Airdrie’s Chad Swain competed in a handful of races at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah earlier this month, finishing no worse than eighth, Oct. 9 and 10.
Swain, who has been riding in the Calgary Motorcycle Racing Association (CMRA) for the past couple seasons decided to compete in the Master of the Mountain series in Utah to help gain some name recognition in motorsports friendly U.S.
“That facility down there is world class, by far the best facility I have ever seen,” said Swain. “It was a good weekend with not bad results considering I didn’t know the track.”
Unfamiliarity with the track was the biggest hurdle for Swain, but after spending a day practicing was able to run laps with the competitive bikes.
“There are 23 or 24 corners you have to learn and there are a couple corners you just don’t realize how fast you are going through them,” Swain said.
“To get a benchmark my lap times were right up there where the AMA guys qualify.”
Swain’s best finish over the weekend was fourth, which he accomplished in the middleweight superstock, heavyweight superstock and middleweight superbike races.
Swain finished fifth in the king of the mountain GTU class, seventh in the superbike class and eighth in the unlimited superbike class.
With an average of about 15 bikes on the grid, Chad was happy with his results.
Swain says one of his favourite moments was finding that perfect line through a very fast left hander, which seemed to be the fastest way through that part of the track.
“I learned a different line from everyone else, and was able to pass a few guys there,” Swain said. “I passed two guys at once heading into that corner.”
Along with his two-man team Toloco Racing, Swain competed alongside Cochrane Motorcycle Ace Cody Matechuk, who took home the win in two of the events he entered.
With the 2010 racing season behind him, Swain is looking to next year where he may be running with another bike manufacturer, and hopes to attract sponsors to help support his racing effort.
“They (the track) did a little interview with me, and wanted to get more information on me,” Swain said.
“We had a couple sponsors who came to talk about what we can do for next year. We are heading back down there (Miller Motorsports Park) in January to do a few more track days and races there.”
Swain and his team will be looking into running Suzuki bikes next season in the U.S., and does not plan on running the Calgary Motorcycle Racing Association full season next year.
