Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/205581
NOVEMBER 2-3, 2013 GLEN HELEN RACEWAY/DEVORE, CALIFORNIA MOTOCROSS P80 MTA WORLD VET CHAMPIONSHIP John DeSoto (left) accepts the Edison Dye Award alongside good friend Ricky Johnson. crash in June during the Mammoth Mountain MX in northern California, he returned to racing after suffering a punctured lung, 14 broken ribs, a broken collarbone, concussion and a life-threatening condition known as flail chest that claims the lives of most victims. Still not 100-percent healed, the determined racer recovered enough to make it out to the track for the weekend and kick some major hiney. "I just spent time healing, I had no choice really," Dubach said. "I've always been a determined guy trying to get back and race. I did what I could, just tried to stay healthy and do the little things to get me back in. When I got a little bit of health in me, I started riding with my kids and just started riding around slowly. I've always recovered pretty quickly through- out my career. We had to figure out ways to cut those six weeks down to four. "I wasn't sure if I was going to make this event because it was only a little over four months for my injury and my doctor told me six to nine months, so I thought that math's going to be a little hard to pull off. It was definitely a little emotional rollercoaster trying to count the days to when I had to be here and race this weekend. It's not unusual for me to be out here and not at one-hundred percent but just by my will of determination I just keep on winning. It makes it rewarding for the work you put in. "It was my intention last year when I left here that finally I would be able to race the 30+, 40+ and 50+, how it'd be great to win a couple and podium the other one. Then the injury kind of put everything back, but in the back of my mind I was still toying with trying to do them all. [Event orga- nizer] Tom White told me they'd tear up my entry and throw it in the trash and wouldn't even let me ride the 30+, so with threats like that I didn't ride the class." In both 50 Expert motos on Sunday, Dubach won seemingly with ease. He also topped both 40 Pro motos on Saturday, but found it more difficult in the longer races to hold younger riders like runner-up Gordon Ward and third-place finisher Billy Mercier. "Everything went pretty well in 40 Pro," said Dubach. "I think I was just concerned because of everybody telling me 'you shouldn't be racing, you shouldn't be racing!' I was trying to be cautious and win at the same time so in that first moto I got bounced around in fourth and fifth. Then one guy hit the ground and another guy fell down and I worked my way to the front and won. The second moto I got the holeshot and led every lap, but just had a lot of pressure from behind."