TWMX Trans Am
The 2017 Trans Am put on by TWMX went back to Glen Helen raceway for there 3rd year of this awesome event. I have been attending this event since the inaugural event and each year it continues to get better and better. For the 2017 event I think the weather and a Loretta Lynn’s qualifier made for a little bit of a lighter turn out then what the promoter might have wanted but that didn’t stop the team from Glen Helen and TWMX from pulling out all the stops Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Friday was designated for practice for all racers and after practice was finished the TWMX staff hosted a FREE taco dinner and open forum with industry leaders and Ryan Villopoto that went live on Facebook to over 300,000 viewers. There was a lot of valuable information that parents were able to get from industry leaders and their new product. More importantly Ryan Villopoto gives you some valuable information that parents needed to hear about the harsh reality of this sport from RV2. To replay the Facebook Live feed click the below link
https://www.facebook.com/TransWorldMoto/videos/vb.73232503030/10154477629793031/?type=2&theater
Like I said earlier the weather played a tough roll on the event. The rain started coming down at midnight Friday and stopped about 8am Saturday morning. The Glen Helen raceway staff did an amazing job on the prep and had the site laps running by 10am and races starting at 11am. The track was a little bit sloppy but completely race able come the start of the first moto. I was 1st moto in the 450 pro and the 30+ pro classes. I have to say it was an absolute blast! I had a solid third going until just over a lap to go when I went over the bars went I got off line in a rutted section. I fell back to 4th in the 450 pro class but still had a big lead over the Vet Pro racers that were in the same race. The pro’s only had to race on Saturday’s so my next moto was moto 10. I got my bike and person cleaned up the best I could and went to the line hoping for another good moto. I got a solid start coming out 3rd and was in 3rd and looking to make the pass when I shorted a big jump in the middle of the track and damaged my rear wheel so bad that I had to nurse my bike to the finish with two laps to go. I went from a 2nd overall in the 450 pro class to a 3rd, but was still able to win the Vet pro class. I was extremely happy with my riding being so much older then the other pro racers and I was right in the mix.
Why is this event so cool? No hidden costs!! No transponder fees! The TWMX series gives back to you from the moment you get your transponder. Each racer gets an event T-shirt free of charge and a free raffle to get more prizes. The TWMX staff catered dinner Friday with street tacos, Pizza Lunch Saturday and an amazing BBQ dinner Saturday night free of charge. I really get the vibe they want to build an awesome event based on the core Motocross community and not just a race where they take your money and you get 4 laps of racing. The championship trophies built by Nihilo concepts are like no others at any race I have been to it’s a real piece of art that you would hold on to.
The racing was tight in all classes! With a two moto format one moto each day and 15-20 minute motos in all classes it gave all racers plenty of track time. They really concentrated on quality of racing and not a three moto 4 lap moto format. Glen Helen worked their butts off to keep the track the best it could be all three days. We had perfect weather Friday, but Saturday it was wet and Sunday it was Windy and dry so all in all hats off to the Glen Helen staff for giving us the racers a great racetrack.
What could be improved for this event on you ask? I think there are some classes that could be eliminated from the program. I’d like to see some type of a PW50, XR50 class on a small track as the main track is to big for those bikes. The Date of the event needs to be nailed down a little better as each year it’s changed and with some many races these days people need to know about 6 months in advance minimum to put it in there race schedule. A rider’s podium would also be a nice touch right near the exit of the finish line to recognize the moto winners. Nothing can be perfect and these are just things that I’d like to see but I highly recommend putting the TWMX Trans Am on your calendar for 2018.
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