Jarrett Notches Another Win At Millville
Article and photos by John Gasso


Derek Spangler 928 nabs the A class holeshot

The Parts Unlimited Rekluse OMA Nationals round six event at the Spring Creek Motocross track in Minnesota was a near perfect weekend. Flash floods in the local area had little effect

on the course, and the words heard most often from the racer regarding the course were perfect and awesome. Sunday was a beautiful day and the race started out with a typical Jimmy Jarrett hole shot with an unexpected rider next to him rounding the first turn. Storm Lake Honda rider Tracy Bachman took the opportunity to try one of the title sponsor’s Rekluse clutches, and he found himself at the front of the pack with Jarrett, the hole shot king. Bachman said “I tried out the Rekluse from Patrick. Jimmy Jarrett and I had the hole shot together going around the first turn, so that definitely helped me out.” The Bachman Family Racing, Moose Racing, Scott Goggles sponsored racer ran well for three laps, but confided “I just got a little tired, but otherwise I had fun. We’re in the process of putting a team together for next year on Hondas, and I just kind of talked myself out of racing the entire race. It was fun. I had a blast, and the track was great.”

Jimmy Jarrett led through the famous Spring Creek whoops section, but soon had a surprise. Alex Martin,

son of track owner John Martin, pulled off a mid air pass over the huge uphill triple to take the lead away from Jarrett. The American Honda, Unbound Energy, Team VRM motocross star rushed to the woods ahead of three time OMA Nationals Champion Jimmy Jarrett. “This is the first time I rode in the woods all year, actually. There’s definitely nothing wrong with riding in the woods, it definitely gets you in shape, that’s for sure”, said the seventeen year old motocross rider. “I kind of rode the race like it was a motocross race and I don’t think I should have done that. My first clue was for three laps there I was battling Jimmy Jarrett, and I think I fell about twice every lap.” Martin recalled “the last four laps I didn’t fall once, but those first two or three laps it was out of control. He (Jarrett) was a really fun guy to ride with. It’s kind of funny, because every time I tipped over he would be like, are you okay, and I’d be like yeah, I’m goin’.” Martin held on and finished a very respectable fourth place.

First place ultimately was captured by Jimmy Jarrett (FMF Suzuki / Moose Racing / Dunlop) with a gap of

two minutes, sixteen seconds over teammate Josh Strang. Jarrett had a good start, as usual, but young Mr. Martin would pose some concerns for the veteran early in the race. “Alex was going fast right off the beginning,” said Jarrett. “I was hoping he couldn’t go that fast all day ‘cause I knew I couldn’t. He actually even rode well in the woods too. I was surprised. He just made a couple little mistakes.” Luckily for Jarrett, his years of experience paid off in this sport where smart, smooth, and fast beat youthful exuberance most days. After the race, Jarrett shared some personal insight during the podium interview with Bill Gusse. “It was getting kind of old. I was tired of the tracks,” said the friendly gentleman from Ohio. “This series come along and I rode it and adapted to it well. You know, this is what I did growing up is ride trails, and that’s kind of what it is. Once I started doing that some of the fast guys would come here to the OMA’s and I would beat them, the guys that were winning the GNCC’s. I’m like, well, if I can beat them here I can beat them there.” That change in attitude improved his performance and his position in the sport as well. Jarrett announced “We should sign a two year deal for the next two years along with Josh (Strang), so we should be around for a couple more years at least.”

Jarrett’s FMF Suzuki teammate and current rooming buddy Josh Strang (FMF Suzuki / Pro Grip / Acerbis)

picked up second place with a very good ride. Strang was behind Jarrett for a little while. “Then that young Martin kid got in between us and he pushed Jimmy and pulled away a bit,” reported the Australian Enduro rider. “Then towards the end I started getting cramps in the belly. I didn’t have a kidney belt today, so that might have been part of the problem. It wasn’t too good, but the track was good. I had fun and I look forward to the next one.” Strang is also looking forward to next year already. He stated “hopefully with Jimmy (Jarrett) and myself doing it next year we can bring more pro riders” (to the OMA series).

