Tampa Gator NBL/UCI National
http://www.istv.com/news/articles/15/1/Tampa-Gator-NBL%7B47%7DUCI-National
Jack McDaniel
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By Jack McDaniel
Published on 04/5/2005
So finally, after about a 6-month stint of terrible racing weather we get what could be considered a perfect day for racing. Sunday at the Tampa NBL Gator Nationals was a low humidity, perfect temperature and deep blue-sky race day that perfectly accented some great racing. That's not to say Mother Nature didn't lob a couple curve balls earlier in the
weekend. Friday was cloudy and threatened rain. Saturday the clouds cleared but gave way to a menacing wind that would not give in the whole day. Many riders were tossed over a couple lanes if they dared boost any of the jumps.
Tampa's track is a typically challenging NBL track with plenty of air as a prerequisite. One thing I notice about the NBL groms is that they are a bit more adept at controlling their bikes in the air than their ABA counterparts. Not that the ABA riders are any less skilled, it's just a different type of riding skill. ABA riders, in turn, tend to have a great ability to peddle over any obstacle Richie Anderson style due to the slightly more mellow lips on the jumps. The difference in riding style is most evident in the younger riders and as the riders get older and to the Expert level the difference diminishes.
Most of the international riders that made their way out to the Orlando national the weekend before remained in the states for the second race in Tampa. However, by far, the main topic of conversation this weekend was the appearance of Redline's superstar Bubba Harris. The fact that Bubba would be hitting his first NBL race was hyped over several of the BMX websites. Would Bubba be able to adapt to the different style of track and gate cadence? Would Mike Day have the momentum straight off of his win in Orlando to seal the deal in Tampa?
The answer to those questions would come during Saturday's main. Bubba was honestly struggling in practice to get the gate down. In his first moto he finished 5th. However, his next two moto wins showed he was quickly getting the hang of the new starting sequence. Staats' Mike Day was also looking good with a win in his first moto. Free Agent's Kyle Bennet, Robert DeWilde and Jonathan Suarez (straight off a win in Brazil at the UCI qualifier) also scored a couple moto wins putting them in contention for the main.
The Elite Men's gate dropped and last year's number one pro Kyle Bennett had the pop from gate one. Slightly behind and right next to Kyle out of gate two was Harris. Bennett held the lead until Bubba carved hard in the first turn. The track has paved berms, which are lined with the same material used in swimming pools. The surface allows for some great traction. Bubba went down the second straight with Bennett in tow and Day moving up quick. Down the third straight Day pulled out the smooth flow that he's well known for and pulled ahead of Bennett. Day went into the last turn with a chance to pass Harris but just couldn't keep the momentum through the long last turn. Harris emerged on to the final straight in the lead and put to rest any questions as to whether he could take on the NBL side of BMX.
I noticed before the race started that Day and Bennett shook hands and wished each other luck before the gate dropped. They are two great riders, competitors and role models for the younger riders.
I gotta say "Big Ups" to my buddy Greg Romero for putting his pink Revtec across the line in Pro Open Saturday. Greg has been around for a while and still manages to show the younger pros the quick line around the track.
The list of riders in contention for the win on Sunday grew. GT/Hyundai's Randy Stumpfhauser looked strong for the win with two moto wins. Bennett, Romero, Harris, Day and Fox rider Matt Pohlkamp also took moto wins. It looked to be interesting, as Harris seemed to be struggling a bit with a 4th in the last moto. However, true to Bubba's past record he turned it up a notch in the main and got it done. Not only did Bubba win Elite Men but also took the Elite Open further solidifying his current dominance in the sport. I definitely look forward to seeing more of the Harris racing machine at further NBL events.
Answer/Everguard's Danny Caluag is making a name for himself in the Super Class. Danny won both days all the while dealing with the concern over his fallen team-mate Stephanie Barragan. Stephanie and Danny are quite close, as is all the Answser team, and had gone down extremely hard in the Elite Women's class on Saturday just before the Super Class gate dropped. Congratulations to Danny on the wins and having the fortitude to stay focused with the added stress. Also, I’d like to wish Stephanie a quick recovery. I know the whole BMX community's thoughts and prayers are with her.
