OMA Nationals Round Eight Win Goes to Andy Lagzdins
Article and photos by John Gasso

Pro ATV Racer Andy Lagzdins (Honda / Moose Racing / ITP) made the trek from Maryland to Waukon, Iowa and collected another win after a hard fought battle. Series champion Rob Zimmerman (Honda / Moose Racing / Maxxis) captured the holeshot and the race was on at the Cycra Coyote XC. “I just tucked in behind,” said Lagzdins. “I figured I’d just watch what he (Zimmerman) did for a couple laps; kind of see what kind of pace he was carrying.” The pace set by Zimmerman and Lagzdins was over thirty seconds quicker per lap than their nearest competitor for the first five laps. “I finally got that start monkey off my back,” recalled Zimmerman. “The grass track was definitely fun to run.” The racing was fast and close, and spectators were getting a great show. Zimmerman said, “I blew one corner and Andy was able to get around me. After Andy got by me I was having a ball. It was neck and neck. It was fun. Then my luck kicked in.” A flat tire changed the race progress for the defending series champion. He said, “I looked down and the tire’s flat. There’s two huge dents in the rim.” Unfortunately for Zimmerman, his problems did not end with the flat tire. The chain snapped on his outerwears, pro armor, big gun sponsored Honda, and his race was over. Zimmerman would end his day credited with a fifth place finish and a wider deficit in the series points battle behind Lagzdins.

The Duncan, Dirt First Honda 450 of Andy Lagzdins would ultimately take home first place after 8 laps in one hour, fifty one minutes, and twenty nine seconds. “Being patient I guess paid off in the long run today,” he commented. “The key today was this machine I’m riding. My mechanic, Jim, takes care of this thing and puts it all together. We use all the best stuff. Duncan motor and Elka shocks, ITP tires, everything worked perfect today.” When promoter Bill Gusse asked Lagzdins about his use of tire balls, the winner said “oh yeah, that’s a must.” The victory gives Lagzdins a cushion in the series points race with two more events on the schedule. According to Lagzdins, “it definitely makes it more comfortable having more of a points lead going in to the last two (races). The tracks coming up I’ve never been to, so it’s always good to have a little bit of an advantage. I like to think I got all of my bad luck out of the way earlier this year. I’m hoping to just put together a few solid races and do what I’ve got to do to wrap it up.”

Wisconsin racer Casey Pries battled throughout the day with Matt Lindle. The two Honda mounted riders were locked in their own back and forth competition. Pries ultimately pulled his Elka suspension, Scott Goggles backed ride ahead to capture second place on the Cycra podium. “It was pretty rocky out there,” he recalled. “It was a nice track though.” Lindle also noted the rocks, saying, “they are everywhere. I got a flat tire just out of the helmet check, the first rock section there. I got going and it just started pulling hard to the left.” A successful tire replacement allowed the youngster to battle his way back to capture the final podium position.

Fourth place overall was captured by A ATV rider Jon Hughes aboard another Honda 450r. Hughes has “no sponsors. Just myself and a couple of my buddies that help me out.” He was the last racer to complete eight laps of the grueling course. “It was a fun track,” he said. “It beat me up a little.”

Female racer Kim Muzzarelli picked up seventh overall and third in the B ATV class aboard a Yamaha. She said Waukon is “my favorite track; any series, any harescrambles.” Just behind her, local racer Kevin Benjegerdes finished in eighth place overall and picked up second in the A ATV class. “It was good and rough like usual. The first time in a while it didn’t break,” he said. “It was good fun, now I just need to go to sleep.”

Curt Demay earned fourth place in the pro class aboard his Moose Racing, Gieson Motorsports backed Kawasaki 450 after a very rough day. “Well, first lap I hit a tree on the downhill and I couldn’t get the quad off,” said the likeable young racer. “Everyone just went by.” The Mom and Dad sponsored pro finally managed to get himself out from under his quad after an extended struggle. Demay said, “I played catch up. I got tired a little bit and hung on.”

Ryan Barness collected fourth place in the A ATV class aboard his Colsch Cycle Honda 450. The local pro loaned his quad to Rob Zimmerman after the past series champion suffered a broken chain. “I was right behind him so I said take mine,” said Barness. “He jumped on it but they wouldn’t let him finish. My hand was blistering and bleeding, so I knew I was going to be done soon.”

Country Sports Racing Honda pro Racer Rob Weis went home with sixth place in the pro class and a broken sub-frame on his bike. He recalled “I came off a downhill section; hit a few bumps pretty hard. As soon as I got down to the bottom my carburetor pulled right out from my engine; killed it.” The Power Mad, Moose Racing, Hyper rims sponsored rider said “the day was goin excellent the first two laps.”

Matt Lindle(left)-Casey Pries (below)
The weather was perfect in Waukon, Iowa for this eighth round event in the Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals series. The racing was close and exciting for racers and spectators alike. Rob Zimmerman continues to be plagued by bad luck while Andy Lagzdins now owns a sizeable lead in the series points battle with his victory at the event Bill Gusse referred to as Rock on north of Waukon. The next event is The Race in Fenton, Illinois on October 20 and 21. It should be interesting to see the outcome of one of the toughest races in the series on Bill Gusse’s home turf in the land of logs and peat whoops. This is off road racing.

More photos may be found at www.photobyjohn.com

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

Congratulations to all Rd 8 winners! Thank you for a great weekend of racing! Special thanks to PARTS UNLIMITED/MOOSE RACING - MAXXIS - and CYCRA!