Somewhere Northbound | IMI Motorsports Complex

Colorado motocross had a pretty good run to start the season of there only being one race happening on any given weekend; but now, we have transitioned into splitting gates & splitting entries between RMXA & SRAC. Do we appreciate the fact that there are options on which track & which organization to go with on any given Sunday? Sure we do, but do we appreciate the lack of depth from class-to-class, not to mention that these classes are already being depleted by dudes chasing their Loretta’s tickets? Yeah, that’s where we’re going to have to draw the line. It has been said that we can accomplish much more together than we can separately, hint hint, cough cough. The concept of combining organizations has been tossed around from time to time, and the reality is, we simply don’t have enough weekly entries to legitimately support two organizations & two tracks going off every weekend. If we were to combine our forces, it would lead to larger turnout, better track conditions & less separation within the motocross community. Come on, peeps. However, we will relent, because who wants to hear us bitch about a glaring problem anymore? This weekend saw one of our local pros continue to cement his name as one of the true rippers in the region; Cody Gray, who is currently the holder of three tickets to Loretta’s, snagged 3 out of 3 overalls at IMI. Also, it brought guys like Derek Anderson & Joey Olson out to do some battle. This week’s coverage will be lighter, because quite frankly, there isn’t much to write about.

A’s:

To give you an idea of how dismal the turnout was this weekend, there was a total of 6 unique entries in the pro class. Luckily, 3 out of the 6 entries were some of the fastest dudes in the state, but still, those numbers are pretty disappointing. Either way, there was some good racing amongst those 3 throughout the day on Sunday. Cody, Derek & Joey were dicin’ back & forth for moto wins & overalls. Derek, in typical Derek fashion, swept the first motos, even with that sore ass (literally). The next motos, the injury certainly affected him a little more glaringly, as he DNF’d in 2 out of 3 and cruised to a 5th in the other one. This opened the gates for dudes like Cody Gray & Joey Olson to swoop some moto wins & overalls. Joey nipped at Cody’s heels for the 450 A overall, but Cody was able to walk away victoriously in all three pro classes, as he swept the 2nd motos, similarly to Derek Anderson in the 1st motos. We got a chance to talk to Cody about his recent qualification to Loretta’s & what he’s doing to get prepped for the world’s most prestigious Amateur National, here’s what he dished out:

EM:
So you killed at the regionals. What’re you doing to get ready for Loretta’s here locally?

CG:
To get ready for Loretta’s, I’ve been in the gym constantly when I’m not riding. I’ve been trying to ride 3 times a week, and when I do ride, wearing a sweat shirt in the heat to try and get my body used to as much heat and humidity as possible for being down in Tennessee at the hottest time of the year.

EM:
Word, do you think the dudes in Colorado stack up pretty well to the guys you’ll be racing at Loretta’s??

CG:
Most definitely, DA241 is the real deal, he has been killing it at nationals the past few years. Chasing him each weekend and trying to match his speed has definitely made me faster and more confident.

EM:
So what is it like racing the Regionals compared to racing here locally??

CG:
Its way more stressful. At the Regionals, you are worried about crashing and have to get top 6. But here locally, it’s pretty much to go out there, have fun and do the best you can. Regionals you line up next to a bunch of guys not knowing who may be faster than you, who may be slower and who you may battle with. You just have to line up with as much confidence as possible and ride your own race.

EM:
Word, so what’s going to be your approach, mentally, going into Loretta’s?

CG:
Going into Loretta’s in the pro class my expectations aren’t super high, my goal is to be leaving the ranch with a top 15 overall finish. It’s going to be a tough one but I think it’s reachable for me.

It’s certainly a pretty awesome gift to have such talented, homegrown racers to battle with from week-to-week without having to drive more than 30-45 minutes from your front porch. We know some of the dudes who live out in Nebraska & Kansas would be stoked to have the level of competition we have out here. And we’re definitely more than stoked to see what Cody & the other local boys can do when they make their way down to Hurricane Mills to show them national boys how we do it.

40+ (Sorry we’ve left you out, it’s your time to shine):

It has been a long time coming, but we are finally featuring the OGs of our sport as they rightly deserve. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the stellar performances put on by the old guys out at the Regional at Thunder Valley a few weeks back. Simon Cragg, David Clabaugh & John Burfeind all found themselves with tickets to the big show. Simon Cragg was a force in the 40+ class as he went 4th, 2nd, then rounded it with a 1st to easily make his way to Tennessee. David Clabaugh, who was essentially the Terminator for a three week stretch, snuck his way into Loretta’s after a string of solid moto performances at his literal hometrack. And finally, John Burfeind, punched two tickets to Loretta’s in both the 45+ & 50+ classes, not bad for an old-timer. Let’s meander back to talk of this weekend, though. There were two guys who we really wanted to talk about, Bryan Sabbaugh & Spencer McGinnis. Bryan Sabbaugh is seemingly ageless, as he continues to race week-in & week-out amongst some of the fastest dudes in the state. Dudes who are, on average, 15 years younger than him. That’s some wicked impressive shit dude, so hats off to you. Another ripper that really caught our eye was Spencer McGinnis. Spencer is a retired military veteran, that does his ripping using a prosthetic on his right leg. That is some truly incredible stuff. If you guys get a chance, go take a look at the Adaptive Race series that Spencer & X-Games Gold Medalist, Mike Schultz put on. Their organization is called Moto Sport Adapative & you can link to their Facebook page here.