Getting some perspective

Most of us spent the weekend pondering why it is that we love RallyMoto. Maybe it's because Black River Stages represents the last rally of the year. Maybe it's because we were riding G450 X's for the very first time. Or maybe it's something all together different...because Friday night was not a night to love.

Just ask Hensley Evans. She climbed on her R1150 GS, rode out of the first time control and into the record books as the first ever female RallyMoto competitor. Her achievement should have been rewarded with warm evening light and a colorful sunset. But like many famous firsts, the experience didn't live up to the expectation.

The night was dark, the rain steady and it didn't help that she was navigating a machine weighing roughly the same as a cast iron woodstove. Instead of a ring of roses, Hensley's achievement was rewarded with a wet collar. But she had the best cheering section a RallyMoto mom could ask for and the respect of an entire field of competitors.

Mother nature ruled with a firm hand on Friday as the riders persevered six punishing stages from 5 pm to midnight. Lighting configurations on the rally bikes ranged from elementary to elaborate, but what would have truly made a difference in performance would have been helmet-mounted windshield wipers and a hot air defrost system for visors. Given the amount of engineering that riders have put into the light set ups, a solution probably isn't too far off.

After tolerating darkness for the first six stages, the riders didn't much care what Saturday's weather would bring. With the first evidence of daylight, everyone's optimism had been restored. The roads for Saturday's stages delivered the type of terrain that had hooked so many first-time RallyMoto riders on the sport at this event in 2007. Joe Warner, a rookie at Black River last year, committed all of his vacation days in 2008 to compete in every RallyMoto event, the Pike's Peak International Hillclimb and the Burke Mountain hillclimb on his HP2. Joe's dedication paid off with a victory in the Production 1 class this weekend.

Fast straights, long sweepers and an abundance of "yumps" lured a strong crowd of fans to Saturday's stages with hopes of seeing something spectacular. The drivers and riders delivered, but perhaps none more so than TJ Jarret, whose separation from his HP2 near one of the spectator points would have earned him a position in a Wide World of Sports "agony of defeat" promo. TJ (shown below at the start) was fortunate to escape serious injury, but the rally paparazzi will likely make him famous on YouTube and rally forums.

As is usually the case in motorsports competition, luck favored some and not others. Among the fortunate: Andrew Phillips, who put on a show for a rowdy crowd of locals on Friday night when he managed to ride out of a full-speed slide near a spectator area, and Peter Canning, who has made his first return to RallyMoto since last year's Black River Stages. Both Andrew and Peter gave G450 X's a RallyMoto debut and found them to be perfectly suited for the task.

Mechanical problems cast a shadow over a few unlucky riders. The distinctive red and white R100 GSPD belonging to Jason Adams protested underneath a different jockey for this rally: his friend Brian Fehd. (Jason chose to sit out this rally while he prepares to compete with the US team for the International GS Trophy in Tunisia in a couple of weeks.) Atlantic RallyMoto Cup points leader Mark Ely's Aprilia came down with a sniffle on Stage 1 that cost him valuable time and for a few nervous moments threatened to put his Cup title in jeopardy. Going into the Rally, Doug Morrison trailed Ely in the overall standings and a mechanical failure by Ely could have put the title within Doug's grasp. A seasoned competitor, Doug knew that he could only ride his own rally and let the other things sort themselves out. Doug's determined effort earned him first place in Kings with Max Stratton finishing a close second.

Jimmy Doustou endcapped the season with starts at Sandblast and Black River, powering the HP2 to second place in Production 1.

Missing from the HP2 squad this weekend was Mark Albertson, who has earned multiple podiums in Production 1 during previous RallyMoto endeavors. But this weekend, Mark arrived with two new surprises: a new G650 X RallyMoto bike, and his lovely bride Lara. Married on Thursday, the newlyweds kicked off their honeymoon with RallyMoto on Friday and Saturday!

As Mark and Lara begin their new chapter together, this e-Rider closes the book on the 2008 RallyMoto season. In just two short years, the sport of RallyMoto has grown from an idea to a series with over 60 regular competitors and two rallies have even seen more bike entries than cars. We're grateful for the support of regular eRider followers like you and invite anyone with an interest in RallyMoto to join us for the 2009 season beginning this February in South Carolina.

Stage: Goose Pond Out
Rider: Andrew Phillips
Bike: G450 X