Project 5 Racing

Race Report by T. Henry

Before the race I spent some time with John, Lance and Andy talking strategy. I was feeling pretty good so I told the guys that if they could keep me fresh I felt very positive that I could do well in this race.

Onto the race. The field was stacked with VDubs, Xer’s, ABDer’s and a smattering of other local favs. Our smallish group of 4 would have to play its cards correctly to be a factor in the end. And to this point the guys were magnificent. From my vantage point not one significant move went up the road without one of my 3 amigos in it, bridging it or bringing it back. Thanks guys! When the guys were not working up front they were checking in with me making sure I was ok and giving me rides to the front. I felt like I was Cippo! With maybe 4 laps to go I rode the John D. train to the front of the field and was dropped off near Lance with Andy sitting top five drilling it. At one point JD and I were cutting the corners elbow to elbow with speed north of 30mph just flowing through the field, it was just flawless: the power, the fluidity. This race was perfect; fast, aggressive but safe. Anyway I digress… 3 to go and the tension is building. With every pedal stroke it becomes a battle to hold position. The pace is lifting through every corner. 2 to go and there is no lull in the pace. My heart beats faster and faster as I realize that this is it. 1.5 laps to go and a attack is launched off the front by a Proctor rider and someone from VW (I think). This move strings out the field and I know this is when I need to move to the front. I jump hard on the back straight heading into the last lap. I pass Andy and lodge my self in the top 10 with 1 to go. We are flying now and the speed and effort begin to take their toll on some of the guys up front. Dudes begin dropping anchor in the middle of the pack. I lose a couple of spots when a triple rider blows up directly in front of me. Less than 1/2 a lap to go and I am maybe 25th overall going into the second to last turn. Up the little rise I make up a few spots but I get pinched in the corner for a second as a train comes around the outside. Onto the front straight and up the road I see VW and triple X duking it out. I dislodge myself and jump on the burners. I break free of the cluster in front of me and set my intentions on catching the dudes up the road. I cut diagonally and pick off a couple more spots. I can see that the 2 breakaways are caught and I am top 10. I stand up and dig harder. The line is coming fast. I catch 3rd right at the line but run out of real estate for the top 2 spots. Dang it! A review of the results showed that I finished 4th out of 59 on the day. Not a win but a excellent team effort. Kudos boyz!
Congrats to Matt Smith of Vitamin Water on a well deserved win. Nice one!

Our man Tim Henry ventured North to Grafton Wisconsin to play racer boy in the Cat 3/4 Masters race. It was a 40 minute + 2 lap affair with a field of local forces and a few Mack, Vitamin Water, ABD and MetLife players thrown in for good measure. The race was extremely well run and staffed so kudos to the promoters on a race well ran. The race was aggressive in a on off matter with V-Water putting in some hard efforts. Tim decided to play it safe and monitor the front and hope for the best in the end. Coming into the finale Tim was sitting 15th or so coming out of the last corner and kicked in the afterburners. By the line it was Project 5 Racing going home with the V. Way to go Tim.

Check out the Sprint: Video

ABR Crit Nationals brings out the cream of the crop of high caliber racers all looking to grab the coveted ABR stars and stripes jersey. This day saw the P5 sqaud racing multiple categories doing its best to earn glory on the day. In the talent packed Master 1/2/3 field Project 5 hit pay dirt. With the help of his team mates our man Tim Henry was able to walk away with the Bronze for the Cat 1/2/3 master 30+ race. Keep it rolling guys!

Last weekend the P5 crew rallied up and headed West to do the Carrol County Road Race. They found
a difficult course and capable pack awaiting their arrival. 60 some odd miles later the boys finished up with our man Craig Erbach taking second place honors in the cat 3 race with his brother Karl finishing 8th. Nice work fellas.

The fine folks from ABD did a dandy job putting on 3 days of racing in the Chicagoland area this past Memorial Day weekend. This year ABD added a 30+ category to the mix allowing many on the team to race local instead heading either East or West for race action. Thanks ABD! Over the 3 days of racing we saw a varied squad race in a total of 6 races with the highlight being our man Scott Ouimette earning two podium places for his efforts (2nd on Saturday and 4th on Sunday). This is even more impressive when you consider the fact that Scott has had very limited training time due to major surgery on a damaged elbow. Awesome job Scott. Other efforts of note were: seeing Mitch tearing it up out there even after a crash on the first day of racing, watching Lance, John, Tim Kevin, Ron and Carlos mix it up in a 30+ 1/2/3 field consisting of multiple National Champions and former Olympians giving as good as they got. Nice!

The squad showed up for the Inaugural VW Sup Crit and made a great team effort to put our man Kevin in the winning break netting a 7th place finish in a field of 70+ racers. Kevin’s result is even more impressive when you take into consideration he was still a bit fried from the TT he took part in earlier in the day. The day’s squad consisted of The Erbach Boyz : Craing & Karl, Ron Cook, Kevin Stephens and Tim Henry. All in all it was a great day of racing at a awesome venue, Thanks VW!

Kevin, Ron, Tim, Karl, Craig and Klaus (?)

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Project 5 racing 2008 Sponsors/Supporters

Ron C. had the legs this weekends and logged not only the best time for the Category 3 race but he was the fastest man on the day. Congrats Ron, nice job man.

Check the results here: ABD/ABR Indoor TT #4

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