Tyler Hamrick Race Report - Rounds 1 and 2
In his first A class National event, Tyler Hamrick set his goals high in hopes of showing that he has what it takes to be up front.
In his first 450A moto, Tyler came out of the holeshot around eighth place and made some quick passes up to fourth by the end of the first lap. Trying to make a pass before the white flag waved, he caught himself overshooting a jump, causing his kill switch to pull out leaving him in last by the time he got his bike started.
In his Production A moto, Tyler wanted to redeem himself and make a point after the first moto. He did just that coming second out of the holeshot and moved into first before the lap was over. It was smooth sailing after that as Hamrick went on to take the moto 1 win.
Sunday, for the second moto of 450A, Tyler found himself behind Dalton Millican, the moto winner. After three laps the two had pulled away from the rest of the field until Tyler made another rookie mistake sending himself over the handlebars.
After a rough start in the 450A class, Tyler's main focus was getting to the podium for Production A. Tyler came out of the holeshot again right behind Dalton Millican and stuck to him knowing that finishing second would get him the overall. He rode smart and up onto the podium for his first A class win.
"My first weekend running A went better than I anticipated. My dad had my bike set up great so I knew if I could get some good holeshots, I would have a chance at getting on the podium", Hamrick said.
After a good round one in Washington, Ga., Tyler had the confidence to keep his Rage ATV powered Honda out front. The track was looking good for the first Production A moto, as Tyler came out second in the long start up the hill and made a pass for first at the end of lap one, but he had some company. After swapping positions back and forth with Brent Sellers and Wes Holifield, it was a race to the finish. Tyler came out on top as the checkered flag flew and an awesome start to the weekend.
Hamrick says, "That was one of the most intense races he has ever been in. It was crazy out there, I kind of just played it cool waiting for my chance and that's what I did to get the win."
Tyler has picked up the College Boy 16-24 class to get more seat time before he makes his jump into the Pro Am Unlimited class. He ended up first out of the holeshot and had a clear sight to his second moto win of the day. Casing the triple sent his seat flying and he had to ride the rest of the race without it. That didn't stop him, though, as he pushed hard to the finish for the win.
The final moto of the day was the 450A class. A bad holeshot put him in the back of the pack but he still managed a third when the checkers fell.
The start of moto two in Production A started just like he wanted. Tyler and Millican pulled away from the pack, battling hard until the last lap when Tyler made his move into first. Going 1-1 sent him to the podium again for the number one spot of Production A.
"After the holeshot, I knew I had to make a pass if I wanted the overall. It was an awesome race and I'm sure there will be many more like this to come this season", says Hamrick.
College Boy was the next moto of the day and Tyler, yet again, put his Honda on the podium going 1-1 for the weekend.
In the second moto of 450A, Tyler came out strong and worked his way up to 2nd, taking 2nd overall for the weekend.
Hamrick said, "This has been the best weekend I've had and I couldn't ask for more. I can't wait for Ballance and hopefully end up with another great weekend."
Tyler would like to thank all of his sponsors who have helped him thus far in the 2011 season:
Rage ATV, ATV Fourplay, Hoosier Racing Tire, DWT, Spastic Designs, Meyer Coating, Dan of Generation X ATV, Ray Gollans Honda, Larry Miner of Weekend Warrior Motorsports, Fox Racing Shox, Precision Racing Products, One Industries, Jake Schlosser of Frontline Industries, RPM, Spy Optics, The Vechery Family and Mom & Dad.
