Jarrett - Tinsley Sweep The Infamous Moose Run
It's another Moose Racing Podium Sweep at the Moose Run!
Article and photos by John Gasso

Jimmy Jarrett (FMF Suzuki / Moose Racing / Dunlop) left this Moose run with another top of the podium finish. The three time OMA Nationals champion pulled off his third consecutive Moose Run victory along with his third consecutive win this year. Jarrett swapped positions with Jason Thomas (Yamaha / Moose Racing / Maxxis), Brian Garrahan (Yamaha / Moose Racing / Maxxis), and Nick Fahringer (Gas Gas / Moose Racing / Michelin), on the first lap that he said was, “probably one of the toughest things I’ve ever done.” Jarrett lead at the last three checkpoints of the second lap, taking home the victory after a ride of four hours, fifty two minutes, and forty three seconds.

It was a shotgun blast start, a sprint to a section of the Bike Barn motocross track, then off to the woods. Adam Bonneur picked up the lead for the first few miles. The Fenton, IL area teenager crashed on a hidden culvert and gave up the lead to a hard charging Brian Garrahan. Bonneur would fight overheating issues all day long. A thirty minute effort on lap two to free his bike from a tree left the likeable young man totally drained. He would finish eighth in the event after a very difficult day.

Garrahan lead for the first two checkpoints, and collected a $100 bonus for leading at each stop. The big Yamaha 450 was running well for him until the radiator hose came off. He had to reconnect the hose and refill the radiator numerous times throughout the event. A solid ride put the champion off road racer in the final checkpoint at four hours, fifty six minutes, and three seconds. Garrahan said he used the Yamaha 450 to “just power through everything.”

Third place went to a rider who came to the race thinking it was “a two hour hare scramble.” Nick Fahringer rode his Gas Gas EC250 for five hours, three minutes, and forty eight seconds to round out the all Moose Racing podium. He was in the lead at checkpoint three on the first lap and collected his $100 leader bonus. Fahringer said the Gas Gas was “the ideal motorcycle for today.” The low speed, technical riding played to the strengths of the bike and its trials heritage.

Jason Thomas finished a respectable fourth and also collected a $100 bonus for leading at the first checkpoint on lap two. The young gentleman from Wales was in perfect position, but he had a mishap in a mud hole. Thomas managed to free his bike from the bog and recovered some of the seven minutes he lost to the crash. He said “It just took it all out of me. I just couldn’t catch it back up.”

Fifth place went to Indiana native Chris Bach (Cycle Shed KTM / Moose Racing / Maxxis) aboard a KTM 250XC. He had a decent pace going until an incident with a fence left him with no rear brakes. A fellow KTM rider happened by and loaned Bach some parts. The resourceful Bach repaired his brakes along the trail and put his bike back in the competition. A steady charge moved him from “about twentieth overall” to finish fifth after five hours, thirty seven minutes, and thirteen seconds. He said “the result wasn’t bad.”

Spanish visitor Joan Jou rode a Yamaha 250 four stroke electric WR to sixth place after five hours, forty two minutes, and forty four seconds. Jou also had a fence related rear brake problem. He rode most of the first lap with no rear brake after he tore off the brakes at a fence crossing. The crew repaired his brakes in the pits after lap one, and Jou took his Fun Mart ride back out for another lap at the infamous Moose Run.

The Moose Run is a special event carrying on a tradition from the old days of off road racing. It is truly a test of man and machine. Bill Gusse and his OMA Nationals crew pull out all the stops to make this an event to remember. Not everyone finishes the race. Many do not even finish the first lap of this grueling and intense thirty plus mile loop through the northern Illinois countryside. The last rider finally completed his lap more than eight hours after the twelve o’clock start. This is “America’s toughest race.” This is off road racing.

Moose Run Pro MC Results