Hey guys, I just got done with a long drive home to Phoenix from Washington. Even though the terrain that I usually ride on in Phoenix is different from Washington it didn’t phase me at all and it turned out to be a very successful weekend.
Saturday’s practice felt good and I thought the track was a very cool layout because it had everything from tight trees to whooped out sand washes, and even a paved drag strip that we raced on. I ended up getting one of the fastest lap times in practice and felt really confident going into the race on sunday.
When Sunday came around I was feeling good and ready to race. I got a good gate pick right between Ricky Dietrich and Justin Soule. When the gate dropped I got a good jump but got pushed wide in the first turn by Soule who was just to the inside of me. Going into the off-road I was a few riders outside the top ten. I knew I had to get around these guys fast if I wanted to get up there with the front runners. At the end of the first lap I was up to 8th and from there on I started picking off guys one by one. By the time I pitted at the half way point I was in third not too far behind second. Two laps later I was in second place and only one second behind Mike Brown, who was in first. About half way through that lap I was trying to pass for the lead and ended up sliding out. After that lap I had to come into the pits to get my clutch lever adjusted because it was sticking straight up. When I was in the pits Bobby Bonds got by me which put me back into 3rd place. I kept charging and on the final lap Bonds got around Brown and I caught up to Brown and not far behind me was GNCC rider, Josh Strang. By the time we got to the finish Bonds was 5 seconds ahead of Brown, I finished 1 second behind Brown, and Strang was 2 seconds behind me. This was one of the closest WORCS ever and I was glad to be up there with those guys.
It was a very successful weekend getting on the podium and also have the fastest lap of the race!
I would like to thank all my sponsors and all the great people that are helping me out this year.
See ya at the races,
Taylor Robert