Noah Holter was competing in the 50 Senior class, and for the second race in a row was able to keep his bike on two wheels for the duration. While he continued to suffer with bad starts, he was able to ride smart and consistent in the field of 12 riders and managed 9/10 finishes for 10th overall. The top-10 finish earned him his first Byron trophy.

It didn't take Holter (and luck) long to race out of last place in the first moto. A Polini (#167) went down early in the first lap, allowing Holter to work his way into 11th. Then Holter took matters into his own hands and passed a Cobra (#155) and a KTM (#92) for ninth.

The rider on the Cobra was pushing hard, but Holter and the KTM rider were able to hold him off. The Cobra then went down while trying to work his way around the KTM and Holter pulled away on the final lap to solidify ninth.

Despite what Dad considered a moto to be proud of, Holter was a little bummed because he was lapped by the leader going under the checkered flag. When it was explained getting lapped doesn't necessarily affect a racer's final results, Holter felt better.

"I hope he lapped me," Holter then said, in what is probably one of the least likely hopes you'll hear at a motocross race.

Holter again was last on the start in the second moto, but made a good race of it. He passed the hard-charging Cobra (#155) from the first moto on the initial lap, but quickly was passed back. He kept on the Cobra rider's tail, though, and overtook him on the next lap. On the last lap, Holter than got around the KTM rider he dueled with in the first moto for 10th.

Holter is doing well in his inaugural season in the 50 Senior class, where all the racers (and the mini parents) are dead serious about every position. Unlike the Pee Wee and 50 Junior classes, which always have a few true beginners on the line, there are no easy places in the Senior class. Holter is happy with his performance, but realizes his starts are an issue. He thinks he has found the problem, though.

"You know why I got a bad start?" he said on the way home. "I think I was holding my foot down on the rear brake pedal."

That'll do it.

Ignoring our sage advice, Joe Carnes signed up for the 250C class instead of +30B, which forced us to stay the entire day if we wanted to chronicle his race. (The +30B class is the first moto of the day. The 250C class is the last bike moto, just before the quads.) It was worth the downtime, though, as Joe had the best showing of our group, logging eighth overall out of 15 riders in his first race of the year.

Joe's first moto was relatively uneventful. He had a mid-pack start and basically stayed there for ninth. While he threatened another Kawasaki (#35) for a lap or two, the pilot quickly proved himself a rider of far superior skill, balls and stamina and he managed about a 10-second lead by the end of the race. Joe did his own damage on the rest of the pack, though, pulling at least as big a lead on them.

"Oh, I was way ahead of those guys," Joe said.

As for the second moto, Joe must have taken some starting tips from Holter during the intermission because he was in last place when he finally eked his way through the first turn.

Joe went to work quickly, though, and passed several riders on the first lap. However, a Kawasaki (#751) passed Joe back on the second lap, and a Honda (#174) was riding his ass hard. Joe held the Honda off, though, but on the third lap, another charging Honda (#66) passed them both.

Despite all efforts by this author to inspire the other midwestmotocross.com representatives to cheer on Joe -- they preferred to toss rocks and toys into various mud holes in the low sections between the course -- he started to pull away from the other Honda and actually built himself a comfortable lead.

However, on the fourth lap, and although Joe refused to point blame our way, we yelled an encouraging "Go!" as Joe rounded a corner heading into Byron's downhill whoop section. Possibly distracted, Joe spun out, and took his good old time getting going again, giving the spot back to #174.

That was the last action of the race, as Joe couldn't make the time back up on the Honda pilot, and he ended up with 10th in the moto and his eighth overall trophy.

The good news is Joe started off 2003 where he left off 2002 -- with an eighth-place finish. The better news is Joe says next time he's signing up for +30B.

Zach Carnes also was competing in his first race of the year, but this also was his first race in the 80 Junior class, another highly competitive class. Zach also ran a solid race with no crashes and demonstrated that with a little practice and determination, he'll be right in the hunt as the season unfolds.

Zach's day didn't start off too well, though, as he stalled off the gate. But once the bike got going again, he made a valiant charge that brought him within spitting distance of a Honda (#38). Zach did pass another rider on a Kawasaki (#259) when the rider went down, but the Kawasaki managed to pass Zach and the Honda back, and the race was over before Zach could reel in the Honda.

In the second moto, Zach had another rough start, but again was gaining on #38. Although it looked for the first couple laps that Zach would catch the Honda, he unfortunately gave back ground later. After the race, Zach said arm pump was what put an early end to his charge, a condition we certainly can relate to.

The April 13 race likely marked the end of the first (and weather-shortened) leg of the racing season. Taking the next couple weekends off for Easter and other business, midwestmotocross.com should be back in action at the May 4 harescrambles at Fox Valley Off Road, if not earlier.