Rob Ray Dominates 2012 Trike Fest Motocross Race
Photos By: Rachel Barnard
Rob Ray Dominates 2012 Trike Fest Motocross Race
(Cincinnati, Ohio: June 26, 2012) Each year, the weekend after Father’s Day, Haspin Acres, in Laurel, Indiana, hosts Trike Fest. The event is the largest gathering of three wheelers in America. Hundreds of riders from across the country and around the world attended this year’s event, coming from as far away as Germany to participate.
Racing with severely bruised ribs, Rob Ray, from Calhoun, Kentucky, took fourth place in the Open Expert class in his second ever three-wheeler race at last year’s Trike Fest. Over the winter, Rob went undefeated in 3 rounds of indoor motocross racing at Earlywine Indoor Motocross.
Rob’s success caught the attention of a number of people on You Tube. This got him picked up as a test rider for atvondemand.com, where Rob is currently involved in two vintage motocross three-wheeler projects to be featured in video online, and in print in the pages of ATV Rider Magazine.
According to Joe Tolle from ATV On Demand, “Rob is easily one of the most talented three-wheeler riders around today. He gives excellent feedback as a test rider, and is one of the nicest people you could hope to meet. We wanted to promote the sport of three-wheeler racing and as many of the companies still building performance parts as possible with our projects. Truthfully, we also wanted to win the fastest class, at the largest three-wheeler race in the world at Trike Fest in 2012.”
Compounding the pressure of competing, this year’s Trike Fest was also used for preliminary suspension and jetting testing, as Rob took his newly built 250R to the track immediately following break in, with very little setup time. Rob’s machine was modified by an impressive number of companies including CT, Hinson, Sudco, Moto Tassinari, Lone Star Racing, Race Tech, Kenda Tires, Daystar, Cosmic Quads, Maier, Renthal, and ASV.
In his qualifier moto, Rob was second off the holeshot, just behind Tim Keister on his Tionesta Trike 450cc conversion. After turn three, Rob put the move on Keister over the step up and held onto the lead till the checkered flag. In the main, it was Louis Mielke on his CR500 two-stroke powered ATC grabbing the holeshot with Ray in second. Louis blew the corner and stalled his machine allowing Ray to take the lead after a little non-consequential contact with Tri-Z mounted Brian Raffa. By the beginning of lap three, Rob Ray put a full straightaway’s length on Raffa and Mielke, running second and third. Despite having just built the machine two days before the race, Rob’s ATC250R ran nearly flawlessly all the way to the checkered flag, allowing him to fulfill a year’s worth of dreams, planning, and training.
As Rob stated, ”I was used to competing on my stock 250R but felt immediately comfortable on this race build. Lone Star and Race Tech made this machine handle so much better than stock. The CT motor pulled so well from the bottom up, I didn’t even touch the clutch exiting corners. With some minor jetting, it will be even faster. Even without some of the aftermarket components installed, this machine is a capable race winner. Haspin Acres is a great facility for hosting this event every year. I enjoyed the race because although it’s about competition, it’s kind of like going to a family reunion where you’re hanging out with a bunch of friends you only get to see once a year.”
You can see Rob’s ATC250R and 350X builds in the coming months in ATV Rider Magazine, follow the builds on 3wheelerworld.com, 3wheeler.org, and in video on atvondemand.com.
For more information on three-wheeler racing visit 3wheelerworld.com or otc.myfastforum.org
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