Strombergs Cinches Last Chance Qualifer
The idea of a Friday Night Elite Last Chance Qualifier was rumored to be in jeopardy, as plans for the 2009 NBL Grands were in their formative stages. But in the end, it happened, and happened BIG. On exit, everyone we spoke to was over-the-moon excited about the action they just witnessed. And most of the riders thought it was both a great show, and some of the most contentious racing they had seen all year (tomorrow, notwithstanding).
The four laps weren’t exactly a cakewalk, but nearly every frame we shot of Maris Strombergs Friday depicted him in the lead, in command and enroute to inevitable victory for the day— and, the math may show, for the season. The Free Agent-mounted, 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist had all the right moves in a head-to-head battle in the main event with defending NBL Elite Champ Randy Stumpfhauser. In the end, Stumpy was only a fraction of a second off the pace, but it was enough to keep him on the proverbial left step of the podium today. At the stripe it was Strombergs, Stumpy, and Cristian Becerine, with Bubba Harris getting a call from the tower for fourth.
Masters class was so hotly contested, everyone knew the main would be explosive and a great 39 (or so) seconds of BMX racing. Throughout the motos, and into the Semis, it seemed it could be a three-way jump ball between GHP’s John “The Jackal” Purse, Felt’s Joey Albright and Percy “Spiderman” Owens of Profile. In the main, fireworks were flyin, with Jackal and Joey jammin the first turn at warp (with Jason Sherrill down in an unrelated tangle). Through the second and third straights, it stayed the same. The last straight was a manualing drag race with Joey in the lead and John trying to make a move on the outside, pinching off Percy’s line (at least according to some we interviewed after the fact). In the end, it was Albright, Purse and Owens. Passionate people with perfectionist traits tend to be…well…passionate about their pursuits. Thus, there were some cross words exchanged between Purse and Albright when it came time for the podium ceremony…but nothing registering on the richter scale.
SuperEx provided some super-octane action with a stacked-to-the-rafters roster of household names in the mix. While some may have said it was any man’s race, given the depth of comp on the hoof, it was Morphine’s Tyler Faoro who pulled off a clean and “green” move in the first turn to moto his way to the money. Free Agent flier Fausto Endara and Johs Meyers rounded out the podium.
Watchers of Elite Women have learned that, on any given day, anything can happen at any time. After coming unclipped in the first round, Alise Post had sights set on getting to the main, where she would have her shot at Dominique Daniels and the 27 points that separated the two going in to Friday’s race. The moto math panned out, and the Main event saw Alise lead the race handily with 3D a coupla bikes behind her at the stripe. Amanda Geving made out pretty well too, getting the third place points and obviously improving her sixth-going-in standing.
Congrats, as well, to all the UGP Open winners. Check out Friday’s Photo Gallery before you get mentally prepared for the intensity that is Saturday morning, as the NBL Grand National gets a goin from Louisville.
