After recovering from a broken collar bone, Kiwi Luke Burkhart has finally had a chance to have a crack at the AMA Outdoor Championship at Mt Morris, Pennsylvania, over the weekend.
He sent us a quick email to tell us how how he went.
"Well my first race over here in America is now in the books. The race was the fourth round of the AMA Championship held in Mt Morris, Pennsylvania," Burkhart said.
"We got there on Friday as it was only a 2 hour drive from our base in Poland, Ohio. The track has one of the most impressive layouts I have ever seen and a lot of the jumps where more like you see on a supercross track. The organisation and professionalism of these events is second to none in the world, the signage and advertising around the track makes the place look top notch for the weekend and the sponsors definitely get their moneys worth.
"We took ours bikes through tech inspection with no dramas and i also had to put what's called the Eject device in my helmets. These are like a bladder that sits inside your helmet with a small hose coming out the bottom, this allows the medics to pump air into your helmet if you get hurt which pushes the helmet off your head with basically no force.
"I had gotten another x-ray the day before at the request of my surgeon as he was at the race and wanted to give me a final clearance and advice as to whether i was expecting too much too soon. I took my x-rays to him in the Asterisk medical semi truck Friday afternoon and to his amazement he cleared me to race less than 4 weeks after my shoulder surgery. He also said I am the fastest person ever to heal up from such an injury which was good to know that I am nice and healthy.
"First practice went quite well as I finished up with the fastest time in group B, the track has a lot of big jumps and was really tough to learn and put in fast times all in the space of two fifteen minute sessions. Second timed practice I struggled a bit to find a flow and made a few big mistakes so I stayed smart and ended up 35th fastest, well below par for me to be honest. I also found it a bit hard that I was not out on the track with the top guys as they seem to pull you along and help you find your flow and lines quickly.
"Moto one i was starting from about gate 34, the first corner was a long way from the outside in comparison to the inside gates so it was always going to be tough to pull a good start. I got a really good jump and squeezed my way across towards the inside and managed a top 15 start, I stayed up there for a few laps but quickly realised that I wasn't comfortable and my hands were killing me already. The four weeks off the bike had taken its toll on my hands and i basically could not hold on by the halfway mark due to the huge blood blisters.
"I pretty much cruised around at about 60% pace for the remainder of the race and came home a distant 22nd. With the combination of big jumps and loads of ruts it made it very technical and tough with my hands in such bad shape so I elected to sit out moto 2. Although it was a tough pill for me to swallow I have to keep telling myself that less than 4 weeks ago i was getting a plate put into my smashed up collarbone. I was lucky to be riding a bike let alone racing an AMA race!
"I am still really happy that i decided to race as I learnt a lot from the day, i've now got my feet wet and a gauge of where I know I can be when I get back into shape and ride how i know i can.
"We now have a three week break until our next race which is the famous Red Bud National. I am confident I can get myself back to the level I was at before my injury. The level is really high over here so it takes a lot of hard work and speed just to be competitive," Burkhart concluded.