Elite Women's class had the crowd on their feet all weekend. Knowing that Redline's Kim Hayashi and UK rider Shanaze Reade were developing a Moeller/Pena style rivalry added quite a bit of excitement to each race. In the main on Saturday Reade and Hayashi both had excellent starts. The two Pro riders went elbow to elbow into the first corner. Hayashi had the inside line and came out with the lead. Canada's Samantha Cools dove down on the first corner Harris style to take the second place spot away from Reade. Going into the second corner Reade dove down to the white line on the inside of the turn. The drastic move caused her to go hard to the outside of the turn and make body contact with Hayashi. The contact put Hayashi over the turn into the fence. Reade took the lead and with Cools right behind took the win. The move by Reade was protested but the corner official felt in his opinion that penalties were not justified. Make sure to check out the video on ISTV.COM and judge for yourself.
Sunday contact would again take place and send Hayashi over the step up on the first straight "sans-bike". Again, I'll leave it up to you to decide what happened in that sequence shot by the ISTV crew. The end result would be a carbon copy of Saturday's result with Reade on the top and Cools coming in a close second.
An interesting event and something that will be great for the sport is the attendance of an journalist and photographer doing a story on Hyper rider Justin Posey for the Sports Illustrated for Kids publication. Justin is a great kid and a great example of the type of kid and attached family involved in BMX racing. Look for that issue on a news stand soon.
Justin proved to be a great choice of subject for the SIFK staff as he won every lap, moto to main in 11 cruiser. He won all his motos in 11 Expert as well but in the main fell prey to the newest addition to the South American Dan's crew. The phenomenal Lucas Bustos is amazingly fast and took both Saturday's and Sunday's 11 Expert main by many bike lengths. Look for this kid to rock some upcoming nationals.
The South American riders have really given the US riders a reality check in recent years. These riders have popped on to the scene and given a few spankings to riders thought of as unbeatable. Jonathan Villa has been staying with Rich Montalvo (BMXVIDEO/ISTV) and Rich was instrumental in getting him a ride with Brian Fell's MCS family.
Jonathan was on this weekend. Saturday he won every moto and the main. On Sunday he made an incredible move in the last corner railing it on the extreme inside and passing two of the Dans riders in the process. Aggressive moves like that have given Villa the role as man to beat in the 18-21 Expert class.
The language barrier made itself apparent this weekend with a translation problem after a crash involving Jonathan and Fly sponsored Willy Greathouse. Hoping to resolve any tension between the two, Jonathan enlisted the services of a fellow South American to hopefully translate his Spanish to Will. Unfortunately that translation came out sounding more of a taunt to the usually laid back Greathouse. I was told the translation came out as more of a "you got a problem with me?" than a "are we cool?". You can see how that could be taken the wrong way by Greathouse and tensions actually built up. Fortunately, MCS team manager Brian Fell was told of the situation and talked with Willy to get everything settled out.
Tampa provided some of the greatest racing and most beautiful weather we've had this season so far. We had some great comments from the crowd in Tampa and the NBL racers seem to really appreciate what ISTV is bringing to the table. I'd like to personally thank all the great volunteers at the Tampa track as well as the NBL in general. They really made our job extremely enjoyable.
ISTV is striving to bring you more in depth race coverage every event. Cathy Rankin and Matt "The Mohican" Hendershot conducted interviews with all the winners that made their way over to the ISTV winner's tent as well as many of the teams in attendance. We also conducted a lifestyle interview with MCS rider Kalin Hall who's recently made the transition to racing Motocross.
You'll hear interviews that range all the way from the Canadian BMX team to the vendor serving up that great pizza.
Keep an eye out for international coverage to grow as well as ISTV adds contributors to the editorial team.
