mx775: Honey Lake Team GP

Milford, California; October 21, 2007
Photos by Trisha Beaupre

When it comes to the sheer fun factor, it's hard to beat a team race. It combines all the fun of racing with some other things that don't factor in a typical race: camaraderie, rest time, the chance to watch one of your buddies run 50 yards in full motocross gear, start his bike and then try to turn in a decent lap (or, if you are that buddy, the chance to realize you should have practiced some sprints before you signed up.)

So it made sense that 45 teams lined up for Honey Lake's team grand prix on Sunday, which commenced following an already full day of single-rider GP motos and Saturday's regular motocross program. That meant somewhere between 90 and 135 team riders had their eyes on the sizable cups that Honey Lake awards to the top finishers. But in the end, the biggest cup wasn't going to go anywhere, as Team Honey Lake, led by Tony Evans (3), finished the two-hour race out in front by a comfortable margin.

Team PK, consisting of Robert Perez and Martin Kite, snatched a dramatic second-place finish in the closing seconds of the race, completing a superb comeback from some early crashes and one prolonged struggle with an obstructive tree branch.

Here are some photos that my wife shot as she managed to both work the camera and make sure that my two-year-old daughter didn't wander out onto the front straight:

Rider await the opening sprint to their bikes. That's me in the blue gear in the center, wishing I hadn't volunteered for this.

Josh Jacobs won the foot-race portion of the race and then grabbed the bike-portion holeshot by a good margin, which led to post-race protests concerning the length of his legs. Turns out they are stock.

The race was long, but the racing was intense throughout.

Another member of Team Honey Lake charges toward victory.

Together, my teammates Eric Gillen (936), Mike Bergman and I finished a hard-fought 11th. Our goal was top-ten, and while I hate to make excuses, most of us were badly injured and we totally would have done better under normal circumstances.

Me, wondering whether my last two laps of charging got us in the top ten (see above.)