The final Rekluse podium position was captured by former privateer Josh Weisenfels who picked up a ride for the Andrews Racing Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. Arkansas native Weisenfels returned to his off road roots and his skills showed at this race. Weisenfels admitted “It started off kind of slow. I was pumped up a little bit.”

But, after a little time to get acclimated things began to improve for Weisenfels. “I’m on a new bike, so it’s taking me a little bit to get used to it,” he said. “The gearbox is a lot different; the power is a lot different. By the third lap or so I started picking it up. I felt all right. I felt pretty good.”

Fourth place went to the previously noted Alex Martin who recalled passing Jarrett

in the air over the huge triple. “Yeah, and I pulled a tear-off too,” said the Minnesota racer who just happens to have the unbelievable Spring Creek Motocross track in his back yard. “I’ve been training real hard, been riding a lot, said Martin. “I think he (Jarrett) was the smarter one out there. If I would have been a woods rider I probably wouldn’t have cleared that triple up there and just rode behind him for a couple laps if I could. But, I just tried to get up front and sprint away, and I kind of got tired on the third lap. I probably tipped over six times. It was a fun race though. It’s fun riding with the guy (Jarrett). He’s really smooth, really controlled.”

Brian Garrahan (Valli Construction Yamaha / Moose Racing / Maxxis) trailed Martin by only four seconds after two hours, twenty three minutes of racing to collect fifth place. The big guy on the big bike said “my race was pitiful, really. I just couldn’t get a rhythm going.” Garrahan was tight in the morning but said he loosened up later, “but I still just made mistakes. The course was really good, conditions were perfect. It was just one of those days. It didn’t click, it didn’t flow.” Fortunately for Garrahan, it flowed well enough to get him in the top five and collect some valuable series points along the way.

Eighteen year old Fenton, Illinois freshman Pro rider Adam Bonneur (Fun Mart Yamaha / Moose Racing / Maxxis)

battled with the Garrahan and Matt Crouch to pick up a sixth place finish for his efforts. “I had a bad start again, another two kicker. I just can’t get them figured out,” said the recent Morrison High School graduate. “Then I took off and just kind of followed everybody and tried to put as many passes on as I could on the motocross track. I just kind of fell in with everybody else, put a few good passes on people. Me and Matt Crouch went back and forth a little bit there the first lap. Then I pulled away from Matt and ended up catching Brian Garrahan.” The Fastway, DP Brakes, IMS Yamaha rider ran with Garrahan for part of a lap. According to Bonneur, “then I got around him and I put a little bit of cushion between me and him. Then he stopped and pitted and we didn’t. We pitted the next lap, and he caught me by the time I pitted, so he put some time on me.” Bonneur held on to finish sixth, one minute and twenty four seconds behind Garrahan. “I had some fun with Brian Garahan today. I beat Aaron Wegner. I think he was ahead of me in points, so that will help my standing in points. I’m looking forward to the next round.”

had a mechanical problem early in the race but he overcame the difficulty and put his head down to charge forward and finish seventh in the Pro ranks. The young man from Indiana had this to say about his race. “It started out kind of a normal day and then I had some bad luck right off the start and ended up way behind everybody. I lost my rear brake right after the first turn, and I got to the end of the whoops before I realized I didn’t have any. I started to drag the brake going in to the turn and I didn’t have any. I blew the berm and I looked back, and the plunger that goes in to the master cylinder had fallen out.” Bach was plagued by the same issue that slowed his day at the Moose Run earlier in the year. He lost a bolt in the rear brake cylinder assembly, which led to total rear brake failure. Luckily he was close to the pit area, so repairs did not strand Bach in the field. “By the time I went back out I was behind, I think, the C riders,” said the upbeat young man. “I kind of set personal goals; each lap I wanted to pass three or four guys, and I just kept going until I passed three or four guys.” Perseverance allowed the chrisbachonline.com rider to make up lost time and finish eight lap of the massive Spring Creek facility in just over two hours and twenty eight minutes.

