LANCASTER, CA

The day began with Over 38 Beginner Will Girod getting the early-morning holeshot. After coming off a fifth-place finish at Hangtown, Girod was not about to fool around with the locals. He won both motos.

"Andrew Holler had passed me twice through the whoop section, and I kept passing him back," Girod said afterward. "We got really close to each other, and I didn't feel he was going to ram me. Holler is a fun and safe rider to race against."

Over 45 Beginner Ruben Muñoz got out in front early and stayed there for five laps, though he was under constant pressure from Carlos Rocha. Muñoz tried to hang on for the last lap, but Rocha was right by his side. Muñoz landed hard and spun out in a big cloud of dust and crashed. Rocha took over the lead and won. Bob Woods finished second.

"They dropped the second gate right away, and I wasn't ready," Woods lamented. "I started in last."

Muñoz was a bit timid in moto two. He raced in third, behind the leader, Lawrence Feldman, who had a fantastic ride going. Wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt, Woods was right there in second place throughout the race, and he made a hard last-lap charge through the whoops on the inside, passing Feldman. Woods must have studied the same line that the club's number-one rider, Franck Valles, had used to make a pass earlier.

"I took it on the inside and then moved to the left near the end of the whoops," said Woods, the overall class winner.

One Over 38 Intermediate rider who loves to jump is Jeff Hamblin (2G, left).

"Jeff has been riding since he was 10 years old, with his mom and dad," said Jeff's wife, Karen. "He joined the club in the summer of 1996, right after he turned 30. He spent the first two seasons as a Novice before moving up to the Intermediate class. In 2008, he got the Ironman award by attending every race. We went to the banquet for the first time in January of 2008, and we're just blown away by how fun it was!"

In 2009, Hamblin decided to get on the board, in order to really get involved and help with statistics and memberships. Currently, Hamblin sits in 12th place, and at every race, he racks up more points. He had been to this track three times for this race to practice. Unfortunately, local favorite boy Brian Larrick showed up and told Hamblin, "You're at my track now."

In the first moto, Hamblin held the lead all the way to the last lap. Larrick started dogging him.

"He was right there," Hamblin recalled, "and my hands got a little numb. He got me in the whoops, passing by me on the right, just like Woods and Valles had done earlier. I tried to stay with him to the finish, but he had it."

In moto two, Larrick gapped Hamblin right off the start. The wind was blowing, so Hamblin used sound judgment and good sense and played it safe. Hamblin finished second overall for the day.

Results

38+ BEG: 1. William Girod; 2. Andrew Haller; 3. Roger King.

38+ NOV: 1. Rod Hecker; 2. Marty Highland; 3. Bob Boals.

38+ INT: 1. Brian Larrick; 2. Jeff Hamblin; 3. Michael Tucker.

38+ EX: 1. John Lombardo; 2. Kon Baur; 3. Franck Valles.

45+ BEG: 1. Bob Woods; 2. Lawrence Feldman; 3. Carlos Rocha; 4. Ruben Muñoz.

45+ NOV: 1. Dan Bartko; 2. Ray Valenzuela; 3. Dan Yearta.

45+ INT: 1. Bob Baron; 2. Chris Cumbo; 3. Tom Emsdorf.

45+ EX: 1. David Fajardo; 2. Rick Aldrich; 3. Bruce Ashmore.

52+ BEG: 1. Pete AanAalst; 2. Bob Gallareto.

52+ NOV: 1. Ben Paris; 2. Tommy Pearl; 3. Steven Landsberg.

SUP NOV: 1. Dan Salesnick; 2. Shane Blanchard; 3. Bob Boals.

SUP INT: 1. Markus Valenzuela; 2. Eric Warrington; 3. Chad Norris.