Glen Helen QuadCross 8-6-07

ITP Quadcross Round 7
Glen Helen Raceway
Devore, California
Aug 6, 2007

A Lisa G Production

The third consecutive round of the Yamaha / ITP QuadCross Series, and the last one that will be held at legendary Glen Helen Raceway until December, disappointed some riders when they showed up and the track had not changed one bit since the last round.

For those who can not learn new tracks quickly this was great, but many riders enjoy changes and the fun in having to learn a new track every now and then. Regardless as to who liked the track and who didn’t round seven was underway with picture perfect Southern California weather blessing all in attendance.

Doug Eichner had a surprise for everyone when he pulled to the line on his new Polaris Outlaw. Since his new ride was a 525cc monster,r and bigger than the 450cc limit, he did have to run the Open Pro class and sit out while the more prestigious Pro class took to the hills. Nonetheless, Eichner seems to have definitely taken a liking to his new Polaris. It was obvious that he had some time on this new quad as he was really able to make it work well. It also appears that those hour and a half long WORCS races certainly are helping his moto game, as he looked more than capable to take on all. In the end Eichner took an impressive win in the Open Pro class with a 2-1 finish — beating Kory “Give ‘em a head start” Ellis.

Pro Moto 1

John Shafe began the day by leading the pack around Talladega but it was not long until Kory Ellis made the pass for the lead. From there on he instantly put distance between himself and the rest of the pro field. Dustin Terry, who had high hopes of taking a podium position for this round, ended his moto early after crashing through the whoops.

Ellis went on to take the easy win while John Shafe finished up in the runner up spot. Josh Frederick grabbed a respectable third – still without his new Can-Am. What’s the hold up Can-Am? Speaking of Can-Am, between motos I was able to have a word with Jeremy Schell. I asked Schell why he and Josh were still not on their new Can-Ams. He seemed frustrated about that question and simple said he didn’t know why, but hoped that they will be ready for the next round. I then asked him what had happened as he had dropped from second to fifth during the race on his Honda. Schell stated “I keep getting arm pump. I have been going to the gym and lifting weights a lot. I should know better by now. I need to let up a bit on the weight lifting.”

Pro Moto

Shafe went back-to-back with another good-looking holeshot. The SoCal Hick pulled into the two-spot while Ellis and the 88 of Dean Pierce closely behind. It was not long until EPIC Racing’s Schell slipped into the lead while Ellis found ground to pressure his lead. You could tell that Schell wasn’t liking the fast approaching number 53 on his tail because he kept looking back — loosing a few seconds with each look. Ellis was able to make the pass, and seemed to enjoy yet another of his typical come-from-the-back wins. Ellis took the win, Schell held on to second, and John Shafe finished the moto in third.

Ellis went on to take the overall for the weekend, with a perfect 1-1 finish. John Shafe grabbed the second place position with a 3-2 finish, and Jeremy Schell rounded out the podium with a 5-2 finish. That’s how it went down at round seven of the “West Coast Nationals”, otherwise known as the ITP QuadCross Series.

More Interesting Kory Ellis Tales to Tell

Regarding his Open Pro outing; “Everyone was calling me a sandbagger, so I ran both the Pro and Open Pro classes this weekend.” Interestingly enough we need to talk more on his runner up spot in the second moto than his easy win in moto one. In the end “Babe Ruth” Ellis missed the moto two win by a mere second, cool as that may be – it’s still not the interesting part.

12 riders made their way through Talladega and approached the next corner while Ellis sat at the line on his new Suzuki at idle just watching. It was essentially ATV Racing’s Babe Ruth moment – remember the classic baseball films when the Babe pointed at the fence to call out his home run? That’s basically what happened here. To everyone’s dismay Ellis finally dropped the hammer and began his cat and mouse chase through the field. To make it all the more entertaining for those watching this unusual tale of affairs, Ellis tangled with TJ Dietrich, causing him even more precious time. At race’s end Ellis actually won if the Glen Helen crew would have used the same finish line that they usually use. But this time however, the Mighty Babe flied out to centerfield when Eichner slipped past the finish line just one length in front.

Regarding his Babe Ruth Style Open Pro adventure and a few not-so-ordinary race-questioning, I was able to have a few words with Kory…

You have just taken your 5th win of the season. How does it feel to have such a demanding points lead?
It has been a really fun season, but actually the points lead does not mean too much right now because the final race is a double points round. Anything can happen there so I’m still taking it one race at a time and not counting points at all.

I like your new white and black LTR is it a 2008 model?
Yeah, I’m glad you asked because this ’08 Suzuki is absolutely unreal and we haven’t even had that much time to do much yet. Believe it or not it’s bone stock still! I can’t believe how well it runs.

