On April 2nd, 2017, the state of Colorado saw a beautiful union between two race series that even mother nature couldn’t stop. The Rocky Mountain Showdown brought the SRAC and RMXA series together like it was a scene from Westside Story: the Jets and the Sharks gathered at one track to do battle and it was righteous. The track was gnarly, the gates were stacked, and the racing was a spectacle like none other in past seasons. The standouts of the day were 250 C, Supermini and Pros.
250 C
The track preparation for the weekend was immaculate, but the start was such a mud bog that if I was racing, I would have put a snorkel on my bike. Also, yes the track did shape up, but the first race of the morning which was the 250 C class, was still a sloppy mess. So first and foremost, hats off to 250 C for being the pioneers of the treacherous deep uphill start of Thunder Valley.
The gate dropped, the clutches were released, and the bikes lurched forward to hit that mud so hard that some didn’t even make it. “My clutch is done,” said Taylor Quenzer, former SRAC 250 C champion. His bike was one of many claimed by the infamous bog of the day.
Supermini
The Supermini class was another spectacle and the track was gnarly for these racers, but the talent they exuded was present as they still worked the deep conditions. This class also had to battle the start, so everyone watched quietly as 2-Strokes hollered through the hills.
Pro
Then there was the Open Pro/Non Pro class. Here the fastest A and B riders took to the same gate to showcase the fastest talent at the track. With a 36-man gate, the start was comparable to a national as everyone fought through the mud to the first corner. The mud and turbulent conditions, as well as the mixing of competition brought new results from the traditional reports.
We would certainly be remiss if we didn’t give mention to one of the most impressive,
Wrap Up
Well, the first round of the Rocky Mountain Showdown lived up to the hype and some more. The goal of combining the series to bring bigger gates, more talent and stiffer competition to the sport was a success: all on a weekend that other states would deem unfit for racing. A special thanks goes out to Thunder Valley for their efforts on providing everyone a solid track to race, to RMXA and SRAC for listening to the riders, and to the racers for digging deep & racing a track that was scary to just walk around. Until next time, from everyone here at Elevated.