Victoria Hett Racing

Canadian Championship Rounds

Preparation for Eastern Championship Rounds:

After weeks of preparation the day finally arrived to fly back east for the eastern CEC rounds! Episodes of lying under my bike covered in coolant and oil at absurd hours of the night when normal people should be sleeping all seem to be distant memories now. Countless hours of bike preparations have finally come together, and at the moment I’m flying somewhere over Saskatchewan on my way to Toronto! Thanks to the help I’ve received from generous sponsors like KTM, Valley Moto Sport, Direct Motocross, and Lime Nine Graphics, Little Orange Forest Creature or LOFC (my KTM 250) hopped a ride on the Royal Distributing Truck all the way to Labelle, Quebec. With some help from my boyfriend Stephen Shannon who is also racing, LOFC is looking sharp with brand new DMX Lime Nine graphics and is sporting a new chain, sprockets, grips and tires! Finding a gear bag large enough to accommodate everything I planned on sending out was challenge. Thankfully Mike at Valley Moto Sports remembered walking into a liquor store in the Okanagan earlier in the year and seeing what he has deemed as the Ogio Behemoth bag! After some research on Mike’s part, we confirmed the existence of the enormous gear bag and had it ordered in right away. I'm sure they were all proud when I announced that I was able to fit my entire body inside and zip myself up inside it! After a last weekend’s race in Penticton on my brother Malcolm’s KTM 300, I’m excited to get back on LOFC and see what the East has in store. I can’t wait to get to Labelle and get set up for a great weekend!

Eastern Canadian Championship Rounds:

Candadian National Enduro, Labelle Quebec-Round 5: The day started off cold and foggy at 6:00 a.m. After eating breakfast and signing in it was time to adjust some jetting on my ktm. Labelle is at about 600 feet, whereas my usual riding elevation is around 2000 or higher! After some quick adjustments the bike ran great. My minute was 37 so at 9:37 I rolled through the start tent and headed down a village street to the first test of the day, the extreme test. The extreme test combined tight trails, sandy hills, rock piles and logs. After hearing horror stories of top riders falling down during the test, I was happy to keep both wheels on the ground and the bike upright through out the entire test. I got stuck on one sand hill and had to turn around and take a different route but I made up time afterwards and felt not too bad about my time. After the extreme test came the cross test, or motocross/grass track test. The track hadn't been worn in yet so we were slipping and sliding around corners at top speeds across dew covered grass! I slid out in one corner but didn't stall the bike so I was up and on my way in no time. The enduro test came a while after the cross test and proved to be a great time! It was my favorite part of each day. The enduro test had tight trails littered with rock faces, roots, ruts, and mud! It was very technical and challenging and I felt like I rode very well through the test. I had no crashes and had a huge smile on my face after flying through the last transponder tower! What a great time! The organizers were on top of things and shortly after the race was over they pulled off a great podium presentation and presented us with some of the neatest trophies I've ever seen! Genuine Quebec maple syrup! I was happy at the end of the day to walk away with the first place maple syrup trophy. Now time to get ready for day two!

Candadian National Enduro, Labelle Quebec-Round 6: Today started with clear skies and sun peaking over the hills shedding light on the beautiful hillsides of Labelle. The morning was slightly less hectic but after sleeping in until 7:00 it still didn't leave a lot of time to get bikes gassed up and get geared up for riders meeting. I wasn't happy with my extreme and cross tests during Sunday morning. I got stuck on the same sand hill as the day before and had to go around it. And then on the last corner before the end of the extreme test I put the bike down in the corner. I was up and through the transponder posts soon enough but I was disappointed in my performance and time. The cross test was going well until one of the last corners. I came in way too fast and couldn't pull it around and laid the bike down hard. I'm now sporting some very pretty road rash! The enduro test was amazing again. I love that test! Fast but smooth and on the pegs as much as possible, I felt very happy with my performance. If the entire race was like the enduro test I'd be a happy girl! My time on the enduro test was better than the last day and I was thrilled to earn 1st place in the ladies class again making it a perfect weekend! The bikes and gear were loaded onto the Royal Distributing Trailer and we had a great night of bench racing to finish the night. Thank you to Valley Moto Sports for their support, DMX Direct Motocross, Limenine, and KTM! And a HUGE thank you to the citizens of Labelle for having us, everyone was so friendly and accommodating to us and I will definitely try to come back next year! Now we're on the road again and looking forward to arriving in Parry Sound Ontario near the end of the week to get ready for another weekend of world class racing!

