Jacob911.com

This last weekend my family and I took a trip North into Nevada for one of my favorite rides of the year, The Searchlight Grand Prix. The race is hosted by the Canepa family, and since there is no series or anything associated with it, it is just one of those fun events that I have looked forward to all year.  This year we were bringing a couple people for the first time, and I was really excited about both the Pro and Team races on Saturday afternoon.

On the way out we picked up my friend Justin Morrow from Desert MC and he and I planned on making it my second year in a row of winning the Pro Team race.  Last year Kyle Bristol and I rode hard then entire afternoon and won the race barely beating the Canepa cousins, who would be back to ride this year.

Being a Nevada round, there were lots of fast guys out this year. Both Nick and Russ Pearson were in attendance to support their family members who were racing, and other local fast guys like Erik Halgrath and Levi Jones were also there to race. 

I took the morning race as a practice and got to test out my new stabilizer setup which I will be running next year (more info to follow at the end of this report). Justin and I screwed around for two laps each and basically just pulled off to save ourselves for the ladder races of the day. They had a great setup, so I knew after the third turn that it was going to be an awesome day of racing.  Ryan Sanders was here this weekend, racing for one of the first times in a LONG TIME so it was fun to hear his stories about the course and racers who he was battling with. After all of the work he had been doing this year, I seriously didn’t even know if he would make it all three laps in the first race. He did, and was quick to point out that he had done more laps then me!

At 11 o clock it was time for the Pro Race.  There were about 15 pros on the line, and lined up next to me were some of the fastest young riders in southern California. Conner Penhall was on one side of me, and Justin Morrow on the other, but I just put my head down and was second out of the first turn to Penhall. After about 4 turns I was able to make a pass, and I virtually took over the lead for the rest of the race.  It was three laps around a 10 mile course, and we had a little bit of everything to deal with, so it was nothing that would be easy.

The highlight of the Searchlight Grand Prix is the trip though town on each lap. We get to race through someone’s garage, and then rip down the streets and through people’s backyards. Levi’s Dad, Jerry, was working on of the turns in the town, and each lap I went by he was giving me a heads up of what kind of a lead I had.  Out of the town and we got into some great desert trails. Lots of whoops, and a couple big down hills made the passing of lapped traffic a bit sketchy, but pretty much everyone in Searchlight was respectful and gave plenty of room to pass. I took the win and finished ahead of Justin by about 4 minutes. He also had a big lead over third and finished about 3 minutes ahead of Jessie Canepa.

The team race was one hour later, so Justin and I prepped my 2010 KX450F for another big race. My dad and Ryan were going to race my old 250 that I won the Hare and Hound Championship on, so Ryan was very reasonably excited.  Ryan and I were both starting, and we lined up next to each other on the startline.  The biggest competition by far in this race was the Canepa cousins. They and their family layed out and virtually designed the entire course, so they knew every trail and whoop. All I could do was rely on getting a good start, and holding the throttle open just a little bit longer, or the whole race if I could hold on!

Off the start I was first through the turn. The endurocross section followed the first couple turns, and they had a couple good logs that you could really jump. There was also a tire jump which Ryan said I got bigger air than anyone else for the day, but I just thought it was a fun kicker, so I really didn’t pay much attention. They actually shortened the course about 4 miles for the team race, so Justin and I got 4 laps in the hour long race.  We led from start to finish, and had a good lead at the end.  Even though we didn’t have too much competition, it is still one of the best weekends of the year, and it was even better to be on the road heading home at 4 o clock on Saturday, even if we were 5-hours from home.

I had the chance to test a new stabilizer that we will deffinately be running next year. (You can find it here, www.promotobillet.com) Fastway has been one of my sponsors now for the last three years, and with 2010 they have really upped the bargain! This new steering stabilizer is really a great fit for my riding abilities.  It is far more adjustable then what I have been using for the last few years, and it bolts right onto the bike with really little to know adjustments to the controls.  It was great on the track as I was able to adjust the angles at which the steering breaks loose.  Meaning, literally, that I could adjust the speed of my handlebar turns on the track.  It seemed to be very smooth through both the track and out in the open rough desert. With my tireball and moose bib setup, I was pretty comfortable the entire weekend and know that it is only going to get better as time goes on!

I will continue to use the stabilizer for the next couple of weeks and it will be on my 250f for the endurocross finals this weekend. Come by and check it out, and let me know what you think of it when you see it yourself for the first time. I hope to have the thing completely dialed before the first race of 2011!

In the last couple weeks, I have been busy prepping myself for the 2011 season and have also picked up a few additional sponsors.  These companies have not only signed on to help me out with my racing, but they are also some the most off road friendly companies out there. I look forward to supporting them and working to bring a championship their way in addition to all of my sponsors who will be returning for 2011. Thanks to the guys over at UFO Plastics and Answer Racing I will be looking good next year with the best quality gear and best quality plastics available on the market.

As ways, my sponsors are the ones who keep me and my bike running up front every weekend. Thanks to Kawasaki of Simi Valley, Off Road Support, TBT Racing, Rekluse, Pro Moto Billet, Fastway Performance, IMS, FMF, BRP, Brian Elliot at Allianceoffroad.com, and the exciting new additions of UFO Plastics and Answer Racing.

I will be signing autographs with the rest of the Endurocross pros Saturday afternoon at 12 PM in the Orleans parking lot, so please come by, get a poster, and take a look at the awesome bike setup that all of these great companies have helped my team and I to put together!

Also, on a HIGH NOTE, it was announced this last week that I was the runner up for the Junior Endurocross Championship.  Colton Hacker won for the second year in a row, but I finished second about 20 points behind him. Although it’s not a win, it’s an improvement on my third place in last year’s Junior EX Championship. Next year will be my last chance in the under 21 class, so hopefully I can come away with a championship next season!

See you in the Desert- Or in the Orleans Arena Saturday Night!

-Jacob

Jacob911.com