This Sunday was much better than with my last review. There were about 8 'Dales at the Elsinore GP. I don't know all the results yet but they won Pro Quad on Saturday using a stock Moto 440. They also won an intermediate bike class. Everybody finished. No DNFs.

After my get off 2 weeks ago, I did everything I could to get my knee feeling good enough to race. I did a lot of research about knee braces and bought Donjoy armor action braces.

It rained all day Fri. and some on Sat. The sun was out Sunday and track conditions were as good as can be expected for a 2 day race with no track prep between days. The course is run on city streets and dirt utility roads, There's also a mud hole and a some natural terrain jumps. Time to race.

I bolted/strapped myself together and went to the starting line. This is the 35+ novice/ beginner race. It's a one wave start on pavement, about 70 riders, novices about 30 yards in front on the beginners. I'm lined up on the inside of beginner row one. Green flag up and we're off. About 6 novices got tangled right in front of me. I got around them cleanly. We run on pavement for about 200 yards and hit the dirt. Bikes, dirt, and rocks are flying everywhere. I'm passing and being passed. I had no clue who's in what class. I tell myself to ride smart. There's a lot of traffic and it's a 45 minute race. The track is rut and rock central. Huge acceleration ruts & braking bumps. I saw many guys with flats & bent wheels during the day. A lot of guys are swapping hard on the accel. ruts. The Ohlins are getting it done for me. The bike is tracking straight and I can change lines even in the nasty sections. I got into a good pace and stayed on top on most of the ruts. I started to catch the rabbits on the 3rd lap. These guys rode too hard too soon. As I pass, I'm hoping I can hang on till the end. I scared the crap out myself in one of the 5th gear sections. I got lazy and the bike got lock to lock head shake. Thank God I got it back under me. By the end of lap 4, I'm looking for the white flag. My arms & legs are rubber. I'm trying to hold my position and not crash. I caught a couple more guys and I'm sure I'm in the top 10. Finally, the white flag. Just keep the rubber side down for another 7-8 minutes. I passed one more guy and I'm being chased by another. Man I hope this guy is as tired as I am. He got right next to me but I out ran him to the finish. A checkered flag has never looked sooooo good. I had nothing left.

The result?....... 6th out of 33.

The bike worked awesome.

Kevin