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| JT Talks - Toronto 2008 |
| Jason Thomas |
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Canada eh? We have, for the last few years, gone to Toronto to open up the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship. It's usually kind of hectic since it was in December. The bikes weren't really ready, testing wasn't done completely and sometimes the trucks weren't even road ready. It was also a measuring stick for where everyone stood after a few months off. It was a low pressure race, as a lot of the factory guys chose to stay home and prepare for Anaheim, leaving a lot of room to qualify for the main event. Ah but no longer. Now Toronto is a full AMA points paying event and no one stays home. The feeling of the race was different being in the middle of the series, it just seemed like another supercross. All but the track anyway, it was the most difficult dome'd supercross I have ridden. The dirt was partially frozen when they brought it inside and the rest was sand. They had to fix most of the track after every practice just so we could do all of the jumps. It was a nightmare for Dirt Wurx and for the riders both. I think if the fans could have walked the track they wouldn't have believed how bad it was.
I felt decent in practice, just trying to put the track together. It was tough to do a perfect lap in the ruts and rocks. I ended up 13th overall which was going to have to be good enough. That gave me 7th gate pick in heat 1. I was really undecided on where to choose on the gate. There was a good gate on the inside but I was surrounded by all of the best guys in the sport. I wanted to go a little more outside and get some breathing room but ended up staying inside. As I came out of the gate, what I was scared of happened, I bounced off 3 or 4 guys, including points leader Chad Reed. I was way back in the first turn and knew it was going to be a miracle if I could qualify. Little did I know how much worse it would get. About halfway through the first lap I lost the front end and went down. I had pretty much given up on qualifying but took off and rode as hard as I could. I started passing guys pretty quickly and catching the pack of riders ahead. I was watching my pit board and every lap I was getting closer and closer to that 9th place I needed. As the white flag came out I saw 10th on the board and really let it go. I was pretty far back from 9th but I knew on that track that I could make up a lot of time if I did everything just right. I came up behind him right before the finish and just snuck inside him for the last spot. I couldn't believe I had made it back to qualifying after such a disasterous start and crash. It was a big relief to not be facing the LCQ and get to rest up for the long 20 laps.
I knew a good start in the main event would help a lot. Everyone had been crashing all day and night and it was easy to run into trouble if you were in a pack of guys. I messed up my start really bad and was in about 18th coming into the first turn. There was some crashing and people stopping and I slipped past a lot of riders and came around in 7th or 8th. I was pumped to have stayed out of trouble and have a chance to get some laps in without chaos around me. I was running good and felt fine with the pace and I made a huge mistake and went down. I got up and going really quickly but it cost me a lot of time. I had a lot of pressure from behind me that wasn't there before the crash. For the next 10 laps I was battling with someone... Marsack, Carpenter, Sorby, Hill, Summey, etc. Finally, at around lap 15, things calmed down. I had settled into 10th and had a gap in front of me and behind me. I just wanted to finish the race where I was... the track was deteriorated so badly that just doing the obstacles was almost impossible. I crossed the line in 10th and breathed a sigh of relief. That track was one of the worst dry races I've ever seen. I was glad it was over.
I moved back into 17th in points and was definitely happy for that. Its been a struggle to stay inside the top 20 all year and I need to keep finishing strong to solidify my spot. Everyone on the team was in a good mood, considering my Lites teammates had won both heat races and swept the podium! Shaun Skinner had won the main and I honestly couldn't have been happier for him. He's such a good guy... one of those guys you always pull for. It was a good night all around and I was happy for Forrest to have a good weekend and have good news for all of our sponsors. Darren at DNA Energy and Vince at BTO Sports have been behind us 100% and its such a good feeling to produce results for them. Next weekend is Dallas... hopefully the weather cooperates and I can ride to my potential. I feel good on the bike and just want to keep the ball rolling. Thanks for reading!
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