Also on the XC2 line as the green flag waved, Simon Johnson reacted quickly and his KTM 250 XC-F started fast as he pulled the holeshot! Heading out into the woods, Johnson was able to get a first hand look at the speed the lead pack carries on lap one. Johnson fell back from that lead pack a bit while he struggled to find the necessary speed on this fast pace course and found himself rounding out the top ten in his class. Johnson laid down very consistent lap times as he battled back and forth with his surrounding competition. “The speed just wasn’t there this weekend, but I’m happy to at least be where I was.” Johnson stated. After 3 hours of racing Simon crossed the finish line 11th XC2 and 19th overall, and noted “Result wise I’m not so happy about how the year is going. But on the other hand I’m learning so much each round and gaining valuable experience. I’m excited to keep on learning and building myself with my team.”

Lining up in the WXC class, Taylor Johnston got a good jump off the line and found herself in the middle of the pack as they headed off into the woods. As lap one rounded out and the racers began to make moves and find a groove on the course, Taylor checked in sitting in 12th place Johnston struggled to find comfort in the speed the track demanded as the race progressed but constantly put on lap times to hold her current position. Johnston added “I kind of found my pace pretty quickly and couldn’t seem to go any faster” she continued “I was just in survival mode.” After 2 hours of racing Taylor ended the day 12th WXC. Johnston went on to talk about her goals of improving areas of weakness and stated  “Purposeful practice is really a science, I’m learning, and it needs to be calculated and meaningful in order to optimize improvements.”

In the 150A class, Brayden Nolette ripped his small bore off the line and headed into turn one sitting 3rd in class. With close racing throughout lap one, Nolette checked in 3rd in class with the top 2 riders just ahead of him. While struggling with arm pump the first two laps Brayden was able to keep with the lead pack and even make his way into 2nd place on the second lap. After shaking off the arm pump Nolette put his head down, he began hitting his marks and putting down fast laps while also taking over the lead at the race halfway point. Throughout the rest of the 3 hours Nolette stayed smooth and ran away with the lead. By the time the checkered flag waved Brayden took the 150A win with an over 6 minute lead and 25th overall. Nolette has taking advantage of all the good and bad the races bring in order to become a better race as he started “Every race is more to learn from so all I can do is my best and learn from my mistakes."