year when he campaigned a 50cc Automatic Motocross bike, he has been practicing like crazy to get used to the bigger bike with gears and a proper clutch and actually having to use the brakes Sunday saw his first race meeting aboard his 2005 KTM65SX

Here's the report:

So the day finally dawned when Row started his 2005 race campaign aboard his shiny new KTM65sx , I had spent two evenings during the previous week making sure all was in good order after 4 days practice, Mum had washed Row ‘s gear and Row had made sure he was ready by spending Saturday playing his Xbox !

We were competing in the final round of the PMXC winter championship, this round being at a new venue called TONYMOTO situated just north of Winchester and was in fact the 1st race meeting ever run here, the track only being completed just before Xmas.

So up bright and early for myself and Row saw Us getting to the track at 07:40 so we had plenty of time to walk the track and get us setlled in ready for the days action.

Row has ridden at the venue before but not on the full race track. We walked the track and Row reconned that it didn’t appear that technical so he wasn’t too worried about riding it. The weather was cold dry and overcast and the track was quite soft in places meaning it would cut up later in the day as the bigger bikes churned it up.

Practice : Row opted to use his old lid for practice so he didn’t get his shiny new one all dirty, I spent my time getting more and more nervous as the time approached then it was up to the start gate and off, Row pins it and showers me with soft mud He circulates in a somewhat stately fashion looking nice and safe (if a little slow compared to the older lads) then he gets caught out in the bottom of a dip and flops off, no problem he gets back on fires her up and continues round to complete the session.

He’s quite non-plussed after practice and apart from covering one side of the bike in mud no damage has been done, he’s a bit non-commital about how hard he was pushing so its difficult to guage how he’s going to go in the races. I get to work cleaning the bike up , Row goes off to play with his mates.

RACE1 comes around fast so once I have the bike cleaned, chain adjusted and biek re-fuelled its time to go and find Row and get him kitted up for the race.
Up to the collecting area, row jumps on the bike and queues with the rest of them (I feel like a spare part as Row pushes and shove’s his way into the queue and then goes and takes his position on the start gate), I keep my eye on Row as the start approaches (I am clearly far more nervous than him) 15 seconds and Row clicks it into 2nd gear – 5 seconds, the revs rise and Row leans forward into the attack position GO – they fly off the line in a wave of flying mud and blue smoke, Row appears around the first bend about 5th to last , he looks sooo slow in comparison with the others but he keeps it all together and apart from one little stop due to nearly running into a fallen rider completes the race in fine style, I breathe a huge sigh of relief and can now start to enjoy the day.

RACE2 same procedure at the start and I am starting to adjust to the fact that he no longer needs me around much at the start so I just keep an eye on him. Off they go again, once again Rows initial start is very good (he learned how to read the gates during last years racing campagn) but he doesn’t keep accelerating into the first corner so he gets pretty much pushed to the back, hes also one of the smallest out there so I think he feels a bit intimidated. Hes still in touch with the big group as they go into the second corner when he catches a rut and the bike flips him off, he gets up shakes his arm a bit and get s back on, then continues to circulate at the rear of the field, I am getting a bit annoyed here because I know he can ride faster than this, then he catches another rut on the far end of the course and stops again, he gets going and finishes the race.
I wait at the track exit , he pulls over to me and I can see tears in his eyes “Its me arm Dad I caught it when I fell of the first time and then when I hit the second big rut I couldn’t hold the bike” I take the bike from him and we get back to the van, he’s still in quite a lot of pain and can barely move his arm , I do all the normal movement stuff and it seems OK, we have a chat and decide that he has teaked the joint , I tell him to keep moving it and let me know if it starts to feel better.

RACE3 After the 2nd race I was a little unsure if Row would want to do this one, He is adamant that he can ride so off to the start line we go, this race pretty much followed the pattern of race 2 including a stoppage in what has now become a two foot deep rut which Row hit hard and nearly got catapulted over the handlebars ! , the track has really cut up now and some places look more like a trials course than an MX track, once Row gets going again He gets caught up with a group of faster riders and starts to hold his own (Ok so they are a lap ahead of him but who cares) I can see that he is learning a lot from these boys as he starts to speed up and follow their lines, he’s visibly quicker around the circuit for the rest of the race, I run over to the track Exit and give him a big thumbs up as he comes off the course.

So that’s it our first race meet on the new bike has been completed successfully , Row is keener than ever to improve, we have after the day and agree to get him into some training days during the early part of the year.
Watch this space.

[gedge]

Sounds very promising Lucky little fella, I wish I had that chance whenI was his age.. Hope he appreciates all your help I still havent has chance to pop round for a chat due to work and stuff. Hopefully I will get the chance soon...


How did you rate the Tonymoto track? Do you reckon it will be anygood for SMs come the summer for a bit of dirt riding practice??

[keithcross]

Well done to the lad and fair play for not giving in and keeping going. I am not sure if I would have done, espicially at his age.

Keith

[oldboyonrgv]

Thanks for the responses guys, Row reads them all (as long as they are clean and contain no profanity !)
Tonymoto will be ace for Supermots when it gets really dry in the summer as the track basis is clay, you might also consider Cusses Gorse as this is once again a hardpack, although a little further away as its over by Salisbury.

Went to the London bike show yesterday made some goos contacts for Rows racing, one company who wnat to take a look at his bike so that they can tailor make some billet parts (and thus start to sell em for the KTM65sx) and another company who are setting up a road race series for 10-15 year olds, they have asked me to keep in contact to see if we can get Row involved (they were very keen to give Row a try out)

[oldboyonrgv]

Took Row practicinng yesterday (Sun) we spent the morning practicing braking and getting on the power early, I told Row to brake later and later until he over shot a couple of turns (to teach him how late he can brake), we then switched to going into the corners earlier than usual so that he could open the throttle earlier, after two sessions he pretty much had it sussed so we moved on to using the clutch for some downshifts and up shifts (so he can feel the difference). After we had done the work, I told Rowee just to go out and ride and enjoy the bike...
that session he was flying ! easily one of the fastest out there (class was for up to 100cc) I can't explain how good it felt to see him applying the techniques we had been practicing, he looked smooth, fast and safe. He came in after the session and said to me "dad i'm knackered", he decided to go out for one more session but I could see that he was tired, he slowed down and just cruised round.

We are planning one more practice before the next meeting just to cement what we have been doing.

[keithcross]

I look forward to reading the results.

Keith

[oldboyonrgv]

Steady there, I dont think he's going to jump up to the top 10 yet, we just want to see him improve during the season, I am NOT putting any pressure on him, just encouraging and training him.