I'm one of the organisers of Dirt Quake, and
subsequently had so much to do that I didn't think much
about the racing and, until I checked, had no idea where I
finished in the finals.
It was a great atmosphere. Dirt Quake attracts racers
from all over the world. Riders we'd never seen before
entered the DTRA just so they could be part of the Dirt
Quake event. We had racers from France, Italy, Australia,
USA and Switzerland just on the Friday night, with more
nations added the next day - Netherlands and Belgium.
Guy Martin also raced on the Friday night on his 450
DTX bike.
I made both mains and had a 7th and an 8th. Nothing
special as I'd been on the podium (with an admittedly
smaller entry) the race before. Still, it was a lot of fun.
Round five took the championship to the big track at
Amman Valley, Wales. The only half-mile on the UK
calendar. Due to work I'd missed the last two visits to
the track. Before that it had been soaked and I hated it.
This area of Wales is notoriously wet, and a scorching,
sunburnt morning gave way to a wet, sludgy afternoon. In
the dry I had a second in my heat race, but I hate racing
on waterlogged tracks. I have no MX background and too
much mechanical sympathy mixed with not quite enough
balls-to-the-wall skill/bravery. After getting through a
year's worth of tear-offs in three laps, I put up my visor
and proceeded to race as fast as I could while my eyeballs
got gritblasted. Fuck this!
My bike felt the same way and started misfiring. I made
both finals, again, but pulled out of one. I race for fun
and this wasn't. By the end of the day, my bike looks like
it had spent an afternoon in the back of a cement mixer.
Next race, the last of the 2014 season, is coming up on
September 21st. I'm praying for sun.
Thanks FTWCo. Keep doing what you do.
Gary Inman
#13R
Dirt Track Riders Association, UK