HIGH POINT COUNTRY CLUB – AND THEN THE RAINS CAME: Looking back at the first round of the east coast swing at High Point had some highlights. Specifically, Flo Motorsports backed Coty Schock getting his first top ten motocross finish in the 450 class. The 250 guys are making progress for the most part as well. Max continues his consistent trend of decent finishes to propel himself up the overall leader board.
On the off weekend, training continued at an intense level. The temperatures at ClubMX were locked in at the upper ninety-degree range for the entire time, making the work more difficult but good for training. All the racers had a chance to test their nutrition and hydration programs as they head into Southwick later this week. As we have seen in the past, the heat and humidity of the first summer round can wear out the most fit athletes, all of which can be avoided with proper planning. The team works together off the bike with our nutritionist a fair amount to plan for the weeks ahead in the heat. Sharing information in the group setting proves to be beneficial for all of the riders.
The benefit of a weekend without racing extends to the rest of the team. Having a chance to get work done on the transporter, re-inventory the truck and ultimately have the crew spend some much-needed time with their families. Having extra time at home helps to breathe a second wind into the program and hit the virtual reset button to make a run to the Loretta’s break.
COTY SCHOCK #37: High Point was a wild ride for Coty. In the first moto he did not get the best start but worked his way into the top ten on the first lap. He maintained that position aboard his Flo Motorsports equipped Yamaha for the rest of the race – finishing tenth. Considering the depth of the 450 field, that is a great accomplishment. In the second moto, he got a much better start and just as the gate fell, so did the rain. Light at first and only on part of the track. As the race passed the halfway mark, the rain became more torrential and the red flag was displayed for the safety of the riders, the track workers and the fans. With a bit of confusion, the race was over, and Coty was in the nineth position. Now with moto scores of 10-9, he ended the day with a P9 overall score, a goal that he has been working towards all season. With a career best of nineth and more momentum on his side, he spent much of his time in the off week preparing for Southwick. The sand tracks at ClubMX are ideal for this type of training and the weather has been extremely hot. A mixture of preparations that should suit him and his teammates well coming into Saturday. This effort has been moving him up the SMX rankings as well, now sitting in twenty-third position. Aiming to move into the top twenty is a whole other story.
MAX VOHLAND #92: All things considered, Flo Motorsports athlete Max keeps pounding out motos and finishing near the top ten. His hand brake is still a good story but not an excuse. He has plenty of time on the bike and has managed to be very competitive in all conditions. His fitness has been excellent, leaving only a good holeshot to prove he can run up front. A scan of lap times shows the speed and the promise of better results to come his way. His High Point scores of 13-13 = 12 are not totally indicative of his expectations but Max has the mental capacity to know what needs to change to improve those scores. The off week has been dedicated to a multitude of testing procedures on all aspects of the bike and himself. There is no lack of effort with Max or the team around him to help him accomplish his goals. On the sand track, Max seems to float, letting the bike do the work. That will suit him well this weekend going into Southwick. On the grand scale, Max sits nineth overall in the SMX rankings with room to move up a few more spots going into the finale.
REID TAYLOR #186: “Impressive” as an adjective can be very subjective and in Reid Taylor’s case it applies to an effort in his first race on US soil. High Point is a very difficult track to begin with, add two thirty-minute motos and Reid gave it everything he had for an awesome experience. They say you will never forget your first one, and in Reid’s case, this memory will last a lifetime. At first glance, moto scores of 22-22=25 do not seem that impressive but not racing moto in over a year, on a new Flo Motorsports equipped bike, in a new country on a new track, not getting lapped – let’s just say we were very proud of him. Being from Australia, Reid has headed back home to uphold his visa requirements. Before he left, he simply said: “thank you, can I do more?” Knowing that question was coming, the team put it up for a vote and unanimously decided to give him a second shot in the last three rounds of the regular season. Once he is back on US soil, we will confirm the schedule, but for sure, this kid with all his effort deserves another shot.
ALEX FEDORTSOV #784: A twist of fate – rather twist of the ankle derailed Alex’s plan at High Point. He was excited to return to a familiar track but an incident in qualifying did not allow him to put forth his best effort. There are good things to come from this young rookie.
JETT REYNOLDS #54: Update: Jett has returned to light riding and is making progress. The prognosis looks like a return to racing at Ironman.
Our YouTube series THE ENDLESS SUMMER continues with Episode 4 from High Point. A very good look inside the team and the effort it takes to go racing. Check it out.
→ https://youtu.be/mgA-0KEZC8c?si=R2JXyhKH7dx8vVQ1