The TPJ Racing team travelled to Oakland, CA to compete at the fifth round of Monster Energy Supercross.
This week, the TPJ Racing team had the opportunity to give back to the community prior to the event. Dustin Pipes visited theFamily House at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and spent time with ill children and their families. Pipes brought along his Suzuki 450 and let the little kids get a chance to feel what it’s like being behind the bars. Pipes also spent time giving out autographed posters and some of his own personalized and autographed Fly Racing jerseys. The children were delighted to spend time with on of the famous Supercross racers who had come to town to race. We were very humbled by this experience and want to thank Feld Entertainment and Family House for the opportunity.
Unrelenting rain was an obstacle in Oakland. Even as the rain came down, hundreds of fans poured into the Oakland paddock for the pit party. We had our biggest autograph session yet. Fans lined up to meet and get autographs from TPJ Racing riders and get a little shelter from the rain.
In qualifying, the riders faced trouble with the track. The week’s weather made the track tricky, slick and unpredictable. Even some of the most seasoned factory athletes struggled with the conditions. Despite this, all six TPJ Racing athletes qualified for the night show.
Nick Schmidt and Adam Enticknap fought hard to earn passage to the night show. Schmidt made to the main event directly from the semis. Adam narrowly missed a ticket to the main from the semis, but came back strong in the LCQ to earn his spot.
In the main event, Adam was gated furthest on the inside. The bottle neck at the first turn pushed him directly into a tough block, and he struggled to get his bike off it as the rest of the competitors went into the first lap. By the time Adam got his bike off the block, most of the field was gone. But, rather than pull off the track or set himself into cruise control, Adam remounted his bike and charged. He pushed through the race all the way until the finish. The tough conditions and bad luck did not stop him. We are very proud of Adam and his actions this weekend, we are anticipating that he will continue to make great strides.
Schmidt made it out of the first turn unscathed and went on to battle with RCH Suzuki factory rider Jake Weimer for most of the main event. Schmidt would swap places with Weimer several times before settling for 16th overall.
Our other riders had some strokes of bad luck, and some just narrowly missed the main. We are happy to report that the gruesome conditions did not claim any of our riders, and the team is healthy and looking forward to the next round.
We are looking forward to heading back to Texas (the home of Ted Parks) and seeing out local friends and fans at the sixth round in Arlington, TX. We hope to see you there!
TPJ RACING 