After finishing up an outstanding rookie pro season in which he nearly won in Hayward, Wisconsin and was voted ACSS Pro Rookie of the Year, Christian Brothers Arctic Cat rider Logan Christian has set his sights on an equally lofty summer racing program. The Fertile, Minnesota racer has been taking part in the Canadian National Motocross series with the help of moto-fitness guru Drew Robertson.
The experience has been a bit challenging to start, but like everything he tackles, Logy sees the upside in that it will only make him better on both the dirt and the snow. He has been riding a stock bike against some pretty well-equipped professional teams and just missed making the cut at the opening two rounds in Kamploops and Nanaimo.
Check out LC43’s diary as he logs in with us..
I’m up in Canada right now, I’m doing the first four Canadian Nationals out here. I’m planning to obviously do my best and see where I end up, but also to learn more and figure out more about racing and get faster on the sled. I’m staying in Calgary Alberta, with Drew Robertson. His family has taken me into their home so I stay there during the week. We have a track rented out where just me and one other pro rider Jared Petruska ride. We have been going to the races in the back of Drew’s pickup.
The first National was in Kamloops, BC. It went alright, I had no idea what to expect. The track was super gnarly, really rough and sandy. I ended up missing the main by a tenth of a second. Now, I hate making excuses, but I was the only rider on a stock bike and every racer knows that a mod is way faster and more powerful than stock. From the first practice to the LCQ I gained 7 seconds, so I was happy with the improvement. This weekend is in Nainimo, which is on Vancouver island so I’ll be able to go on my first ferry ride and see the ocean. Heard good and bad things about the track but I’m excited just to race. This one I’m going to race amateur day on Saturday then try to qualify for the National Sunday. This way I will be able to get more track time. It’s also cool to race up here because I’ve seen Arctic Cat teammate Cody Thomsen racing up here and also Iain Hayden. So it is cool to also see other sled racers I know up here, and have also met a lot of cool people.
Round 2 – Nainamo
On Saturday I raced the amateur day and got 5th in my first moto. In the second moto I crashed early and ended up 10th. So out of the 35 guys in the race I was happy with the way I finished and rode. It was nice to race the amateur day to get some extra practice on the track. Sunday was rough… I missed the main by a half a second. I am definitely learning a lot up here so I’m pumped on that. I got faster through the weekend from Saturday practice to Sunday qualifying I was faster by over 8 seconds. So I am right there, just need an extra little boost. Watching the guys race, I think I would do alright because there is always 4 or 5 guys pulling off half way because they are tired!! So that gets frustrating knowing I would make the whole race.
This is definitely helping me become a better racer I feel even though I haven’t really raced the pro class yet, I’ve learned a lot from the intensity of the surroundings and a lot of little things. Can’t give out secrets…. Next weekend is in Calgary. Drew has me on a good set up, this week I will be riding with Jared Petruska and Spencer Knowels, couple of the top lites riders up here and working out in the week. So we have all the pieces just gotta put them into place!
At last weekend’s round in Calgary, Christian had worked his way to ninth place in the main before crashing and tweaking his knee. He’s back in Minnesota now and scheduled to see a doctor this week. By his own account it’s nothing too serious and he should be back to full speed after a few weeks of rest. Watch for his latest update soon.