I started off the 2016 season with the addition of some brand new major sponsors, and a totally new race vehicle and class!  This year, we are proud to welcome Dragonfire Racing and Yamaha Motor USA on board as primary sponsors for the new Production 1000  Yamaha YXZ1000R, as well as Lucas Oil / Lucas Oil TV as another major sponsor for our whole program.  Optima Batteries is back with us as the primary sponsor for the #1 SR1, as well as AIRAID, Maxxis Tires, Raceline Wheels, Action Sports Canopies, SSV Works, PAC Racing Springs, SPARCO USA, and a number of others.

SR1 – I started off with one practice session on Friday, after not having been in the SR1 since our last race in November.  My SR1 is so dialed and I know it so well, that it only took a few laps to know that everything was good to go, and I could spend the rest of the practice session working on setting up the new YXZ.

Qualifying went great and we came out on top of an 18 car field with the fastest qualifier of the day!  With a 4-car inversion, this put me on the second row at the start, with some very fast competitors in front of me.  In the SR1 class, it’s best to get around everyone in the first two turns because everyone is so fast, you can’t waste any time.  I got a great start as the green flag waved and jumped into second place right away.  I had a great battle for second, but that battle let first place start to build up bit of a lead, and ultimately after some contact with 3rd place, who pushed the issue, I would lose a position and finish in third overall, but on the podium for the first race of the season!

Production 1000 -  We only had a couple of practice sessions to start to dial in our brand new race YXZ, and I had never driven one on a short-course track before the race weekend.  However, I have a very talented husband and crew chief, and he had my setup at a good starting point for qualifying.   I qualified mid-pack, and I knew in the race I just needed to get used to the new machine, the different style of driving required, and continue to try to dial in the setup. 

When the flag dropped, I was able to gain ground quickly in my new Yamaha, despite some early mistakes on my part!  Going from the SR1 to the Production 1000 class is a big change, and part of doing well this season will be making sure both vehicles are setup up similarly so that transition will be easier.   In the meantime, I continued to move forward in the field until I found myself right behind first place, also racing a Yamaha!  I ran my race and worked on being smooth, and crossed the finish line in 2nd overall for my very first Production 1000 race! 

2016 LUCAS OIL REGIONAL AZ – ROUND 2

SR1 – It’s rare that I don’t qualify well in the SR1 class, but this was going to be one of those days, as I wound up qualifying in 5th place for Round 2 of the Lucas Oil Regional Series – AZ.  That put me in a 3rd row start after the inversion, and I had 4 very fast guys in front of me.  Once again, I knew the start would be everything, and I needed to get to the front as fast as possible.  I got a great start when the flag dropped, and was in second right behind the first SR1 by turn 2.  From there, I didn’t see any other racers, as I battled with first place for the whole race.  He drove a mistake free race, and ran the fast line, and I just didn’t have any more speed to overtake him cleanly.  In that situation, you either drive them dirty to pass, or just have to be there in case they make a mistake – and I don’t drive dirty! I was there, but that mistake never happened, so I crossed the checkers in a very close 2nd place for Round 2, got the fastest lap of the race, and had a great time doing it!! 

Production 1000 – We were still making changes and dialing in our setup for qualifying, and didn’t quite go in the right direction, so I wound up with a mid-pack qualifier again for Round 2.   For the start of the race, that meant I had to try to be patient, and work my way up to the front again.  I was up in the lead pack going through turn 4 when suddenly everyone in front slowed, and I got caught up in some carnage as I slammed into the back of the vehicle in front of me.  That contact cut my front brake line in half, and I immediately lost ALL of my brakes.  As I rolled around the parade lap and they lined us all back up again for a restart, I knew I had to either pull off with no brakes, or figure out a way to race without them.

Fortunately, the YXZ has a manual transmission, and I knew it was a tough machine.  I decided to race a couple of laps and see if I would be able to still run at race pace, even without the brakes I needed to set up for the corners. The flag flew again and we were off, and I figured out a combination of downshifting and using the parking brake to continue to race.  As I became more confident that I wasn’t going to take anyone out, I started making moves through the field and passing other racers, and wound up moving all the way up to 5th place by the time the checkers flew!

All in all, we are very happy with being on the podium 3 out of 4 races over the course of the weekend.  We also know exactly what we need to do to get the YXZ set up for the next race, and we are looking forward to getting back out there and showing what we can do!

Our next short-course race is at Glen Helen next weekend!  Thank you for all of your support!