Pirate Ride #2
Blessed by the angels of sunshine, Pirate Ride #2 was a tremendous success, setting the tone for many more fantastic events to come. Following the failure of ride 1 expectations were not high for ride 2. A year ago the SoHum Shootout was held in a torrential down pour, but thanks to a handful of devoted riders the event went off regardless. After a late schedule change it seemed impossible to predict a rider count at this years event, but as Sunaday morning progressed more and more faces arrived at the base of remote Reed Mountain. Many riders came, practiced, and did not compete. Twenty did decide to rage down the revitalized dual course to the spectating delight on all on hand. After a year of neglect the course was rough to begin the day, but as the enthusiastic riders praticed the course the grass was soon beat down and the corners brushed out. Conditions were much faster then the previous year, and following qualifying it was clear that it would be a close competition. All were stoked to see international attendance at the ride, with three riders representing the country of Japan. It was Mototsugu Hirata who took top qualifying honors, smoothly piloting his hard tail down the course. Less then a tenth back was local Rowan Gratz also on a hardtail, followed by Star Faraon coming in two tenths off Hirata. Several riders went down in qualifying, slipping in the loose corners, holding out the prospect of upsets early on. Most striking was the match between 19th place qualifier Dave Richmond, who suffered a wipe out in quali, and second place quallifier Rowan Gratz. Richmonds quick start and strong riding at the top of the course was enough to fend off Gratz and give him and early exit from the game. Sadly the first heat of the day saw the only injury as late arrival Cedar McCulloch went ass over tea kettle on the first straight. It was thought that he suffered a broken collar bone, get better soon Cedar. Top qualifiers advanced through the remainder of the first round, though Martin Stebbins was nearly upset by Toshio Imai who had a commanding lead before crashing on the second to last jump. In round two the top qualfiers continued to roll until seventh place qualifier Greg Newkirk muscled out third seed Star Faron. In quarter final action the flat pedaled stompers would prove their dominance as Jeremy rollins caught top qualifier Mototsugu Hirata and made a fantastic pass on the inside of turn one stealing the heat. Hank Matheson, despite having stepped on a nail two days earlier, was able to best Richmond and advance to the semifinal. Semifinal heats were fantastic as no more then two seconds had seperated the riders in qualifying, Newkirk hammered top to bottom to edge out Rollins and Jed Olson's smooth riding and fast starts continued to carry him as he bested Matheson enroute to the final. The consolation final was made up of sixth seeded Matheson and fifth seeded Rollins. Matheson took the lead early and held it into the second straight. Rollins rollins would not be denied, as he aggressively pulled beside Matheson over the biggest jump on course, carrying just a bit more speed and passing mid air over the second hit. Rollins would hold onto the lead to claim third on the day, Matheson taking fourth. In the final Olson shot out front early and never looked back, his fine bike control evident over each jump as he stayed lower and smoother then his competition. Newkirk came on strong toward the bottom but pushed himself to crashing as Olson took the win. Keiko Tomita rode impressively smooth, and qualified well in a field in which she was the only woman. Robbie Rhall also looked strong posting the fastest junior time of the day and hanging with the big kids. After competition wrapped up riders sought big air off Star's 40+ foot step up all afternoon, and many of the riders were able to enjoy Jake Todd's handy work on the freshly revived downhill trail. A successful and productive weekend to be sure. Thanks to everyone for attending. Special thanks to Star Faraon for having us, along with Brian Hapgood and Rob Rhall for their help running the event.
Name
Qualifying Time
Final Placing
Mototsugu Hirata
39:47
5th
Rowan Gratz
39:53
6th
Star Faraon
39:66
5th
Jed Olson
39:79
1st
Jeremy Rollins
40:10
3rd
Hank Matheson
40:12
4th
Greg Newkirk
41:72
2nd
Byron Stocum
42:13
5th
Martin Stebbins
42:34
5th
Evan Hobart
43:22
5th
Robbie Rhall
44:10
6th
Toshio Imai
44:53
6th
Sean Bertsch
45:22
6th
Ray Williams
46:30
6th
Keiko Tomita
48:00
6th
Ray-Ray Williams
48:44
6th
Todd French
50:23
6th
Joel Graves
51:17
6th
Dave Richmond
57:41
5th
Cedar McCulloch
DNQ
DNF