So what’s with letting everyone go in the Open Pro class?
I have been training pretty hard the past few weeks, trying to get ready for the Invitational quad race at the Steel City, PA Bike National. It’s the first time pro quad guys are allowed to show their stuff in front of the big bike scene. Anyway, coming from behind would help me prepare for that race more than leading from the start, so I waited at the line.

Speaking of that upcoming Steel City race, how do you think you’ll do?
I want to end up with a top three finish there.

How about the rest of the QuadCross Series?
I want to win every remaining round.

Okay back to the second Open Pro moto. Did you really need to toy with everyone that much though?
I got hung up in the first turn of the first moto and came back to take the win with about ten seconds to spare so at the last minute before the gate dropped in moto two I figured I would let them all get around the first turn and see if I could still win the race. I guess I calculated one second off. I should have left at nine seconds not ten.

What does your training schedule consist of?
It’s hard to really prepare like a lot of guys do now days. This year I’m working full time again for the first time in about four years, so there’s not as much time to train – that’s for sure, but the good part is I have been very fortunate that Yoshimura lets me take off Thursdays and go ride test for them, which is great training for me. That has been a huge help this season.

Any other training or diet tips?
I try to eat as healthy as I can and ride two to three days a week, along with two to three days of Moto TST training if I can fit it in but every week is different and I’m usually at the WPSA events working on the weekends so I dont always get to train like I want.

What do you typically do when you leave a QuadCross event?
Usually the Ragan’s, Allen White (my mechanic from last year) and some other friends go to dinner at the same place if the race is close to home. After that we all go to some one’s house and watch the newest episode of Entourage on HBO.

Have you ever had an obsessed or crazy female fan?
Those crazy girls LOL. Actually no, but I did sign my first rock this past weekend. That was pretty crazy.

Did Yoshimura just come up with a phony position so you could work there and sort of be on the team – or is this all legit?
No it’s all legit. I’m Yoshimura’s ATV Brand Manager. It is a new position for them. They saw the need for someone with a lot of ATV racing and recreation experience that could help them develop and market new cutting-edge products.

A lot has changed for you this year. You made the switch to the Suzuki – yet it meant you had to stop competing out East. How did all this come about?
My contract was up with Yamaha at the end of the ’06 season. Originally I was planning on racing the WPSA Series but I didn’t know on what. I got the chance to ride all of the 450s at the end of the year and decided that I liked the LTR the best because it would be the easiest and cheapest for me to race. American Suzuki loaned an LTR to ATV Scene.com earlier in the year. I guess you could say I ended up testing it and eventually racing it. I purchased some Fox shocks from PEP and went out and raced it at the first QuadCross of the year. I did pretty well on it even without many aftermarket race items. Actually I was running the same lap times as Wimmer and I was running down Little with it. I ended up getting third that day.

So this led to your Yoshimura Suzuki sponsorship?
Yeah, about that time I was still looking for sponsorship for the upcoming year. Meanwhile I did not have any income whatsoever, so I was also looking for a job. Wayne Hinson got me hooked up with Brant Russell from Yoshimura and here I am.

Any regrets?
Nope it all worked out great! I don’t have the stress of chasing points out East but there are still some stressful moments to deal with even though I’m not personally racing. I help the team and have to make things happen and happen fast. There are a lot of deadlines to keep me on my toes. But as far as my own racing goes for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel stressed or hurried like I did when I was racing what seemed to me every week some 2000 miles away from home. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to win but it is not what pays the bills anymore – so when I’m racing, it’s more of a simple fun day out on the track for me these days.

The next round of the QuadCross is a night race. How do you feel about that and do you prefer night or day racing?
Speedworld has a great track and it’s a lot of fun to race there, but I don’t like to race under the lights too much. I cannot see that great at night so it will be a tuff one for me.

You have seen the QuadCross grow over the past few years. Do you think it is worthy of the “West Coast Nationals” label?
Time slips by; it seems like just yesterday when I was racing QuadCross events on my Cannondale in 2003. That was QuadCross’ first year. There were only three rounds then and I swept them all on that Cannondale. I remember there were only about 60 entries total at every race and I thought at the time that was great because we were lucky to get 20 at a big race before that. Lorie at Glen Helen has done a fantastic job making the series grow. So has Craig Peterson at ITP. And a lot of success is also due to the ATV department at Yamaha. They’ve really done a lot to make this thing shine. When it’s all said and done I do think it’s worthy of the West Coast Nationals title and I’m happy to be a part of it.

You seem to really be loving life this year.  
I do, life’s too short not to. For the first time in a while, racing is what I do for fun not for an income. Nowadays I go to the track to promote Yoshimura and try to win my own races simply because I want to — not because I have to. This year has been awesome.

Let’s wrap it up. Who are you thanking?
My parents. Who knows where I would be today without their incredible love and support. They have helped me with everything in my life and I’m very thankful. I hope I can do the same for them in the future.

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