Charlotte

People often ask me what Bizzarro “is”? Our team effort at the ABA Tar Heel National in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 23^rd and 24^th was a great example of what Bizzarro “is”. Network, just one word sums up the anomaly that is Bizzarro Racing. It’s a network of friends, friends that equate into resources and support for one another. Over the years our network has extended south to the North Carolina area, and this years ABA national fit well into our schedule.

When the dust cleared Intense/Bizzarro/JRA Cycles team sheets had finished a respectable 3^rd each day of the two-day event. Although we made the needed adjustments to improve our score from a 167 on day one to a 178 (really a 182, see my rant below) on day two, it was not enough to pick up a better finish. Normally I would be disappointed with 3^rd at an East Coast ABA National, but considering the scores of the each of the top three teams at such a small national, 3^rd was very respectable.

Team riders that highlighted the racing action in Charlotte were led by Austin Loebe’s domination of the 14 expert classes with wins both days. This class was the cause of some controversy, with a rider being mysteriously added to the class on day 2, but a repost never happening. This rider was the 15^th rider in the class, which by rule makes a semi qualifier, adds 4 more team bonus points and more rider national points. This was very interesting, but par for the course in my opinion, as I am not a big fan of either sanction. I guess when all you care about is your business making money the “little” details don’t matter, and that showed with this decision making process in Charlotte.

Austin Loebe and his ABA "picture of the day" from Charlotte

Anyways back to our team report, Chris Meaker calls Hornet’s Nest home, or the Nest as the locals call it. One day one a bad gate in the main made for an intense lap of 36 and over racing action, with Meaker using his HTA to pull a 2^nd. On day 2 there would be no mistakes by Chris and he dominated the main event from start to finish. Look for Chris on his new Intense Podium frame this week.

I mentioned “networking” and Will Murray is a prime example of our networking strategy. Will rode for Bizzarro a couple of nationals last season and after a great day on Saturday it was a perfect fit for both to re-add him to the 2007 roster. Although the pro class dropped 2 riders and 4 team points on Sunday Will still dominated all but one rider, improving from a 3^rd on day 1 to a 2^nd on day 2.

Networking also brought another new rider tot the Bizzarro team. Although not yet eligible for the team sheet due to switching rosters mid season, Alex Frey scored a pair of seconds on day 2 in 13 expert and 13-14 open riding his Intense Sabot Expert XL.

One of the team riders making the trek up from the oppressive Florida summer humidity was Ace Savarese. Ace pulled a 3^rd in 13x one day one, after a team sheet adjustment scored another 2^nd in 13 cruiser on day two to complete the 4 scores on Sunday’s team sheet.

Michele Peters made the trip up with her brother MJ and ran the team sheets for the weekend, also picking up a pair of 4^th place finishes behind teammate Tracey Crossen in Ladies cruiser.

Congratulations to team rider Mike Guerin on the move up to Expert on day two. He and his brother Matt attended the Hornet’s Nest race and Mike showed no signs of fear making both the expert and open mains on his first attempt.

Up next for the team is the NBL’s Constitution Classic National in Trumbull, CT on July 7^th and 8^th. Followed immediately by our 4^th annual summer camp at Bethel Supercross in Bethel, CT.

Bizzarro would like to thank Intense Bikes and JRA Cycles of Medford, Massachusetts for their support in our ABA factory team effort. Along with our great sponsors Cane Creek, Finish Line, Fly, KMC, ODI, Rennen, Sinz, THE, Thomson and Vigor.

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