Team Öhlins USA Saves Fuel at Unadilla Motocross National

2011-08-17 08:39
At Round Nine of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Series, taking place at Unadilla MX outside New Berlin, New York, the highest ranked rider for Team Öhlins USA was Garret Toth slotting in at the 44th fastest position of the 89 riders competing for a gate. Meanwhile, teammates Michael Clarke was 50th fastest and team points leader A.J. Catanzaro, who was under the heavy weather of a respiratory illness, managed to set the 51st fastest time of qualifying. Lessons learned, lives lived, all is good.

Garret Toth said, “This past weekend wasn't the best for the team but we’re recouping this week and heading down to the Öhlins USA shop to swap out bikes so that we’re ready to race at Southwick. First practice was good. I was in the B group so I had a lot more traffic to deal with. At the end of that practice I was sitting at around 26th overall and was feeling really good. The Second practice didn't go as smoothly. There seemed to be a lot more traffic and I couldn't manage to get a good time. Unadilla is my favorite track out of all the tracks but I just couldn't manage to make it happen this weekend.”

A.J. Catanzaro said, “Last Monday night I came down with some sort of flu or virus. I was trying to fight it off all week but it didn't let up. The doctors suspect it might be either mono or Lyme disease.

“Saturday was actually the first day that I walked all week. I had zero energy, and my goal was just to see if I could make a few laps around the track in practice. Riding turned out to be about as hard as I expected. With my vision blurry, and my fatigue at such a high, there was no possible way I was going to be racing.

“There's a weekend off before Southwick, so I’m going to use it to my advantage to rest as much as possible and get rid of whatever I have. It's frustrating, because I'm never sick, and it’s such bad timing. But everything happens for a reason, and I have a positive outlook coming into Southwick.”

Michael Clarke said, “I learned a lot this weekend and it’s really made me determined to work on things and really improve myself. While walking the track I was really pumped about the layout. It’s a very high-speed track with many big jumps. The dirt looked good and we had no rain the whole week, so the track was perfect for practice.

“I felt really good in practice and was pushing myself. I got over all the jumps right away so that when the green flag waved I could moto hard to put in my best possible lap time. Being on the track was like being on a highway. It’s very fast and probably the fastest track that’s been on the circuit so far. I made very few mistakes and was sitting 44th after 1st practice. In Practice Two I set a faster lap time and was pushing myself. I made little mistakes here and there but still felt really good. The track was getting rougher but all the while getting that much better. I didn’t make the Mains but it taught me a lot about what I need to improve.

“I’m going back to the drawing board to work a lot on corners and charging and definitely on how smooth I am. I had a good time though and got the chance to watch the race up close, really getting to study the top guys to work on applying what they do to benefit myself.”

Team Öhlins USA’s manager, Stacey Berger, said, “This was a tough weekend for the team. We had health issues come up early in the week. The riders are all working hard so it’s tough to see them so disappointed. Garret and Michael will be coming to North Carolina this week for some testing to get ready for Southwick. A.J.’s seeing a doctor to see what he needs to do to get well and be ready for the next round. We’re still a young team and every week we learn something new. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s tough but we learn nevertheless. This weekend was just another tough lesson.”

The next round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Series is scheduled for August 27th at Southwick, Massachusetts. All three Team Öhlins USA riders plan on qualifying for the Southwick Mains. Would anything less make sense?

Source: MindSpring

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