First Lady of ICE

By Mandy Brodil Cervantes

The first thing that pops into my head when I think of Cedar Rapids, IA is one, cold and two a hot-bed for quad ice racing. Sure enough, it was in fact freezing and the largest field for the unlimited pro quad class this season with 27! Now that might not seem like a lot if you’re a National MX, XC or EDT racer but it is when there are only 8 that make it to the feature at the end of the night. J&M Racing was well aware of the entries when traveling to Cedar Rapids, IA so we had our main agenda to focus on. Heading into round 7, the #56 of Jeff Brodil (my dad) had the points lead and I was in fourth. Our J&M Racing goal was to qualify for the main and come out one and two in the points. To help with this, we actually had what I considered a practice race. The Cedar Rapids Ice Arena was host to the only dual night of racing in the same city this season. When this happens I consider the first night a freebie since there are no points involved. I decided to do some major changes all at once in an effort to maximize the hookup I was getting with my Hoosier Tires and minimize my chances of crashing from getting too much bite.

After wrapping my head around the horrible (almost comical) night I had in PA, I knew the direction I needed to go in order to get my quad handling correctly. In the beginning of the season I had done everything to tighten my bike up because of lack of traction coming out of the turns. Now that my Custom Axis rear shock was working correctly and I had tires that gripped quite well, I needed to free my 250R up as much as possible. I flew in the day of the race so I only had a few hours to get things done, which proved to be a little challenging as we had to pit on the practice hockey rink. I mounted my ice tires, slowed my rear rebound down, adjusted my rear compression and moved all of my spacers to the inside of my axle which widened me out. The last thing to do before my feet were frozen completely was to adjust my Rath Racing sway bar. I was actually a little shocked to find out that some racers who have the exact same sway bar on their quad don’t realize the significance of it. This is probably the one piece of equipment that I check 2-3 times throughout the night. That being said, it was time to pull out a valuable piece of knowledge I received from Keith Little many years ago at an EDT national. “Freeing up” my bike was the objective so I moved the bolts from the 5th hole back to the 2nd hole on my sway bar. Then I made the necessary adjustments to make sure the bolt moved back and forth without restraint through the hole which meant my sway-bar was in a neutral position. This is how I always keep it and I adjust weight transfer using my shocks. Most people don’t realize the shift in weight when your sway bar isn’t in a neutral position and how you can tighten or loosen your quad in the corners by moving forward or back in the holes.

With little time remaining, I put my Answer Racing gear on and met up with ATV’s Most Wanted Paige Harnish! It’s always a little awkward meeting someone for the first time but the two of us instantly clicked. I filled ATV’s Most Wanted Miss June in on what her duties would be for the weekend then it was time for me to go racing. In my first heat, I reacted first off the line but pulled a wheelie at the same time. When this happens I instantly let off the gas in fear of falling off the back. You might laugh but that happened to me once at a TT national and I still haven’t forgotten running down the straight away for my bike I ended up getting second and so did my teammate.
For the start of my second heat I sat all the way up on the gas tank. I pulled the hole-shot and my wheels but managed to lead green to checker. My dad got third in his heat as he was fighting too much traction as well. With so many racers, I still had to go to the LCQ in hopes of making it to the main. Unfortunately I got slammed from behind and pushed into Justin Ebbing – this finished both of our nights as we couldn’t get free. Although frustrated because it wasn’t my fault, I was just thankful it this happened in the non-points night.

After Paige was done with her trophy girl duties, we decided to have a fun night out together. Paige, her friend Nikki and I headed out on the town. Ok, it’s not all that big of a town but the three of us managed to have a great time together. So much fun that I didn’t get back to the hotel until 3am! Luckily my bike felt pretty good and I only had a couple of things I wanted to change. At around 10am I headed to the arena where there wasn’t a sole in sight. I decided to stiffen the spring on my rear shock in an effort to reduce the transfer off the line. I went from a 185 to a 200 and then made some tuning adjustments to the studs on my tires. Then I wiped off my ESJ Graphics and headed back to the hotel for some R&R before the races later that night. At around 6:30pm my nerves finally started to set in as I wanted to finally draw a good starting position. Of course that was wishful thinking; I drew #4 for both heats which meant I would be starting off of the wall. My teammate drew a #2 and #4. In my first heat I had #331, Justin McGilton who is part of the Kansas Tornadoes. He is very fast and always a top contender. When the tape went up, he pulled the hole shot and I started fourth and then passed up to second where I would finish. Jeff Brodil seemed to struggle from his bike modifications, finishing third in his first heat. I knew if I wanted any chance of making it straight to the main and skipping the LCQ I would need a win. I had Zach Thomas in my heat and he had been pretty hot both nights — winning all three of his heats so far and the main event the night before. Off the line we came out banging which actually hurt us as we ended up second and third out of turn two. In turn three, I was able to pass Zach and make my way up to first. Thankfully the leader gave me a little help when he got loose coming out of the turn. I was able to pass him, sealing a front row start in the main. Although Jeff was able to get a second in his next heat, it still wasn’t enough to make the last chance qualifier, ending his night.

In the main event I started, of course, at the wall again. My goal was to stay free of any pile-ups and gain as many points as possible. I rocketed off the line and my front tires didn’t see the ground until the first corner. When I came out of turn two I was sitting in thrid behind Sammy Wiggins and Drew Berqguist. Racing bumper to bumper the entire race, we finished on the podium the sa
me way we started. I was more than happy with a third considering Sammy and I were the only two contract riders who made it to the feature race.

Thank you to my new life-long friends, Nikki and Paige for your support. I wish I had a camera to take pictures of them cheering me on when I was racing, I could feel the love on the track girls! I went in to Cedar Rapids in fourth place in the points, I came out in second and my teammate third. I started this season with what seemed like one setback after another. After the race I was thinking how this could be a sign of good things to come for me and hopefully J&M Racing could actually finish at the top together!

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