Eighth place overall was captured by 30-39 A rider Matt Stavish aboard his LCR Yamaha

YZF450. Stavish, who has raced pro in the Enduro ranks for years, said he “had a really good time. I liked the course. I finally got a good start. I’ve been trying to get up in the front of the A class for a while. It’s nice to be able to step back and just enjoy the races, enjoy the courses, and not have so much pressure. And next year I get to ride the senior class, so, even less pressure. I hate to age myself, but I’m looking forward to next year.” Another high level competitor in the A class is fourteen time Missouri Enduro Champion Steve Leivan (Yamaha / Answer / Dunlop). The Sport Cycles Yamaha 450 mounted veteran had a poor start and could not make up enough time to collect Stavish before the finish. Leivan said the 450 “kind of wants to stand up a little more on me coming out of the corners, so I was trying to not let the thing get going too fast and try to stand up.”

Eight laps were completed with Leivan trailing Stavish by little more than two minutes after two and one half hours of racing. Both praised the quality of the OMA course. “It’s a good series, he (Bill Gusse) knows how to lay out a good race course,” said Stavish while Leivan said “His courses are awesome. All the logs and the ruts and the dirt was perfect. It was fun coming up here.”

Pro racer Matt Crouch (Yamaha / MSR / Maxxis) rounded out the top ten overall. Crouch picked up

eighth place in the Pro class, and was the last racer to complete eight laps. The Yamaha YZ250 mounted Texan had a “decent start” and began a charge early. Crouch “caught up a little ways and got in behind Garrahan and Adam Bonneur.” According to Crouch, “then I fell back a little, got a little arm pump, so I kind of cooled off for half a lap or so then I started getting on it.” Crouch finished his eighth lap after two hours and thirty three minutes on what he said was “an awesome track, really nice and rutty back through the woods. You could kind of get a good flow.”

Ninth place in the Pro class went to Shane Klimek (Yamaha / MSR / Michelin). The Ottawa Illinois Dirt Gear sponsored rider said “I had a really bad start. I’m not a motocrosser. Basically about the third lap in to it is when I started having some fun. I just rode about as hard as I could and ended up getting ninth. Other than that, ate some rocks and shot some rocks.”

Eric Dobner (Yamaha / Fox / Kenda) picked up a win in the Lite A class. “I thought it was wonderful,” he said.

“I think Bill puts on a great show here. I couldn’t ask for anything more. You’ve got the motocross track, you’ve got nice tight woods, you have technical, you have wide open. I had a great time.” Lite A second place was captured by Derek Spangler (KTM / Thor / Maxxis) aboard a KTM 200 from the Cycle Shed. The Servicemaster, Johnny Signs, KTM Hard Parts amateur had a good start, but developed a problem. “I got the holeshot and rode really good in the beginning, said the young Indiana racer. “I lost my camelback midway through. I’ve had strep throat all week, and both of those just kind of caught up to me midway through. I started slowing down, but it wasn’t nothing to complain about. A pretty good day; I had fun.”

JD Friebel won Open A aboard his Country Sports Suzuki. After a three kick start, Friebel took his team two ride through the pack to finish fifteenth place overall. “I had to change goggles quite a bit,” he recalled. “I must have been sweating a little too much today.” Keith Zaagman (Suzuki / Moose Racing) was three and one half minutes behind Friebel to capture second place in Open A. The Zaagman Trucking, G2 Ergo backed rider said “the first half went pretty good, then I started just getting wore down and started falling back a little bit.”

The Rekluse Spring Creek GP goes in the books with Jimmy Jarrett on top again. The race was exciting,


Clint Carr -Pro

with lots of passing and dicing for position. Bill and Monty Gusse laid out another woods course labeled “awesome, perfect, great, and fun” by the racers. The fun element of this race series continues in to the second half of the season. If you are an off road racing enthusiast or racer you owe it to yourself to experience the OMA Nationals series. The racing is exciting, the venues are interesting, and the people involved in this series are great. Come on out and find out what this OMA thing is all about. This is off road racing.

For more on this weekend see Dirt Bike Magazine-Cycle News-ATV Riders.com- Dust Magazine-Trail Rider Magazine-Parts Magazine-&-Dirt Wheels!

Congratulations to all Rd 6 winners! Thank you for a great weekend of racing! Special thanks to PARTS UNLIMITED/MOOSE RACING - REKLUSE - and most importantly... John & Gretta Martin (Spring Creek owners) and Mike & Roger!