Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1366987
Rocket Raceway located in Three Springs, Pennsylva- nia is once again the site of the season opener and the first chance to test the new format. A er last year's rescheduled event, which pushed Rocket's date into the fall, our gracious host Mark Carlson was hard at work harves ng a swath of marketable mber from the property. This complicated the work of trail bosses Mike Zydbak and Dave K., but with the help of a generous group of volunteers, they were able to extract the best of last year's course and connect it to some newly created trail to navigate the perimeter of the clear-cut area with li le, if any, degrada on in the experience. With nearly universal praise for last year's course and the excitement of the first green flag of the year, the threat of rain was doing li le to dampen any spirits heading into Sunday's event. However, the weather turned out to be more than a threat as a soaking rain set into the area on Saturday and only began to retreat as par cipants lined up for registra on Sunday. While the course is known to drain rela vely well, the absence of a sight lap would make the true impact of the precipita on a mystery un l compe - tors took the green flag. The good: As is typical for the Rocket Raceway property, the course layout is wonderful and takes full advantage of the eleva on changes, valleys, ght forest single track, and open flowing two-track. The bad: The rain preceding the event was not to be denied. Its impact was no ceable immediately and condi ons degraded as the races progressed. By the midpoint of race three, there was some improve- ment in upper areas, but the damage had already been done. A small por on of grass track had turned into a 50-foot-wide quagmire akin to a scene from Blackwater highlights from days past. A large uphill near the star ng area was the site of several lap one bo lenecks as even the alternate lines turned into ru ed slop. Low lying areas re- gressed into single-lane, footpeg-depth ruts filled with water and ever further exposed roots. As the footpegs grew higher from the ground in later races, the ruts got deeper. Tight single-track o en became a slot car track. Not to belabor the condi ons as there is li le you can do to control nature, but there is no doubt that success on this day was as much about survival as it was speed. As is habit for the Mid-Atlan c's great group of par cipants, everyone made the best of the hand dealt, and more than one instance of altruism was noted on the course as hands were lent to extricate fellow compe tors from undesirable situa ons. Challenging? Sure, but s ll a great way to spend your Sunday. Race One (Vintage) Fi y riders lined up to take on the first race of 2021, and it took li le me for Brian Grove to demonstrate that he intends to be the man to beat in the inau- gural AA class season. Although Josh Zerance, also running in AA, kept Brian honest by keeping him in sight throughout the race, Brian's Husqvarna would eventually open a one-minute lead on the Can-Am of Zerance to take the overall win. Lee Hickok rounded out the podium while also taking the Vintage 200 Expert class win. Josh Horvath put in a strong ride on his Yamaha to take seventh overall, top intermediate, and the Vintage 200 class win over the Hodaka of Grant Reichart and first- me Mid-Atlan c compe tor Sylas Merrell. Merrell held the lead early on before sliding to a respectable third place.