STEVE LEIVAN
2012 RACE REPORT
WHAT/WHERE/WHEN: Round 4 National Enduro; Westpoint, TN; April 22
MY BIKE: KTM 250 XC
HOW IT ENDED: 1st +30 “A” – 8th Overall “A” – 28th Overall
BEFORE THE START: It has been six or seven weeks since the last National Enduro so I was excited to get back after it this week in Tennessee. I’ve been to the “Rad Dad” a couple of times before so I kind of knew what to expect as far as terrain goes.
Word was out that it had been pretty a bit dry, so it seemed like a good thing when it started to rain during the night Friday. The only downside was that it was pretty damn cool on Saturday, which kept us all wearing jackets and sweatshirts to stay warm.
Race day was warmer and pretty much primo for riding. This week, I was much more fortunate in getting a “good” row and ended up on 25 with Todd Corwin, Caleb Haynes, and some flake with a bunch of National titles, that some refer to as “Junior”. That’s really all I know about the guy.
THE RACE: We had a two mile warm-up to the first test section and I rode pretty hard through there to get the blood pumping and try to get loosened up. The trail was in really good shape but the ground there is really hard and with the rain on Friday night, it was quite slippery. But I will take that kind of slippery over loose-rock slippery any day.
The first couple of tests seemed to be the tighter ones of the day to me and I felt more at home in there. I wasn’t totally comfortable with how hard the ground was or the lack of traction in places, but I rode within my means and felt pretty good.
The further into the day we went, it seemed like the quicker paced the sections got. We ran through some grass track kind of stuff with small pine trees and I didn’t feel good in there. It seemed like I was having trouble reading the trail, so I backed it down a bit and made the best of it.
The final test of the day had some really slippery stuff and some really fast stuff. I hadn’t fallen all day so by the time I got there, that was still my goal. In the end I accomplished just that.
When we rode back to camp, I looked at the scores that were posted after three sections and I had won each test. That surprised me, since I didn’t feel especially fast. I just tried to be smooth, consistent, and not over-ride the terrain. As the scores continued to come in, I was still on top and ended up winning every section.
THOUGHTS & OBSERVATIONS: For sure, I was glad to get a victory and finish where I feel like I should. My day was steady and for the most part, smooth. If I can do that when I’m not really diggin’ the terrain, then I consider that a good day. If I can also win, that’s a bonus.
Thanks to my dad for chasing me around and having some snacks for me throughout the day. The M&M’s and Pepsi hit the spot!
THE NEXT WHAT/WHERE/WHEN:Round 5 National Enduro; Louisiana, May 6
THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!
SPONSOR LIST –HELPING ME MAKE IT HAPPEN
KTM NORTH AMERICA
ARAI :: BULLET PROOF DESIGNS
CLOCKWORK :: DUNLOP :: ENDURO ENGINEERING
EVS :: FAH-Q ::FLY
FREEDOM CYCLES :: LEOVINCE
NGK SPARK PLUGS :: NICHOLS ENTERPRISE
PIVOT WORKS :: PROUD SIS
RACE TECH SUSPENSION :: RENTHAL
SILKOLENE :: TSUBAKI :: VERTEX