2010 XDL Championship Series
Round 2 - Havasu 95 Speedway
’08 CHAMPION NICK BROCHA STAGES COMEBACK; BMW RIDER CHRIS MCNEIL TAKES AIM AT CHAMPIONSHIP
By Randy Grube
Photos By David Avila
The 2010 return of the XDL Championship Series to Lake Havasu City marked one of the most exciting competition weekends in several seasons. For once the weather decided to cooperate, providing back-to-back days in the mid 80s with occasional bursts of wind. The Friday FMF Cup qualifying session gave an early indication of things to come when Nick “Apex” Brocha took the top spot with a 75 point run that was 6.5 points higher than second place Cali Alliance rider Rick Hart. It seemed Brocha was back to his winning ways of 2008, but not without overcoming a lot of adversity in the process. Earlier in the week Brocha had to rebuild his bike due to a mechanical issue and then he opted to help his Japanese teammates Shinsuke Kinoshita and Hiroyuki Ogawa rebuild their bikes not once, but twice due to severe mechanical issues. All of which cost him valuable practice time. And if the first run was any indication, it appears it would cost him a shot at the win. Brocha crashed out, recording a measly 45.5 and placing him at the bottom of the field. But the new scoring system of three 2-minute runs with one throw away gives the riders some breathing room and allows for a lot of strategy to come into play. Generally, competitors try to lay down a solid baseline run in the first attempt, back it up in run two and then give themselves a chance to go for broke in run three. For Brocha that wasn’t an option. His second run scored 73.5, which put him right back in contention for the lead, but only if he could back it up one more time. Meanwhile top contenders like Bill Dixon and Chris McNeil had already booked two solid runs and could afford to gamble on the last attempt. So for Brocha it came down to a choice in strategy. Stated a nervous Nick Brocha before his final run: “My first run put me behind the eight ball. So now I need to decide whether I should go for broke to win it all or to play it safe and go for a podium so I am guaranteed some money.” In the end he picked a happy medium and rode to a 72-point run that put him over the top by 2 points and gave him his first win since 2008.
Meanwhile Bill Dixon suffered the reverse fate, crashing in his third run, resulting in a DNF. Dixon tends to get a slower start than some other riders and goes big in his second run. Just like at Daytona, Dixon’s middle run netted the highest score of the weekend with a very high 76 point score. That put him in the lead after two runs and gave him the opportunity to go for broke in run three. Which he did but it cost him. Two-thirds of the way through a very difficult and potentially winning run, his kickstand came down accidentally, hitting the ground and causing Bill to high-side as he rotated left on his Yamaha. The impact broke his handle bar and it was game over. Still, Dixon had enough in the bank to take second. And overall he had an excellent weekend rounded out by his first-ever win in the K&N Circle Challenge. Stated an elated Dixon after his win: “I feel great. I’m a bit sore from my crash but winning K&N was the highlight of my weekend. Nobody does sit down circles and I’ve been talking trash to everybody because I practiced a lot and I knew I could win if I could get it to lock in. I’ve never even been in the K&N Circle Challenge Finals. I’m super excited.” In a sign of how mind games area starting to play a bigger part in the strategy of the sport, Dixon did a high-speed drift past the hot pits after he beat Brocha in the K&N Circle Challenge Finals, taunting fellow competitors and holding up the number one.
Another competitor returning to his number one ways at Havasu was BMW rider Chris “Teach” McNeil. His 180hp BMW 1000RR in combination with his “on the edge” style gave the crowds a thrill and had them holding their breath for every run. “ The point of me riding a motorcycle is to make you think I’m gonna crash. And not. The speed, the danger, the smoke. That’s me. I love it.” But excitement aside. McNeil put himself in position to once again content for the championship: “Havasu was the determination of my championship hopes. I already took my bye at Daytona so I had to do well. My third place here puts me right back in the hunt. Teach is back.”
Outside of FMF Cup and the K&N Circle Challenge, Dan Jackson from Olathe, Kansas swept the top spots in Aprilia All Star Challenge, Speed & Strength Sickest Trick and Freestyle Burnout. The Aprilia All Star Challenge was a hotly contested battle with only 1.6 seconds separating Jackson winning time of 23.31 from Brian Bubash in second and Bill Dixon in third. Dan won the Speed & Strength Sickest Trick contest over Tony Carbajal with wide spreader circles that went from edge to edge.
Sartso Women’s Cup saw Texas competitor Brandy Valdez qualifying for the national finals in Indy.
Round 3 of the XDL Championship Series takes place May 14 & 15 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, TN.
FMF Cup
1st Nick Brocha 145.5
2nd Bill Dixon 143.5
3rd Chris McNeil 141.5
4th Brian Bubash 130.5
5th Rick Hart 129
Aprilia All Star Challenge
1st Dan Jackson 23.31 sec.
2nd Brian Bubash 24.41 sec.
3rd Bill Dixon 24.63 sec.
Sartso Women's Cup
1st Brandy Valdez Qualified for Indy
K&N Circle Challenge
1st Bill Dixon
2nd Nick Brocha
3rd Lin Eshalom
Speed and Strength Sickest Trick
1st Dan Jackson – Wide Spreader Circles 25
2nd Tony Carbajal – One-Handed Rev Limter Death Spin 18
3rd Kyle Rapport – Low Lean Angle Circle 18
Freestyle Burnout
1st Dan Jackson 25
2nd Nick Hernandez 23
3rd Randy Callicoat 22
Team Battle
1st Death Squad - Eshlom, Brocha, Kinoshita, Vigil 26
2nd Death Squad Killers – Jackson, McNeil, Bubash, Dryden, Dixon 22
3rd Wishing On A Star - Flores, Khalsa, O’Leary 15
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