Welcome to the second edition of Mid Week Brush-Up. I took some time off from the column, mostly because the races were at Mid 7’s local venue. As some of you may already know, we are heavily involved in the races just outside of Denmark, so we don’t always have a ton of extra time when the races are in town. Last weekend wasn’t much different, but I did make an effort to watch some racing and take a few pics along the way. Once again we had really nice weather both Saturday and Sunday, which was a welcomed change from the rain we had most of the week. Practice started a little later then expected and the track seemed to start to dry out quickly.

The first class to leave the gate was 125 JR. I’m not to sure if Tyler Skodras pulled the holeshot, but he was out front quickly and won both motos. In the first moto Jacob Vaness finished in the runner up spot with David Watzka, Kyle Hameister and AJ Meidl rounding out the top 5. In the second moto Hameister was able to finish behind Skodras, with Vaness dropping to 4th. Both Watzka and Meidl doubled up on their first moto finishes.

Unlimited A started out with Tommy Falk from Ride Extreme Sports, out front and charging hard. He made a few mistakes and a few laps later was being shuffled towards the back of the pack. Dylan Koth had some work to do after a not so great jump off the line and soon found himself battling with Brian Collins for the lead. Koth was able to get around and secure the moto win. The second moto was much of the same except Collins was out front early and Dylan Koth making his way to the front once again Jesse Koth went down hard in the front section of the track, effectively ending his day and from what I can gather maybe his season, after breaking his collar bone in three places. Hope you heal up quick Jesse.

In the competitive Vet A class, Karter Busse was able to win both motos by what seemed like pretty big margins. Sports & Competition’s own Chris Junkans charged to second in moto one, but could only muster a fifth the second time out for 3rd O/A. Jason Warner rode smooth and consistent for 3-2 moto finishes and a solid 2nd O/A. One note I would like to make, is in the second moto Busse ended up catching and passing his employee Tommy Falk, who had taken off on the first gate drop with Unlimited A. I know Falk doesn’t ride much and did not look to be pushing the whole moto, but I’m betting Karter doesn’t let him forget that anytime soon.

In mini action, Brandon Holmes used a 2-1 to edge out Jamison Duclos’ 1-2 in Mini Jr. I had the opportunity to watch both of these young whippersnappers down at the Azzie season opener and they are both on the gas. I can’t wait to see some more from both of these kids. Holmes was also able to sweep both outings in the Mini 65 class with Tyler Carpio going 2-2. The women’s class was dominated by Kirsten Raemisch, who caught and passed all of the +50 riders in moto 1. Brittany Lemke rode solid all day and finished with a duece - duece. The only other classes I can remember are 250 B and Open B and there is a reason for that...Josh Philbrick. This young man is on top of his game right now and nothing seems to be able to derail him. He won all four B motos. A few looked effortless, which brings me to why I remembered his dominance. District 16 has been pretty inadequate at moving people up to the next class for whatever reason. Some say I don’t ride during the week, or I’m trying for Loretta’s, or even I can’t run up front in A class, so I want to go back to B. I’d just like to point out that if Philbrick doesn’t go to Loretta’s, it’s a big waste of time to stay in B, when you win every local moto by 15+ seconds. I’m not trying to hate on the kid because I’m almost positive Loretta’s is the reason he is still in B class, I just would like to see him where he belongs, in A class.

That’s all for now on the race report side of things. I’d like to finish up by saying thank you to Anschutz Motorsports for vending and supporting the club, as well as thanks to Tom Nielson and Tucker Rocky for supplying us with prizes to give out. They were well received by all. I’d also like to thank Mike from Rock River and Yamaha for supporting the Triplecross Series. Lastly, but certainly not the least important, thank you to all the workers who made the event possible and to all the riders, with out your support, we wouldn’t be racing at all. Hope to see everyone in a few weeks at the next Triplecross race. - JT

Welcome to a new feature here at mid7media.com, the mid week brush-up. In coming weeks we will be dissecting what we saw at the previous events, that we attended, as well as, previewing the following weekend’s events. This edition of brush-up will be a little shorter and more vague than the rest. Due to my lack of note taking and total disregard for the results after the event.

Over 600 entrants flocked to Aztalan Cycle Park in Lake Mills, WI on April 11th for the first time in 2010. The club and track crew did a beautiful job prepping the track and dealing with some precipitation during the week and had the Azzie facility looking great. Quite a few updates had been made to the historic track. The most noticeable being, a left - right sweeper off the starting line that had many riders praising the change. Other changes included some widening in spots and some corner jumps to create multiple choices in some one lined sections.

Practice started relatively on time, as the crew took a few extra minutes to prep the track. Standing on the side of the track, you could quickly see the new changes going into effect, as riders were side by side in nearly every corner during most of the practice sessions. Towards the end of practice a rider went down in the back section of the track, shortly after the big left hand sand sweeper, and he looked to be hurt pretty bad. Practice for the minis and women, was held up just a bit while the moto medics tended to the downed rider. I later found out, that he was in shoulder surgery by about midway through the second set of motos and would like to wish him a quick recovery...I just wish I could remember his name.

On to the racing. Peewee’s started things off on the abbreviated track up near the barn followed by 125 Jr. The new start seemed pretty even right from the get go. Although, it did seem that most of the holeshots came from the right side of the dog house, some where near the middle. When the first A class took off the line, Sam Long pulled the holeshot and lead to the finish with Scott Zont following him across the line. Long followed it up in moto 2 of Unlimited A with another holeshot and win.

In some other classes riders that stood out were, #519 in Supermini. All I know is his last name was Nagy, and he pulled both holeshots and pulled out to big leads in both motos. The style and consistency this kid rode with really impressed me. Watch out for him in future years. Brandon Holmes also impressed with very strong rides in Mini Jr. and the 65 class. If I remember correctly, he won both 65 motos and chased Jamison Duclos all the way to the flag in the 1st Mini Jr. moto. The second moto was shaping up to be a great race, but Holmes made a mistake and allowed Duclos the moto win and the overall sweep.

We’re getting near the end of my recap, so here’s the rest of the notables from the days events. Matt Maier won both motos of +25 A handily, while Greg Hochmuth charged from the back in moto 2 after a fall, to secure second overall. Our own Aaron Stroebel over came a poor start in moto 1 for 8-5 moto finishes and ended the day 5th O/A. Matthew Menzer won at least one Open A moto, if not both. While Sam Long and James Garret split the moto wins in 250 A. In 250 B Cody Frederick was up front in both motos and Brandon Pope was clearly the class of the field in Sportsmen B/C. Also, Alex Williams showed major improvements from last season in 250 C2 and Open C. Even leading the second 250 C2 moto for a short time, before finishing 2nd or 3rd in the moto. Keep it up Alex!

That’s it for the Aztalan recap, now on to the Denmark preview. Sports & Competition is hosting the first round of the 2010 Triplecross series on Sunday, April 18th. The club hosted an open practice last Saturday to allow riders to check out the track before the race. Denmark is similar to Azzie in soil, with most of it being hardpacked and the occassional sand section. A few updates were made to the track, to mix up the course a little and the weather looks like it will be cooperating. Visit DenmarkMx.com for directions, photos, or general information.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out mid7media.com later this week for photos and video from Aztalan and the Denmark open practice. - JT