The weather cleared up this weekend for the Gator Nationals in Tampa. With the addition of Redline's Bubba Harris to the Elite mix, the race was fast and had the crowd on their feet for every lap.
Tampa Gator NBL/UCI National - Full Story
So finally, after about a 6-month stint of terrible racing weather we get what could be considered a perfect day for racing. Sunday at the Tampa NBL Gator Nationals was a low humidity, perfect temperature and deep blue-sky race day that perfectly accented some great racing. That's not to say Mother Nature didn't lob a couple curve balls earlier in theweekend. Friday was cloudy and threatened rain. Saturday the clouds cleared but gave way to a menacing wind that would not give in the whole day. Many riders were tossed over a couple lanes if they dared boost any of the jumps.
Tampa's track is a typically challenging NBL track with plenty of air as a prerequisite. One thing I notice about the NBL groms is that they are a bit more adept at controlling their bikes in the air than their ABA counterparts. Not that the ABA riders are any less skilled, it's just a different type of riding skill. ABA riders, in turn, tend to have a great ability to peddle over any obstacle Richie Anderson style due to the slightly more mellow lips on the jumps. The difference in riding style is most evident in the younger riders and as the riders get older and to the Expert level the difference diminishes. Most of the international riders that made their way out to the Orlando national the weekend before remained in the states for the second race in Tampa. However, by far, the main topic of conversation this weekend was the appearance of Redline's superstar Bubba Harris. The fact that Bubba would be hitting his first NBL race was hyped over several of the BMX websites. Would Bubba be able to adapt to the different style of track and gate cadence? Would Mike Day have the momentum straight off of his win in Orlando to seal the deal in Tampa?
The answer to those questions would come during Saturday's main. Bubba was honestly struggling in practice to get the gate down. In his first moto he finished 5th. However, his next two moto wins showed he was quickly getting the hang of the new starting sequence. Staats' Mike Day was also looking good with a win in his first moto. Free Agent's Kyle Bennet, Robert DeWilde and Jonathan Suarez (straight off a win in Brazil at the UCI qualifier) also scored a couple moto wins putting them in contention for the main. The Elite Men's gate dropped and last year's number one pro Kyle Bennett had the pop from gate one. Slightly behind and right next to Kyle out of gate two was Harris. Bennett held the lead until Bubba carved hard in the first turn. The track has paved berms, which are lined with the same material used in swimming pools. The surface allows for some great traction. Bubba went down the second straight with Bennett in tow and Day moving up quick. Down the third straight Day pulled out the smooth flow that he's well known for and pulled ahead of Bennett. Day went into the last turn with a chance to pass Harris but just couldn't keep the momentum through the long last turn. Harris emerged on to the final straight in the lead and put to rest any questions as to whether he could take on the NBL side of BMX.
I noticed before the race started that Day and Bennett shook hands and wished each other luck before the gate dropped. They are two great riders, competitors and role models for the younger riders.
I gotta say "Big Ups" to my buddy Greg Romero for putting his pink Revtec across the line in Pro Open Saturday. Greg has been around for a while and still manages to show the younger pros the quick line around the track. The list of riders in contention for the win on Sunday grew. GT/Hyundai's Randy Stumpfhauser looked strong for the win with two moto wins. Bennett, Romero, Harris, Day and Fox rider Matt Pohlkamp also took moto wins. It looked to be interesting, as Harris seemed to be struggling a bit with a 4th in the last moto. However, true to Bubba's past record he turned it up a notch in the main and got it done. Not only did Bubba win Elite Men but also took the Elite Open further solidifying his current dominance in the sport. I definitely look forward to seeing more of the Harris racing machine at further NBL events.
