Dirt Wars 11 (Go Pro)

After reading about these races here on Vital (http://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Moto-Related,20/Crazy-racing-action-at-th…) and my friends telling me what a blast these races are, I decided to give it a try

I have no flat track experience and not really much pit bike experience either. That being the case I had no clue how these races would go

For those unfamiliar with this event, here is a short break down of classes
Mad Pup (Youth Bring Your On Bike)
Dirt Wars Amateur (amateur class using borrowed bikes from the event)
Dirt Wars Pro (Pro-Class using borrowed bikes from the event)
Mad Dog Amateur (BYOB - Amateur)
Mad Dog Pro (BYOB - PRO)

Even though it sounds like a relatively short amount of classes, there are still quite a few races they ran through. With the Dirt Wars class being on loaner bikes, there are 8 bikes set up to be ridden (with some back-ups)

For my class Dirt Wars Amateur, I would get 4 practices (4 laps each), followed by 3 Heat Races, and a Main Event (depending on results)

In the first practice I felt GOOD, really felt like I had a grasp on what to do and felt like i was moving. 2nd practice and all of that good feeling went away, got passed left and right and just couldn't get a feel for it. Practice 3 and 4 were going pretty much the same and I was quickly losing confidence in the race

Heat Races
There are only 3/4 people in each heat race, so the way the system works, you should race different people in each heat, and riding a different bike for each heat.

Heat 1
Didn't do to well, 2 of the guys in the class were quite a bit faster than me, ended up 3rd

Heat 2
On one of the opening laps, I tangled with another rider and went down. I was able to get up before him, but it would be another 3rd for me

Heat 3
This was a 3 rider only heat, and the other 2 guys had me covered. They were racing each-other pretty hard so my new strategy was to follow as close as I could, and wait for them to take each-other out. The plan backfired as I crashed all by myself through the easiest corner on the track. Still don't have a clue as to what happened, but I did know it didn't feel great

https://youtu.be/58NBwV8GrGg

Main Event
The main events are split up into basically to semis, then a real main event. C Main would be the first race and the winner would move onto B main. The B Main would take the top 2 into the A Main. The A Main would have 5 riders automatically in it from the heat races, +2 from B and +1 from C, making the main event an 8 rider event

https://youtu.be/Za-6_cC-bqs

I was bummed on the 6th place finish, but was pumped for my friends. My buddy Josh ended up getting 1st, which he also got at the last event, and my friend Ben (seen in the yellow Fox Gear in the videos), got 4th in his second try at the event.

All in All, it was a total blast, and I cannot wait for the next round. The facilities are top notch (sign-up is indoor, with tables/chairs, TV, restrooms), the track was perfect conditions (to me), everyone their was super friendly and willing to help out, and they ran a tight ship, everything happened on time.
I also was excited to meet fellow vitalmxer moto mofo, he turns out to be pretty damn fast at these races (finished 3rd in Mad Dog Pro)

I highly suggest anyone near the Houston area look into these races.