from ... Mike PhillipsQualifying: It went ok but I was a few seconds off the pace and finished the session in 4th.
Moto 1: I got a good jump but wheelied down the start straight. I
still managed to get to the first turn in 3rd and by the 3rd corner I
was in the lead. Team mate Justin Mcdonald was on my back wheel and made a pass on
the 2nd lap but I knew they were long races so I wasn't to bothered. I followed a few of his lines until I was sick on eating his roost and I made the pass back. I pulled a little gap but had Yamaha's Josh Coppins on my back
wheel. I wasn't backing down and slowly pulled away to take the first
win of the day.
Moto 2: I had a good start again and by the second lap I was out in
front but had Coppins in behind. Coppins made a mistake early on in the
moto and gave me some breathing room but at the same time I backed off a
little. Being 20 + two lap races Coppins started pulling me in slowly.
With about 3 laps to go I missed a gear in a corner and
 Coppins got by. I
tried fighting back but he had a few better lines than me and I had to
settle for 2nd.Moto 3: I again got a top 3 start but Suzuki's Cody Cooper got the
holeshot and started to pull away a little. Cody had been getting bad
starts all day and we hadn't seen him up the front. I stuck at it and
pulled him back in and on the 3rd lap made a pass stick. It just so happened that Coppins made a pass that lap too and was on my back wheel again. I had found some better lines and was feeling good. This race was
for the overall and the series lead going into the 2nd round so I wasn't
going to let him take it easy. I held Coppins out again until the last 3
laps where he made a pass. I stayed with him all the way to the finish
but didn't have anything left in the tank to try anything.
I had the fastest lap time of the day and had my Honda Hamilton CRF
450 working really well. I knew it was going to be hard to beat Coppins
and the other guys but after the first race I knew it could be done.
Next weekend is Round 2 at Patetonga motocross track so there's no rest this week. I'll keep you posted
Mikey P  |