Answer/Everguard's Danny Caluag is making a name for himself in the Super Class. Danny won both days all the while dealing with the concern over his fallen team-mate Stephanie Barragan. Stephanie and Danny are quite close, as is all the Answser team, and had gone down extremely hard in the Elite Women's class on Saturday just before the Super Class gate dropped. Congratulations to Danny on the wins and having the fortitude to stay focused with the added stress. Also, I’d like to wish Stephanie a quick recovery. I know the whole BMX community's thoughts and prayers are with her. Elite Women's class had the crowd on their feet all weekend. Knowing that Redline's Kim Hayashi and UK rider Shanaze Reade were developing a Moeller/Pena style rivalry added quite a bit of excitement to each race. In the main on Saturday Reade and Hayashi both had excellent starts. The two Pro riders went elbow to elbow into the first corner. Hayashi had the inside line and came out with the lead. Canada's Samantha Cools dove down on the first corner Harris style to take the second place spot away from Reade. Going into the second corner Reade dove down to the white line on the inside of the turn. The drastic move caused her to go hard to the outside of the turn and make body contact with Hayashi. The contact put Hayashi over the turn into the fence. Reade took the lead and with Cools right behind took the win. The move by Reade was protested but the corner official felt in his opinion that penalties were not justified. Make sure to check out the video on ISTV.COM and judge for yourself. Sunday contact would again take place and send Hayashi over the step up on the first straight "sans-bike". Again, I'll leave it up to you to decide what happened in that sequence shot by the ISTV crew. The end result would be a carbon copy of Saturday's result with Reade on the top and Cools coming in a close second.
An interesting event and something that will be great for the sport is the attendance of an journalist and photographer doing a story on Hyper rider Justin Posey for the Sports Illustrated for Kids publication. Justin is a great kid and a great example of the type of kid and attached family involved in BMX racing. Look for that issue on a news stand soon. Justin proved to be a great choice of subject for the SIFK staff as he won every lap, moto to main in 11 cruiser. He won all his motos in 11 Expert as well but in the main fell prey to the newest addition to the South American Dan's crew. The phenomenal Lucas Bustos is amazingly fast and took both Saturday's and Sunday's 11 Expert main by many bike lengths. Look for this kid to rock some upcoming nationals.
The South American riders have really given the US riders a reality check in recent years. These riders have popped on to the scene and given a few spankings to riders thought of as unbeatable. Jonathan Villa has been staying with Rich Montalvo (BMXVIDEO/ISTV) and Rich was instrumental in getting him a ride with Brian Fell's MCS family.
Jonathan was on this weekend. Saturday he won every moto and the main. On Sunday he made an incredible move in the last corner railing it on the extreme inside and passing two of the Dans riders in the process. Aggressive moves like that have given Villa the role as man to beat in the 18-21 Expert class. The language barrier made itself apparent this weekend with a translation problem after a crash involving Jonathan and Fly sponsored Willy Greathouse. Hoping to resolve any tension between the two, Jonathan enlisted the services of a fellow South American to hopefully translate his Spanish to Will. Unfortunately that translation came out sounding more of a taunt to the usually laid back Greathouse. I was told the translation came out as more of a "you got a problem with me?" than a "are we cool?". You can see how that could be taken the wrong way by Greathouse and tensions actually built up. Fortunately, MCS team manager Brian Fell was told of the situation and talked with Willy to get everything settled out.
Tampa provided some of the greatest racing and most beautiful weather we've had this season so far. We had some great comments from the crowd in Tampa and the NBL racers seem to really appreciate what ISTV is bringing to the table. I'd like to personally thank all the great volunteers at the Tampa track as well as the NBL in general. They really made our job extremely enjoyable.
ISTV is striving to bring you more in depth race coverage every event. Cathy Rankin and Matt "The Mohican" Hendershot conducted interviews with all the winners that made their way over to the ISTV winner's tent as well as many of the teams in attendance. We also conducted a lifestyle interview with MCS rider Kalin Hall who's recently made the transition to racing Motocross. You'll hear interviews that range all the way from the Canadian BMX team to the vendor serving up that great pizza.
Keep an eye out for international coverage to grow as well as ISTV adds contributors to the editorial team.