Fox Valley Off Road kicks of it's Hare Scramble Season with a bang!

by Cyndi Seibert

 

Picture Perfect Day

It was a picture perfect day for racing. The 2009 FVOR season started off with record turn out. Everyone and their brother showed up to race but me. I thought I would give watching a try this season, boy is it stressful. The Quads got the series started. In the B class Andre Topper took first place while Brad Edler finished in 2nd and coming in 3rd was Cody Toal.

In the overall standings, the riders rolled into the first corner with 152 riders all fighting for the hole shot. Of those, 17 riders eventually finished all 9 laps. The scoring team did well, surviving 987 attempts to cover them with debris from the track. There was one DNF in this event.

The first rider through the checkpoint at the end of the first lap was MATT CAPODICE, rolling through with a 6:23 lap time. Coming in number 2 was DANIEL JANUS, on the gas, but a little off the pace - now trailing by 0:03. RYAN MOSS and JEREMY OTT were next through the gates - separated by 0:17. Number 5 was  Halls' Cycles JEFFREY KAYLOR (129), a little off the pace, but looking good coming through the checkpoint trailing by 0:04.

Still on the gas, MATT CAPODICE remained in the lead during lap 2 staying ahead of RYAN MOSS who was trailing by 0:26.

The action on the track centered around BRYAN CLUCAS, moving up from number 98 to the number 69 spot - meanwhile BENJAMIN SCHMIDT dropped 73 places, from number 36 to the number 109 position. DANIEL JANUS refused to sit back - it's not over until it's over - and was in third place, trailing the second place rider by 0:04. ADAM BONNEUR claimed the number four position, trailing by 0:16. Dont count out SHANE KLIMEK, who was still in the game in fifth place.
We lost 4 riders by the time we'd reached the end of lap 3, with 144 completing lap number 3.
Still on the gas, MATT CAPODICE remained in the lead during lap 3 staying ahead of ADAM BONNEUR (4) who was trailing by 0:02.
The movers on this lap were KEVIN KOWALCZUK, heavy on the throttle able to move up 28 places from number 135 to number 107 - meanwhile SCOTT LIEBENBERG fell off the pace and dropped from number 76 to the number 137 position. Although consistent with the game plan - it was time for RYAN MOSS to make a move since a third place finish wasn't going to snag that 1st place trophy. Lap 3 had fourth place rider SHANE KLIMEK running well, but still behind by 0:18. Our number five rider was AARON SHAW, behind by 0:03.

We had a new leader at the end of lap number 4, with ADAM BONNEUR taking the lead away from MATT CAPODICE.
The action on this lap centered on JOHN HUNT III, moving up from number 105 to the number 95 spot - and on JIM PERRY dropping 55 places - from number 48 to number 103. Coming in second was MATT CAPODICE. Riding in third place, RYAN MOSS was doing his best to reel in that number 2 spot. Although consistent with the game plan - it was time for AARON SHAW to make a move since a fourth place finish wasn't going to snag that 1st place trophy. Wow - we have us a race - our fifth place rider, (SHANE KLIMEK) has stopped messing around and is clearly moving on the fourth place rider - behind by 0:01.

The second place rider was closing the gap.

The action on this lap centered on PATRICK MCCLURE, moving up from number 127 to the number 114 spot - and on TONY SPIZZIRRI dropping 19 places - from number 67 to number 86. RYAN MOSS turned up the throttle, and came through the checkpoint in third place. Trailing by only 0:03, SHANE KLIMEK was riding hard, watching as things came unglued behind - but that's their problem .... thinking "my job" is to whittle away at the lead and move up a notch to claim the third place spot. Meanwhile AARON SHAW held onto fifth place.
ADAM BONNEUR was still in the lead at the end of lap 6 riding well, doing his best to ensure the lead didn't change for the remainder of the event.
We watched as two riders made the largest gains (and losses) on this lap - with JASON COLEMAN, moving up from number 84 to the number 72 spot - meanwhile NICHOLAS BROLL dropped 101 places from number 70 to number 101. Pushing to gain another spot was, MATT CAPODICE finishing lap 6 in second place - behind by 0:04. We'll need to watch this one close .... our third place rider, (SHANE KLIMEK) had furrowed brows, and was clearly stalking the second place rider - behind by 1:47. RYAN MOSS was doing some brilliant riding, coming through the gates in fourth place, trying to eliminate that 0:19 deficit. Meanwhile AARON SHAW held onto the number five position.

At the end of lap number 7, ADAM BONNEUR still had the lead, continuing to set the pace on the track.

The movers on this lap were CODY EMERY, moving up 6 places from number 14 to number 8 - meanwhile WILLIAM HORSLEY dropped from number 66 to the number 74 position. MATT CAPODICE claimed second place, trailing by 0:36. Riding in third, SHANE KLIMEK was doing his best to claim second place. RYAN MOSS was solid in fourth place - trailing by 0:18. AARON SHAW refused to sit back - it's not over until it's over - and was in fifth place, trailing the fourth place rider by 0:22.

