The Macc Racing Team traveled to Racine, WI for Rd 3 of the UWP/IJSBA National Tour on June 18-19 and continued their winning tradition. Chris Macclugage gives us a report on how it all went down with the good and the bad.


Chris Macclugage and the rest of the Macc Racing team departed Lake Havasu City to Las Vegas, NV for another red eye flight that left at midnight and was a straight flight to Milwaukee, WI arriving at 5am. The flight was a very good flight aboard AirTrans with no delays. Traveling this weekend with Chris was Rachel Macclugage the love and support of the team Rusty Gewecke of Bullett racing and Andrew Gewecke, Head Quad Driver/all around helper. Once they arrived in WI they waited for the rental car till 6am then hopped in the car and were off to Racine. On the way in they stopped at Panera Bread for some much needed breakfast. They arrived at the race site and Chris had the following to say “the race site and town were very nice. We checked in hotel early at 10 am and took a nap till 1 and Boober finally arrived at 2 pm. I immediately took everything out of the trailer and started cleaning. The trailer had a lot of sand and mud from the first two rounds.”

Chris was asked what kind of preparations were in order to get the Bullett Ski ready from the last race accident and he stated “ Rusty had brought in another hood to fit my ski to replace the damaged one. He had sorted out both boats on Thursday so Friday both were ready for testing. Friday morning we were greeted by Wisconsin local Kevin Gong. He needed a part for his FZ that Dean had. He also brought us a vacuum for the trailer, Thank you to Kevin!!!” He added “Dean arrived after picking up his wife Donna at the airport. We took all of the skis to the water and tested. After some minor adjustments all skis were ready for battle!” LET THE ONSLAUGHT BEGIN!!

When Chris was asked whether he had come into this race with a different mindset he said that he came into this race as he had with each race of the tour and with his lovely wife Rachel & pregnant with their 1st child he was VERY relaxed knowing he had the best love and support anyone could ask for and he was very excited to race his Bullet GP Ski and the Deans Team/Macc Racing Riva Racing Yamaha FZR.


Chris is very dedicated to his fitness and even when he is on tour away from home he keeps his spin bike in the trailer and on Thursday night he got his sweat on after finishing up the testing and tuning. To be a champion you have to train like a champion. Chris has the saying train like you race and practice like you race and NEVER EVER GIVE UP! Perfection is what Chris & Macc Racing strives for, nothing less.

Chris had this to say about the weekend “I felt very positive about the weekend and was ready for Saturday. The UWP crew laid out a nice track and needed a bit of help with one section. I recommended something and they applied it.” He added “AJ also picked a great town to have the race in. There was a great Italian place called Salute which we ended up eating at four nights in a row. We had Thai for lunch on Thursday and it was terrible. Nothing compares to Thai Nakarin in Havasu. The Race site was nice... big beach, white sand, and clean water. Just a lot of dead fish which could have been from radiation????” Of course he was kidding, Chris is often known for his humor.


The weather was cold all weekend which made it very easy to tune the skis. It’s always good to have weather like that as it keeps everything in line usually. Chris likes the cold racing conditions too.

Saturday morning arrived faster than anyone expected, but no one was more prepared than Macc Racing and Chris Macclugage as they woke up very early and fully charged for what was ahead of them. Practice went very well and everyone was happy with the set ups and ready to race.

Moto one was up and ready on the line and so was Chris as he had this to say “I won both moto's very easy. I took the hole shot in the ski moto and lead from start to finish. In the Runabout race I started second and passed Troy Snyder on the 3rd lap and went on to win Moto 1 of the Pro R/A Stock Class.” On Saturday, the racing was complete with only one moto being ran. Racers are normally used to running at least 2 moto’s on Saturday but things are done a bit different on the National Tour these days. Saturday was fairly uneventful and gave Chris, Rachel and the rest of the team some time to relax and get some rest for Sunday’s racing action.

Sunday presented some drawbacks and they never really got to race Moto 2&3 on Sunday due to the weather and major fog rolling in. Chris was asked if there were any drawbacks or issues in his opinion from the weekend and he had this to say “the only drawback or issue I had with the weekend is that the race organizers decided the event's winners off of one Moto in ski class and 1.5 Moto’s in the runabout class. You can’t control weather. I would just suggest they run 2 moto's on Saturday in case a fog situation happens again or lightning etc...”

He was also asked what it was like racing his 2nd moto in Pro R/A Stock in the fog and how dangerous was it? He responded “the second moto was 12 laps, we completed 6 and they scored it. I was disappointed because I was in third and the race was cut short so I was unable to pass. I just needed to lead every lap from now on!!!!” And about the danger he added “when we were on the track it was not too bad but I guess the officials could not see. I do not think we should have started racing at all!”

Chris finished the weekend in Pro Ski GP in 1st overall and 2nd overall in Pro R/A Stock with the cut short Motos. Still, a great weekend but not what Chris and the team was looking for. This just gives them fuel to pour on at the next race in Rochester, NY July 9-10.

Rachel Macclugage, after being asked what it was like being at her 1st tour stop of the 2011 season and knowing that she and Chris were on their way to becoming parents in a few months, stated “this was my first race I attended this year. I enjoy watching Chris race and it was a shame that the fog set in but you cannot control Mother Nature. It was just a shame for all the people who drove & flew out.” She added “I am VERY EXCITED for things to come and to watch Chris go for another National Title!”


Chris says he will be training hard for the upcoming race in Rochester, NY and he would like to thank the following sponsors for all of their support: Monster Energy, Macc Racing, Quakysense, Yamaha, Yamalube, HtMoto, Bullet Racing, Rusty Gewecke, Deans Team, Alpina Watches, Oakley, Liquid Militia, Riva Racing, Yamaha, Thor, TUF Stands, Andrew Gewecke & Brian Smith.


Please be sure to visit www.maccracing.com and www.uwpinc.com for all of the latest Macc Racing products and tour information.


See you in Rochester, NY