Candadian National Enduro, Parry Sound, Ontario-Round 7: I arrived in Parry Sound Friday afternoon after a great week of travelling and exploring Old Montreal and Niagara Falls. It was nice to set up camp in the day light this time, several days during the week found me driving into the middle of nowhere trying to find free camping. Its always interesting when you wake up and see in the day light where you ended up camping! The tent still smells like manure from a rather freshly turned field that seemed like a good idea at 2:00 A.M! Shortly after arriving I walked special tests and did some bike prep before getting a good nights sleep. At 6:00 A.M. I was up and getting ready to head into town to jump on the bike with the rest of the competitor's to parade right through down town Parry Sound with our Police escort! It was quite a sight to see dozens and dozens of racers streaming through town behind the Police waving at spectator's all the way down the highway to the race starting line! The race went well, the womens class would complete 2 laps of the course in the allotted time. The course got beat up pretty good and I found myself pushing my bike a couple times more than I would have preferred. My enduro, extreme, and motocross tests all went well. I felt my times could have been a bit better, but finishing with decent times while keeping myself and the bike in one piece was the main goal. My second lap went well also, my times improved slightly and I finished in first place in the womens class! During the extreme test the Pro and "A" classes have to take short detour that has a difficult rock face climb and steep sand hills on it, so after the race I had to prove to myself that I could clean it. It made my day when I headed out alone after the race was almost over and made the entire Pro section without getting stuck or having any issues! The race ended and we all rode back into town. I had the privilege of leading the parade of racers back through town again to the compound before the podium presentations. The trophy podium presentations went well and it was to bed early to get ready for one more day of racing in beautiful Parry Sound Ontario!

Candadian National Enduro, Parry Sound, Ontario-Round 8: Day two of racing in Parry Sound started off with another Police lead parade through town to the starting line. Cold mornings lead to hot afternoons and dehydration and over heating became a challenge for some. The course was more challenging than the day previous but the extra challenge made it one of the most enjoyable races of the season. Tight technical trails riddled with rock out croppings and root infested hills made me feel at home! The day went well with many of the Western racers that headed over along with myself doing very well for the day. My KTM 250 (which I call Little Orange Forest Creature!) ran great all day and smart smooth riding paid off and I finished in first place again, making a 1st place sweep over every single Canadian Enduro Round in the womens class! After an amazing podium presentation awarding the days top finishers along with Eastern Champions and over all Canadian Champions, everyone headed for town to enjoy the last day of the CEC series. The people who race motorcycles and those who spend all their time coming to races on their own dime just to support racers are some of the best people in the world. Making new friends that I know will last a lifetime and pulling together to support each other is one of the greatest pleasure's in motorcycle racing. Without support from sponsors like KTM Canada, Valley Moto Sports, DMX Direct Motocross and Lime Nine Graphics I know that I would never of had the opportunity to race back east, but now thanks to their generous help along with everyone else that supported me and helped over the weekends, I am extremely proud to hold the number 1 plate and the over-all Women's Canadian Championship! Thank you to everyone especially to Andy White at KTM Canada, Barry Wellings at Valley Moto Sports in Westbank BC, Dan Paris and the entire staff at DMX for their amazing work and Brendan at Lime Nine Graphics in Westbank BC.

Western Canadian Championship Rounds:

Candadian National Enduro, Apex Ski Hill Penticton-Round 3&4: The second Canadian National enduro proved to be a great weekend full of amazing racing, friends, family and some great bench racing stories! I found the course to be challenging enough to keep it interesting, but safe enough to be fun to race on, especially the second day with the change of location for the enduro test section. I would have liked to see the women's class do two laps. As it is the women's class only does one full lap to make up their race each day, which seemed short to me. Hopefully next year some changes will be made once the series matures. The cross test and extreme test sections provided good entertainment for spectators. My times were on par with a lot of the men in other classes in both tests which made me happy. The best part of the entire race was the extreme test. The South Okanagan Dirt bike club did a great job and put in a ton of work and it made for an awesome race!