We lost 38 riders by the time we'd reached the end of lap 8, with 54 completing lap number 8.

ADAM BONNEUR was still in the lead at the end of lap 8 riding well, doing his best to ensure the lead didn't change for the remainder of the event.

We watched as two riders made the largest gains (and losses) on this lap - with JOE CHWALA, moving up from number 54 to the number 49 spot - meanwhile JOE JANAS dropped 53 places from number 48 to number 53. Coming through the checkpoint in second, MATT CAPODICE was thinking - "Step aside folks, I'm on a roll." At that point there was only 1:10 separation between the number 2 spot and the first place rider. SHANE KLIMEK kept a cool head and staked a claim on the number 3 spot, buth with a 1:57 disadvantage. AARON SHAW was sticking to the game plan, but it was time to make the move. Coming in fourth wouldn't grab that 1st place tropy. RYAN MOSS refused to sit back - it's not over until it's over - and was in fifth place, trailing the fourth place rider by 0:25.

At the end of lap number 9, ADAM BONNEUR still had the lead, continuing to set the pace on the track.
The movers on this lap were AARON SHAW, heavy on the throttle able to move up 1 places from number 4 to number 3 - meanwhile SHANE KLIMEK fell off the pace and dropped from number 3 to the number 4 position. Our number two rider was MATT CAPODICE, behind by 1:57. The third place position belonged to AARON SHAW, doing some killer riding, but still behind by 2:07. SHANE KLIMEK was displaying true grit on the course, ripping through the checkpoint in fourth place, with a 0:12 disadvantage. Riding in fifth, RYAN MOSS was doing his best to claim fourth place.
In the end it was a great race with 2 different leaders, but it was ADAM BONNEUR taking the win, able to hold off MATT CAPODICE, proving to be a just a bit stronger, and a bit faster - with an average speed of 24.23 MPH.

The little guys are so cute and in the 50 SR class Shawn Thompson took the win with Brenden Lawreny 2nd and only 2 seconds behind in 3rd was Tanner Whipple, Eli Otterbach came from 6th to finish 4th , while Garrett Ward ran a strong 5th. The JR class was exciting also with TJ Ness 1st place , James Colman 2nd and Kyle Green in 3rd. Way to go guys.

I walked over to watch Josh take off in the 85 class and could not believe all the bikes 24. WOW. Wardy said not enough room over here to start you so we will start over where the big bikes start. One rider (Josh) thought that was so cool that he wants to do it every race. It was a great race as Dylan Ness and Nolan Schuttler were having a heck of a race. Dylan lead the first 2 laps and on lap 3 Nolan was out in front. Lap 3 was also good for Jarred Hall how took over 5th place and also finished there. In the end Dylan got the win with Nolan 2nd and rounding out the top 3 was Travis Ward, Riley Schuhler was 4th and Hall 5th. Great race guys.

The women’s class was down a few riders, but the racing was still good. Taylor Clark was first to the finish with Paige Garecht 2nd and Stacy Bukowski 3rd, with Kelly Christman on her tail finishing 4th and Nikki Dixon 5th. Keep it up ladies.

Making my way over to the starting line for the big bikes I thought WOW this is a great sight to see. There were so many bikes. Boy are those A guys fast, how the heck do they do that. Derek Toberman(144) won, but had Jeffery Kayor right behind him in 2nd , Cody Emery 3rd, Jeremy Ott 4th and Jay Hall finishing the same pace as Jarred a strong 5th.

The 30+ guys (B and C) where having a great time. I was laughing listening to Steve, Scott and Jason talking after the race. Man Jason was flying I heard Scott and Steve saying. Scott was having a great time bumping elbows with Steve who said “I will not ride the 230 again when it’s like this. How many times have we held Stevie say that. About as many times as we have heard Scott say “if I only had 1 more lap.” They were racing each other even thought they are in different classes. In the end the winner for the 30 B was Burton Lavens, placing 2nd was Brian Roland and 3rd was Brent Pierce, Anthony Przewoznih in the 4th spot and Brian Goodin coming in 5th. The C guys finished with Brian Smith winning, Jason Coleman and close 2nd and Brian Doughty 3rd, Stevie Perkins was a awesome 4th, and John McCarrens 5th. Make next race Scottie.

Jake Seibert and Grant Bodmer who last season raced as kids have moved up to BIG BIKES riding in the 86-200 C. Grant’s mom was just a excited as I was. It was a great day for the two no broken bones or bikes. In the end JJ Cones took the win, with Cody Bollinger 2nd and Grant an awesome 3rd,, Nicholas Broll was 4th and Tom Desideri was 5th. Jake finished a strong 6th.

If you have any ideas for a story or hear of some good tidbits that happened out to the course just let me know. I’m easy to find I have the PINK bike everyone loves. Hope to see you all in June. Good Luck and Be Careful.