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High hopes for the Badlands Nationals Next up was the CMDRA Badlands Nationals at the Medicine Hat drag strip. This track has proven to be good in the past as Ethan posted many 7.5's on this surface. The team was fully prepared for this weekend, going over every detail of the bike in anticipation of what could be a record setting weekend. Ethan came off the trailer with a good tune and posted a 7.80 in the opening qualifying session. By the second round he had pushed the bike to 7.67 but the ambient temperature had taken its toll on the track and air density. With temps into the 100's and corrected altitude coming in at over 6000', it was unlikely the team could push the bike into the record books. For the third round he tried to put in a little more power in the first 330', unfortunately the track just wouldn't hold it and he spun out of the hole badly enroute to a 7.78 @ 187. Back in the pits Ethan was frustrated with the lack of traction, "there is so much more in the bike, but we need to dial it back to keep the tire under it". Sunday's eliminations shared similar conditions as Saturday, very high temperatures combined with poor density. Ethan made the call to just run medium tune-ups that would hopefully land him in the winner’s circle by days end. Consistency proved to be a good plan as he put up consistent 7.6's in eliminations, with a 7.64 @ 183 in the finals for the win. (Qualified: 1st, Result: 1st)
Ethan helping out some new racers in the Trev Deeley Foundation Race School
High resolution images available upon request
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