Seasons Greetings from SoCal Endurance
Nov 14th,2008 race report
From the staff here at SoCal We’d like to thank all who have supported our 2008 season. We have grown into one of the premier race destinations on the West Coast. This is due in part to you, the racers and teams, who support our races. We truly appreciate your dedication and motivation for SoCal Endurance Racing!
We closed out our year with the biggest event to date. The “12 Hours Of Temecula” November 15th, 2008 event was awesome. With over 200 Teams competing for the overall titles, this race was off the hook! The competition was amazing as the 12 hour whirlwind progressed during the course of the race! Racers were digging deep while pit crews were busy fixing flats and filling hungry bellies. The vibe at the race was a good mix of grassroots relaxation and a healthy dose of racing intensity. There wasn’t a moment on the course where a passing rider wouldn’t smile or encourage another racer. Usually when a racer got a flat or mechanical everyone who passed asked if they needed anything. I love to see this type of attitude at our venues. It truly is what racing and making memories is all about. After all none of us do this for a living. It is something we do to test our selves and to make sure we are still alive and kicking.
The November race saw the greatest variety of racers to date. We had a handful of Junior racers out doing the solo thing. Keep in mind these kids are the future of mountain biking. They range in ages between 12-16 years old. I couldn’t even imagine riding my bike for 12 hours when I was that age. The eventual winner of the day was Big Bears own Casey Williams. At 15 years young Casey will be a phenomenal force to be reckoned with, as he gets older. Casey turned 8 laps with time to spare! My hat goes off to all the junior racers and their families for the great efforts! Also a special congrats to Willie Mcclure from Team Mata who took the overall solo Junior title for 2008! Great Job guys!
One of the best races of the day happened in the Mens Pro solo division. Endurance racing Newbie and Super Bike Super star Ben Bostrum took the days win with a 15 minute lead over local hero Lucas Wiens representing Wiens Family Winery. Brian Bennet and James Koch took 3rd and 4th while being only half hour behind! These guys battled for 11 laps all day long. Most of the laps were sub hour and super fast!
For the Womens Pro Solo Division the excitement of the day was provided by 2 local favorites. Allison Mann and Shalyn Gates had a great battle going and fought it out the whole race long. In the end after a grueling 10 laps, Allison took the win with Shalyn in second separated by 25 minutes. In third place was Mandy Rocher with 9 laps and Terri Whalberg taking 4th with 7 laps. It is great to see so many fast ladies coming out to compete. It really shows how womens mountain bike racing is growing! Great job ladies!
