Zimmerman 'Earns' This Win!
Article and photos by John Gasso (Captions-Darcy)
Three time OMA Nationals Champion Rob Zimmerman finally had a good start at the Maxxis OMA Nationals Moonshine 100.
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| Before the dust |
But his luck changed at the first turn when he was tossed from a rolling and tumbling Honda 450. Spencer Dickerson led the pack in to the woods with Andy Lagzdins close behind. Zimmerman recovered from his crash and followed the group on the first of nine laps running dead last.
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| NOT... the ideal start for Rob Zimmerman... Hmmm doesn't look good... but the day turns out good after all. |
Spencer Dickerson (Honda / Moose Racing / Maxxis) set a quick pace in the tight woods. He said he “felt at home” in the Missouri terrain. “It wasn’t rocky like I figured it would be. The woods were a little rough”, said the Arkansas racer. “Overall it was a good track, I really liked it.” He finally surrendered the lead on lap seven. “Rob (Zimmerman) kept gaining and gaining on me”, said Dickerson. “Finally he got on up there and I just let him have it.” The gap at the finish after nine laps was only fourteen seconds between Dickerson and winner Rob Zimmerman.
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| Spencer Dickerson - Pro ATV - Takes 2nd! |
Third place went to Andy Lagzdins (Honda / Moose Racing / ITP) on his first race back from a broken thumb he suffered at the round three event in Ohio. “I’m really just happy I could finish today, third place overall was really just a bonus”, said the Maryland Pro. “I’m still trying to get some strength back in my hand and trying to get my endurance back.” Lagzdins pushed his Duncan / Dirt First Honda and the injured thumb early in the race. According to Lagzdins, “I was trying to run the pace and it just wasn’t happening. I had to back off a little bit. I took myself out in the dust in the last race, so I’m kind of chillin’ out a little bit for a little while and just getting my confidence back. Next race I come back I’ll be 100% and I’ll be ready to go.”
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| Welcome Back Andy! |
Race winner Rob Zimmerman (Honda / Moose Racing / Maxxis) nearly saw his race end early, but the first turn crash seemed to light a fire under the champion racer. “I come around the corner and me and Lagzdins got tangled up. I got the worst end of it”, he said. “I just sprung back up and got on that thing and I was a little fired up. I just barreled right through the dust. I could see Lagzdins up ahead and I just kept pluggin.” At the end of lap one Zimmerman had reeled in Lagzdins with only two second separating the championship contenders. Zimmerman managed to pass Lagzdins and set his sights on Spencer Dickerson.
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| Rob recovers from his first turn episode. |
A couple miscues by Zimmerman would leave him stalled and losing time on Dickerson, but he ultimately managed to pass the Arkansas racer to finally take the lead and run for the checkered flag. Zimmerman said he was very happy with the latest tuning efforts on his Honda 450. “I had my suspension redone”, he reported. “Fox did some different valving. Wow, I could have probably gone a couple more laps. The Maxxis tires, they hooked up really good. My Clarke tank had the perfect amount of gas, didn’t run out, didn’t have to stop.”
| Pos |
Top 8 -Pro Class |
Laps |
Time |
ATV |
| 1 |
Zimmerman, Rob, |
9 |
02:03:10 |
Honda |
| 2 |
Dickerson, Spencer, |
9 |
02:03:24 |
Honda |
| 3 |
Lagzdins, Andy, |
9 |
02:06:12 |
Honda |
| 4 |
Abernathy, Dillon, |
9 |
02:16:34 |
Honda |
| 5 |
Critz, Michael, |
9 |
02:18:23 |
Yamaha |
| 5 |
Williams, Justin, |
7 |
02:03:49 |
Honda |
| 7 |
Lindle, Matt, |
4 |
01:03:07 |
Honda |
| 8 |
Bergfeld, Josh, |
2 |
00:32:04 |
Yamaha |
|