Canadian National Enduro, Alberta-Round 1 & 2: The first Canadian National Enduro was a huge success. The organizers did a very good job of making sure everything went smoothly, and there were racers from as far east as Quebec and Ontario. Saturday's race went well, and after a long day full of steep up and down off camber hills, big logs and great water crossings, I was thrilled to win 1st place in the ladies class! Day two didn't disappoint either. Amazing grass track, enduro and extreme tests made up the day and in the end I held it together for another win! Valley Moto Sports and Lime Nine Graphics were a great help at getting everything together before the race, and that being said, I also have to give a huge thank you to my boyfriend and his parents for driving me there and back in their camper van Bumble and feeding me!

BC and USA Races:

3 Worlds Hare Scrambles, Kamloops BC: I got LOFC back in my arms after it made the trip from Ontario about 1 hour before the start of the race! Some very quick bike prep and I was on the starting line of what would be the dustiest race I've ever ridden! LOFC must have been mad at being locked up in a transport trailer for so long, because it was then on the starting line that I realized interesting point #1 for the day: My bike wouldn't start. After the dust had cleared I finally got going in about 12th (or last) place in the womens class. With the insane dust, it can take an eternity it seems at times just to get an opportunity to pass the person in front of you., after which there's another 50 people ahead of him, and it continues. It was then I learned intersting point #2: Some people don't like the idea of being passed and having to eat your dust, even if they are a slower rider than you. I learned this the hard way when a Junior rider decided he wasn't going to let me by and proceeded to t-bone me sending us both crashing into a heap. His handlebars went through my goggles into my forhead. Now that I had no goggles, the race got even more interesting when I realized interesting point #3: I can't see. I did manage to eek my way through the dust and people to come out in 3rd place after my first lap. After brother Malcolm helped me fill up LOFC with gas and Dad donated his googles to me, I was out onto lap 2. I rode as hard and fast as I could in the conditions, and despite my best efforts, it wasn't enough to catch the girl in first place. Congrat's to Chantelle, she started in first place, and ended in first place and deserved every bit of her 1st place trophy for fighting through the dust. I would imagine that the dust cloud we raised over Kamloops that Sunday is probably drifting somewhere close to the Atlantic Ocean by now and on it's way to the middle east! Now excuse me while I go put some ice on my goose-egged forhead!

Squealin' Pig Hare Scrambles, Penticton BC: After non stop rain the night before the race, Penticton's slick trails challenged everyone! Thank you to my brother Malcolm Hett for letting me race his KTM 300 for the weekend. And thanks to my boyfriend Stephen Shannon for letting me steal his slower throttle cam for the 300! I mounted a trials tire on the back of the bike as well, and after fiddling around with suspension and adjusting bar and lever positions, I had the 300 ready to go! I slipped and slided over moss and rain covered rocks for hours trying to muscle the 300 around. Penticton racer Karla Brandt was on fire during the race and had some very fast lap times and kept me on my toes! I squeaked out a first place finish on the unfamiliar KTM 300. Now to throw some cash my brother's way to fix the pipe that fell victim to the race course!

AMA National Enduro, Montana: This was my first Enduro Race ever. It took some getting used to as far as the time keeping went, but the format was fairly easy to follow. It was worth the drive down, the folks at the Bull Run guest ranch did a great job. I was excited to race against Amanda Mastin who is part of the USA's Womens trophy team for the ISDE and a top runner in the National Enduro's. The race was faster and more open than I am used to, but after a relatively relaxing race through the fairly non-technical trials, I was thrilled to earn 1st place in the Womens class. Quite an accomplishment for my very first National Enduro! Another highlight of the race was meeting Mike Lafferty and Russel Bobbit who are both amazingly down to earth nice people. Thanks to both of them for the use of their mechanics the day earlier with Little Orange Forest Creature's jetting issues! To make the day even better if that was at all possible, I met and chatted with 8 time National Enduro Champion Dick Burelson. One of the nicest people I have had the fortune to meet, he even signed one of his jersey's for me and my 1st place trophy! An epic weekend and a great feeling to know that I can give run with some of the fastest girls in the U.S.!

