CCCX DH #2 Spring/Summer

After race #1 cancellation a few weeks ago due to rain, #2 was held this past Saturday at Toro Park in Salinas. Sunny skies brought a great turnout, good track and tight racing. Course profile was same as the Winter series finals back at the end of January. Fast fireroad into tight off-camber single track. It was getting pretty rutted, and started drying out. It had been over a week since the last rain. All in all it was still a very fast course and good training for the upcoming Sea Otter Classic which is held down the street from the park. Stay tuned for coverage on that next month.

Alex Amaral, seen here shredding a berm in practice, is already setting himself up for a great 2010, however a crash in his race run put him off the pace just slightly, 3 seconds off the box.


Allen Stoddard is still coming off an injured wrist sustained last Fall. Struggling with holding onto the bars, he still managed a fast time. 12th overall in Pro.


Josh Maurer is also coming off several injuries sustained last year. Seen here in one of the off-camber, tight corners. Still a great time, 13th overall in Pro.


John Hauer took the win in the Pro class, choosing to ride his 6" travel bike opposed to a downhill bike appeared to be a smart choice.


Co-founder Scott Orehek barely missed the box in the expert 19-34 class. Seen here he is taking the fast line off the log jump which set riders up perfectly for the turn that would follow.


No knee pads, no problem Mike Amaral looked fast all day on the rutted course. A 4th place on the day secured some valuable points for later on in the series when it starts to tighten up.


Patrick Tidd brought the whole family out again for a day of racing. Always a threat in the expert 45-54 class, he pulled off a 2nd place, just three seconds behind 1st. Daughter Ruby and son Elias also jumped on their bikes and decided to race, both having a great time.


Founder Jimmy Amaral took his Intense 951 and made it exceptionally fast for racing at Toro. Dropping even more pounds off an already lightweight bike, he secured a 4th place in pro, just a few seconds off the top spot. The series is still early.


Special thanks to Rick Rasmussen for the photos.

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