San Francisco ! Despite the rain and the mud, the race action was awesome! This Supercross mud-fest made for some slow but very exciting laps. And I got to sport my cool hot pink rain boots! This was my first time visiting the eclectic, vibrant city of San Francisco and I'm fortunate to have a cousin who has been a long time resident. My Cousin, his wife Fran and their children Oliver and Julia took me on a very cool tour of the city. The architecture and city streets were so interesting. We drove down the windiest street in the world, Lumbard St. , and had dinner at a great restaurant in South San Francisco . I wish I had more time to sight see and visit.

The stadium was amazing and the view of the bay was perfect. But the talk of the weekend was the rain and mud - an Anaheim1 ‘05 repeat! In spite of clouds and rain, many dedicated fans showed up for the full day event. The pits were jammed and the stands didn’t look half bad-full of umbrellas and ponchos. Practice was pushed later into the day and was cut short because of the rainy conditions. I was able to watch practice from above in the tower with Erv Braun. The track crew had kept the track covered most of the day, but as soon as the plastic was removed it became sticky, wet mud. The riders critically went over every turn and jump on the deteriorating track. The quick practice was their only chance to get a glimpse of what they were going to compete on in the night show.

I had a blast meeting many new fans from Northern and Central California . The SX spirit is alive rain or shine!

Being an Arizona girl I don’t see much rain. We just broke a record of going 132 straight days of no rain. However, I do own a pair of very cool rain boots. You see as Miss Supercross, I must always be prepared. As much as it was cold and a muddy mess, it was very fun. Riding in the mud can be very fun, but difficult. How many of you have been out their hitting the trails on a rainy day?

On Thanksgiving weekend, two years ago, I did just that. But it was snowing and wet. We had a blast. Oh and at last years Mesquite WORCS race my brother and everyone else racing got a taste of the mud. There were bikes buried left and right. Some were so bad they had to be pulled out by a quad! Anyway, back to the Supercross. Once the race action started, being drenched didn't seem so bad. Erin, Krista, and I only had to wring our hair out a few times! Ha.

I think the change in texture of the track gave the riders additional challenges. The strategy of the night was slow and steady and don't get roosted on too much! The overall attitude was to have fun and give it your best in the conditions. The start was crazy and hard to tell who took the holeshot. If you weren’t in front then you were covered in mud.

The mud-fest created for some extra prep work to make the bikes work better. Weight from the sticky mud and overheating are factors that can take its toll on even the best of riders. The mechanics had their work cut out for them. Foam is added in and around the motor to protect the bike, hand guards are installed, and much more goes into preparing the bikes for mud. Everyone had to be prepared and put extra work in for this race. The sticky, wet, and muddy track slowly deteriorated throughout the night, but it just made the racing more fun to watch. The ruts were super deep and the corners were slick.

It was nice to see some new faces in the Lites class earning podium spots. Two KTM riders took over the podium, Alessi with third and Ramsey taking home the first place trophy. And the outstanding Metcalf took second, but placed first in his heat race.

The Supercross main was another battle. Every race was hard to follow because of the rain and mud-caked bikes, but everyone had their eye and attention on the RC and Stewart battle once again. And Nick Wey kept strong through the muck and landed a very respectable 3 rd and also took home his first Progressive Direct Holeshot check of the year.

On the podium the overall attitude was good. We had to have at least one mud-fest for the year and San Francisco proved to be a good one with non-stop rain. It will be great to head back to some warm dry weather in Anaheim again. It is our last stop at Anaheim and I am sure it will be another fun filled weekend of Supercross action.

See you at the races!

Brittney
Miss Supercross
missupercross@yahoo.com