Piston Run X-C: The Piston run has a reputation of being one of the gnarliest toughest races in the Pacific North West. It's my favorite race of the year. I'd like to thank my best friend Trina for post-poning her wedding by 3 days and going without her maid of honor for the majority of her bachlorette night, because there was no way I was missing the Piston Run! Once again, the Greater Vancouver MC club didn't disappoint. The race was by far my favorite of the year so far, it was muddy, rocky, and very technical. You feel good just finishing the Piston Run! I can't wait to come back next year, I wish more races could be like the Piston run, but the race itself is a living legend and I doubt anything will come close to comparing any time soon! To top off the day, I walked away with the first place trophy in the womens class! Thank you to everyone who made this race a great event again!

Night Race and Big Rooster X-C: Vernon boasts some of best trail systems in BC, and the Night race and Big Rooster made good use of them. The night race was fantastic as usual. With the guidance of my head light and helmet light I finished first place in the Womens class! The Big Rooster didn't work out as well. After working through a ridiculously deep mud pit, I had taken in so much water and mud into my air box that the Little Orange Forest Creature (My KTM 250's name) was done for the day. A disappointing end to a race that started off well.

Orofino Idaho, Endurocross: This was my first enduro cross, and I think it's safe to say Im hooked! After walking the track early Saturday morning, I felt the butterflies in my stomach starting to act up. Six foot tire tractors, more gigantic logs than you can count, huge boulder sections, mud pits, and deep water crossings with wet wooden planked ramps made for an interesting time! The womens class rode a shorter version of the track, so I decided to enter Amateur Heavy instead so that I could experience a truly gnarly enduro cross! The Amateur Heavy class attracted a lot of fast riders. In the qualifiers for the main event I finished mid-pack which I was very happy with. When the main even rolled around, another racer lost control momentarily and managed to knock my throttle housing enough to make my throttle cable stick wide open! After several minutes of track side repairs, I managed to continue on my way into the water crossing and finish the lap. Half way into my second lap, now in last place after the throttle issues, the cable stuck again. I fixed it again, finished the lap, and the main event was over. I may not have brought home any hardware that weekend, but I had a great time, and I finished my first endurocross! The folks in Orofino put in a crazy amount of work to make the enduro cross such a success, and it was evident by the thousands of people in attendance in the stands and on the track that they pulled it off! I will definitely be back next year!

OHSS Rock Hound Hare Scrambles: The OHSS series seems to be gaining popularity and I can see why after racing the Rock Hound. The course was more wide open than most, but it had just the right mixture of technical riding and tight woods trails. I decided to race in the Intermediate class just for fun to see how I would place. In total, 26 men were entered in the intermediate class with me. After several hours of dust, rocks, hill climbs and water crossings, I was thrilled to earn 11th place out of 26 in what turned out to be a very fast and competitive class!

Cat Scratch Hare Scramble, Squamish BC: Squamish presented tight technical trails littered with rocks, roots, and some very challenging trail. Right up there with the Piston Run, Squamish was one of my favorite races. The terrain was tough enough to challenge just about everyone, yet it was marked and cut in a way that made the entire track flow perfectly. I had a lot of fun racing in Squamish, and it was definitely worth the long drive! Im definitely going back next year. And thanks Stephen for driving so I could pick daffodils along the highway during rush hour!

Desert 100: The weather cooperated with warm sunny skies and just enough wind to blow the dust from the bike in front of you away! The Desert 100 is one of my favorite races, mostly because it is so different from anything else I ride for the entire year. There are good people at desert races! I walked away with a first place trophy in the womens class and rode well with no crashes or bike problems! Steering Damper for next year is a must though!

Bent Spoke Hare Scrambles: The Bent Spoke was it's usual rainy, muddy, sandy, rocky, all mixed into an excellent course. The first Canadian race of the year, it usually whips you into shape early in the season and makes for a great first race out! I recall seeing some bikes buried up to their gas tanks but that just seems to be the norm at the Bent Spoke! I took home the first place trophy for the womens class, a great start to the season. I can't wait until next year!

Victoria Hett Racing

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