FMF Racing Sponsors OMA Nationals HOLESHOT AWARD FOR 2011
KTM takes FMF Holeshot $$$ -- Bryan Hulsey (ATV) and Paul Whibley (MC)
OMA would like to Thank FMF Racing for all their support!!!
OMA Rd 5 Maxxis Wolverine - Michigan
Congratulations Paul Whibley on his OMA Overall Win!
Top 5 Overall
Paul Whibley
Chris Bach
Jordan Ashburn
Scott Watkins
Nick Fahringer
Congratulations Chris Wanstead on his OMA Overall Win!
Top 5 Overall
Chris Wanstead - A Class
John Pitts
Chris Blough - A Class
Dustin Reaves
Terry Wanstead - B Class
In picture - Dustin Reaves / John Pitts / Brian Hulsey
Four in a row for Whibley
By Mark Kariya
FMF / AmPro Yamaha’s Paul Whibley led the Maxxis Wolverine Cross-country National, round five of the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals, from start to finish outside of Mesick, Michigan. It marked his fourth consecutive series triumph. American Beta’s Chris Bach ran a strong second, keeping Whibley on his toes all afternoon at the Twisted Trails Offroad Park while Obermeyer/AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn maintained his perfect record of podium finishes with his third-place ride.
Whibley made things easier on himself--and more difficult for the competition--by decisively snagging the $200 FMF Holeshot Award ahead of RM250-mounted privateer Shane Klimek, American Honda/GEICO Powersports/JG Off-road’s Scott Watkins and the rest of the field.
“It was a good way to start a day,” Whibley noted. He then proceeded to spend the next couple hours maintaining a narrow margin over Bach who never gave up despite riding the final lap and a half of the eight-mile course with no tip on the brake pedal. “We were pushing pretty hard because Chris was back there and he was pushing pretty hard as well.”
One thing that worked in Whibley’s favor, however, proved to be the extensive tight woods sections: “It’s quite tight trees [here] so even though it’s a maybe 10-second lead, it’s hard for him to make up because it’s so slow in a lot of that stuff.”
Bach, who’s concentrated on the GNCCs for the past few years after starting his career in the OMAs, said, “I knew what to expect, obviously, from practice yesterday, but at the same time, in practice I tried to do a lap slow to get used to the trails and I tried to sprint the second lap yesterday to see if my mind would process the tight trees.
“It wasn’t even the same [today during the race]. The first lap today we were going so much faster. I wouldn’t say I was out of control, but I was definitely out of my comfort zone.”
Whibley would end up nearly two minutes faster after completing six laps in two hours, 19 minutes and 32 seconds, with Bach’s time 2:21:28. Ashburn would complete the podium with his 2:24:12, though he did it the hard way after botching the start. “I charged real hard the first lap and went to passing people and got up as far as I could. I knew [the leaders] would be gone because I knew they got a good start and it’d be hard to catch them.” So, he spent most of the day a lonely third, though Watkins nearly caught him in the final miles, the Honda rider finishing less than two seconds behind in fourth.
Husaberg’s Nick Fahringer battled a case of arm pump that saw him go backwards in the pack for a while, though he shook that off eventually and clawed his way to fifth.
Michigan’s Aaron Wegner proved the fastest of the locals, taking his Gas Gas EC 250 to the Open A win and sixth overall. That put him a little over 10 minutes ahead of the next A rider, Lite A winner Derek Spangler, with Pro Adam Bonneur splitting them in the overall standings. A riders Ron Sharphorn and Daniel Janus rounded out the top 10.
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Chris Wanstead
1st Overall
Honda / Fox Gear / Maxxis / Quad Tech / EVS / Scott Goggles |
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Paul Whibley
1st Overall
FMF AM Pro Yamaha / Monster Energy / G2 / SIDI / Smith Optics / Motion Pro / JT Sprockets / Pro Taper / MSR / Spectro / Tire Balls / EBC / Shoei / WER |
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Team Epic's John Pitts
2nd Overall
Duncan Racing / Bosch Tools / Vee Rubber / Moose Racing / Spider Graphix
John Pitts took his third win of the season and second in a row.
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Team Epic's Bryan Hulsey
3rd Overall
Duncan Racing / Bosch Tools / Vee Rubber / Moose Racing / Spider Graphix
A mangled thumb from a work injury prevented Bryan Hulsey from riding anywhere close to his potential, though he cruised to third Pro.
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Dustin Reaves
Dirt Works Honda / HMF / Maxxis
Dustin Reeves pressured Pitts for a while but settled for second.
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Chris Bach
American Beta / FMF / GDR / RidePG / Fly / Scott / Sidi / Kalgaurd / Concept2 / Equalibryum / Maxxis
Chris Bach returned to the OMAs and the variety for which it's famous, including liberal stretches of tight trees.
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Jordan Ashburn
3rd Overall
FMF AM Pro Yamaha / Monster Energy / Obermeyer Yamaha / Kenda / G2 / SIDI / Smith Optics / Motion Pro / JT Sprockets / Pro Taper / MSR / Spectro / WER |
