I lower my goggles and kick start my bike as the gate is raised. I slide my crotch against the gas tank and pulled the clutch in and up shift into second gear. My right hand pulls the throttle back and the 450cc engine gently comes to a roar. The gate drops and all dirt and hell breaks loose and the 12 of us on the line battle for the whole shot.

We are at AV MotoPlex in Antelope Valley California and the dirt is groomed to perfection for us. There was no shortage of love put into this track and it shows as I rip up practice lap after practice lap with the rest of my team. The sun was shining and it was just cold enough to create a fresh solitude on the track for the bikes to shatter and wake every rider’s inner beast for race day.

This is the first time my whole team has raced together and I can feel the love and desire to win from all of them. Cody Leibert racing 450 beginner class, Nick Hyatt racing 250 beginner class, Jade MacDonald riding the 250 novice class and me riding the 450 beginner class meant only one thing: We had to race each other for the podium. To top the day off, Jade, Cody and I were also racing the open class. The way AV Motoplex works is every race breaks down into two five lap races and your score counts from both races for the day to add up to an overall score. Oh ya, did I mention that this was Cody, Nick and my first race ever?

My starts out the gates were bad all day and I had to work from the back to play catch up. I don’t know what it was; maybe my nerve or maybe my bald rear tire, but I could not get a good start for the life of me. Either way I had targets in my vision now and I was determined to catch up and pass them one rider at a time. I kept my lines all day and worked my way past everybody to get to the rest of my teammates. The true battle on the track was between my 20 year old brother and me. I came around the corner in race 3 and what do I see? My brother on the ground hugging the dirt; what a weird thing to do Cody. That was my chance to pull away from Nick Hyatt as I took the inside line and he went wide. I was gone and felling great now. I just had to hold my speed and not go down. My fingers were going numb and my forearms were shot and the only time to rest was in the air as I shook my arms out and gave it everything I had to finish. I finished third that race and Nick took fourth with Cody minutes behind us. The true battle came at the end of the day for Cody and me. In the final race Cody, Jade and I took the line for the open class. Once again Cody had a great start and Jade was right behind him but I was determined to catch up, and in lap 2 I had my brother in my sight again. We battled for what seemed forever going off jumps the same time and landing on the gas for fear of losing to each other. Cody is a much better rider than me but I had an advantage; I wanted it more and I was no rookie to competing tired. I think that’s what made the difference at the end of the day; I just wanted it more. I have no idea what Jade was doing other than winning and making the rest of look slow. Thanks bud.

I could not have been happier with my teammates for the day. I want to give a special thanks to our new teammate Jade MacDonald for taking the time to teach my brother and I how to race. I want to give a special thanks to Ryan Wilson and Kevin Tusi for working on the bikes and being a great pit crew.

Thanks to all our friends and family for the support and for that I reward you with a podium finish. I finished third in the 450 class and second in the open class. All of my teammates gave it everything they had and it showed in their performance for the day. Great job guys

Overall, I loved the track and I recommend this race series for everyone getting in the race game or already in it. The landings were forgiving and the owner Robert put a lot of love in this track to make it fun for all levels.

Xtreme Scale: 3 Fun Scale: 5

Story by Jamie Leibert

Video by Cody Leibert

Pictures by Ryan Wilson and Sandra Zinovyev

Race 1 250/450 Jade MacDonald 2, Cody Leibert 3, Jamie Leibert 4 Nick Hyatt 5

Race 2 Open Jade MacDonald 1 Jamie Leibert 2 Cody Leibert 3

Race 3 250/450 Jade MacDonald 2 Jamie Leibert 3 Nick Hyatt 4 Cody Leibert 6

Race 4 Open Jade MacDonald 1 Jamie Leibert 2 Cody Leibert 3

Overall 250/450

Jade MacDonald 2

Jamie Leibert 3

Overall Open

Jade MacDonald 1

Jamie Leibert 2

Cody Leibert 3