TX National Enduro race report - Stephen

Within the team, we have a race for the race reports getting turned in. Stephen takes the top spot this week. - Marc
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Texas Enduro-
We got down there Saturday afternoon after about a 16 hour drive, got through sign-up, spent a little time working on the bike and talking some team stuff. Then grabbed a bite and settled in for the night. While we about froze to death when we stopped to sleep Friday night, Saturday night was real nice, actually good sleeping weather - cold, but not too cold. Saturday morning it was cold but warmed up fast and turned out to be in the 60's, perfect for racing. In the morning, I had a chance to warm the bike up some and found that the perfect weather conditions made for perfect traction. The ground had a little moisture in it which really helped the new Maxxis tires hook up. The race started with a transfer section, not timed, which allowed you to warm up some, but then you had a long reset before the restart so if you rode the transfer quick, your wait was longer. We had three test sections before gas and re-rode the same tests again after gas. As for the course, it was very rocky with a few slick roots mixed in. The shorter sections made it tough with no room for mistakes. By the time you got good and warmed up it was time for a reset. Tough to get a flow going, but overall, my day went fairly good. My KTM worked awesome and I just missed the flip of the card a couple of times with one actually being a .00. So unfortunately, a few seconds cost me a few points. Being the first race, I was able to try out some of the new gear and parts. Everything worked great. It was the first time I got to wear my new Scorpion helmet because we only got them in on Friday. What a great helmet. I didn't know much about them before this year, but I'm impressed. It fits great and looks really good. With all the rocks, we put an FMF Gnarly pipe on for this race and I'm glad we did. The torque from that pipe is awesome and it was definately a help on the rocky hills. All in all, I had a really good time, it was an awesome event, and I am really looking forward to the next race in California. Thanks to everyone for their support and I cant wait until the next race.