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What’s up everyone? It’s Daniel Corbin...
Well, the dust has settled and all of the regional qualifiers are in the history books. We now know who made it to Loretta’s, and who to look out for. I didn’t really pay much attention to the other regionals, but I sure do know how mine went! I’ll try to give you a quick, thorough run down of what happened (from my point of view!).
We packed up Thursday night and left early Friday morning, while we were all still zombies, and got to the track around 9:15. We thought that we were late, but practice didn’t start until about ten, probably because the track was drenched. It must have rained from as soon as the national ended, until that morning. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, because the first practice was actually all right until things started to get mixed up. The worst part of it all was that at sign up they tried to give me a sticker to go out in the first practice, but I gave it back to them and got one for the sixth practice instead. Big mistake. I should have never even gone out there.
The track was so slippery that I was just trying to stay up the whole time. At the end of the first set, the sun started peeping from behind the clouds. It seemed like as soon as it touched the track things started to tack up. The second round of practice was decent, and the third round was pretty good considering the mire it had been earlier. After everything was said and done my bike was a mess. We went to the car wash and cleaned it up really well, and then we went to my grandparents where we were staying Friday and Saturday nights. It’s so nice to have a shower and bed to sleep in.
Friday night I put on some graphics that I had gotten from Kipp at NineoneNine Designs for the regional. They are some sick stickers! All weekend I was getting comments from people saying how good they looked. After I was done putting them on I sprayed my bike down with a silicone spray Liquid Performance makes called Topkote to make my bike look even better, and to give it a lovely melon scent! I have no idea why they decided to give it a melon scent, that’s kind of weird. But it does smell good! Just don’t get too much of it or you’ll be passed out on the floor!
Saturday the track was so much nicer than it had been on Friday, and it ended up getting really rough and rutted. I started off on a bad note, getting bad starts in both of my first two motos. In the first start, which was 250A Pro-sport, I was paying attention to everyone else but myself, and the second start I just had a terrible gate pick. In the 250 class I came from around fifteenth to fourth, and in the 450A moto I came from all the way back in the mid twenties back to seventh, which was my worst finish of the weekend. The third class I entered was 250A, and I was sick of bad starts at that point. I got a third place start and stayed there until the checkers flew.
After that I finally got some rest, because all of my motos were almost back to back. I had the 11th, 13th, and 16th motos, and they were rolling on through the races. I ended up getting two motos in each class done on Saturday. The second round went even better, as I got a third place start in 250A Pro-sport and passed for second, where I finished. Then in the 450A class I got a top ten start, and got up to fourth and settled in. Things got a bit interesting in the second moto of 250A when one and a half laps into the race my seat fell off! I was in third when it happened, and I was really tempted to pull off. I’m not one to quit though, and I kept fighting on, standing up as much as I could. Sitting on a bare sub frame isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world! Talk about a cut-out seat! Add to that that it was the last moto of a long day, and it made for a pretty tough moto.
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Daniel Corbin
For all that I still managed to hold on to a fourth place finish! The only person who got me was my good friend Brock Schmelyun. He got me pretty easily, as I didn’t have much for him. Of course when I got back I had to have a little talk with my mechanic, which was my brother since he wasn’t racing at that weekend, and because he insisted that I let him. We were all happy to get back to my grandparents so we could relax after a long day of racing.
The whole day I never had a problem with fading or getting tired, I was a little worn out at the end of the day, but I still felt good. My training is really working, all the working out on the TRX, and going to the gym and all the cardio are really paying off now. So is the stretching I’ve started doing. When I woke up Sunday morning I was so stiff that it hurt to bend my back. I started stretching everything out and in no time I felt 100% better.
Something else that is really working is my bike. PR2 has got that thing working great, and the suspension took everything the track could throw at it. The engine is so strong as well, and I was the only person on a 250 to jump the famous uphill triple. I’m a shameless representer, and I’m not afraid to give credit where credit is due, and Chris and Jeff from PR2 definitely deserve some credit for how well that bike works.
Sunday was definitely my best day, every moto was a good moto. In my last 250A Pro-sport moto I got a second place start, but I let Shuckhart by my in the second corner. I don’t know why, I just thought that he was going to get me anyway. Because I let him get me, Spangler was able to get me as well, but I got by Shuckhart and Moore two laps in. I finished that moto in second and ended up with a 4-2-2 for a third overall.
In my last moto of 450A I got a top ten start, but in the third corner someone came across the track and took me out. I got up way behind and in dead last, and rode as hard as I could. I don’t remember passing most of the people I passed, but I came across the line in sixth, almost dead even with fifth. I had no idea were I finished, and the person who tells you to go to the impound area was pointing in a direction that could have been the impound area or telling me to go back to my pit. I looked at the impound area and realized that there were only five people sitting in it. I just started shaking my head, I couldn’t believe that I had managed to get all the way back to sixth. I finished 7-4-6 for 5th overall.
Well, it couldn’t get much better than that, but my next moto was a good one none the less. I started out in fourth, and I was right behind Shuckhart. I went all out coming into a corner and blew right by him, the only problem was that I was going way to fast to make the corner! I rode right off the track, and ended up in sixth by the time I got back on the track. I rode my butt off and came back to third by the third lap. The leaders had a lot of time on us, and I was catching second but there just wasn’t enough time for me to get him. I went 3-4-3 for a third overall.
So that wrapped up one of the best regionals I have ridden, big props to the Coombs' for running a great race and getting the track into great shape. I also would like to extend my appreciation to
Vurb for the article they ran of me on their website. Thanks to all of my great sponsors;
Coach Seiji,
Racer X Virtual Trainer,
Twigg Cycles, PR2, NineoneNine Designs, Fly, Scott USA, SPFC, and Jordan’s Flooring.
