On The Pegs October 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 10 | Page 44

On The Pegs P 44 On The Pegs X-GAMES STAR JARRYD MCNEIL RACES ENDUROCROSS EnduroCross combines a lot of disciplines into one packed arena – extreme enduro, trials, and elbow to elbow racing; it draws riders from various off-road se- ries, sometimes motocrossers, but rarely does a freestyle specialist line up on the gate. But that’s just what happened at round 2 in Costa Mesa, CA, when 11-time X Game medalist Jarryd McNeil, as they say in his native Australian tongue, ‘gave it a go.’ McNeil has competed once before, in 2011 on a 450, so knew what he was get- ting himself into. He chose to bring his Yamaha YZ250F this time, a ‘step down’ in displacement, he said, was the right call for EX. His plan was simple – he enrolled in the Destry Abbott EnduroCross clinic the Friday before the event and told himself that if he could make it around the track he’d race the next day. Adding more stress to the program, Jarryd is dating Destry’s daughter, so you never know Vol. 3 Issue 10 - October 2018 P 45 what your girlfriend’s dad’s motives are when he advises you over dangerous obstacles. Jared survived the class and came away realistic about his expectations for the race when signed up for the expert class. There were 11 riders in the heat, so all were granted a spot in the night show main event. Jarryd was there to have fun and showed just that by doing heel clickers and other tricks for the crowd; fortunately for him it was a jumpy track at round two. Jarryd admitted before the race he hadn’t been training at all for it and was expecting little more than five laps out of himself in the main. Jarryd rode great for a non- specialist, but pulled off near the end of the expert final to avoid getting in the way of the leaders; the top two positions transfer into the SuperEnduro main. He would up placing tenth in both the heat and the expert main event. Jared raced pro in Australia for several years and earned Australian moto- cross championship titles. Doing freestyle demos started earning him more money than racing, so he committed to a Freestyle career. But don’t lump him into the ‘bad attitude guy’ category, Jarryd one of the people who always seems to be smiling when he’s out with his dirt bike. Hopefully more athletes will give EnduroCross a try, because the crossover exposure is good for the sport of off-road racing. As 6-time X Games gold medalist Jared McNeil will tell anyone who asks – EnduroCross is not easy, but it’s a lot of fun. n