OMA Nationals Round Wrap Up May 9 & 10 , Millerstown, KY Proudly Co-Sanctioned with K.O.R.H.S. Kentucky Off Road Hare Scramble Series Rd 2 Results Don't Miss The “The Mudder’s Day Massacre” By: Alan Westerfield Posted Below Along with other Race Reports Wallpaper 1024x768 / Widescreen Wallpaper 1024x768 / Widescreen An ice storm this past winter would obliviate the woods at Royal ATV Park. Making hotlines a nearly impossible. Shawn Hess took his second consecutive OMA win, 18 yr-old, Shane Gaunt 2nd, and Kyle Martin would round out the podium. Getting MAXXIS a podium finish! **Click on "Listen" below images to hear the racers interviewed by John Gasso. ATV Podium Interviews "Listen" Click on images to view larger. Texan, Shawn Hess - Deals on Wheels a.k.a. Hess Motorsports / Honda / Full Factory Elk Suspension sponsored / Maxxis / Tucker Rocky / Answer Racing / Houser Racing "Listen" Race Report ~Click Shane Gaunt - Gaunt Motorsports / Maxxis / Torc / Streamline Breaklines / Scott Goggles / "Listen" Kyle Martin - Honda 450 R - Maxxis / Dirtworks Motorsports (Willow Springs, MO) / Fly Racing / Scott / HMF "Listen" Kentucky native & Privateer, Chris Moore 4th place - Elka Suspension / Fox / Scott John Pitts - Vee Rubber / Rekluse /Moose Racing / DR "Listen" Greg Stewart Maxxis / Moose Racing "Listen" Larry Townsend - A Class - 2nd Place Dennis Switzer - A Class - 3rd Place Glenn Hess - Plus 30 - 1st Place Tim Bair - C ATV - 1st Place Greg Atkins - Dirt Works / Precision PowerSports Josh Beavers - Cycle Shed / Precision PowerSports / Demaree Aaron Ventors - Plus 30 Holeshot -- A Class & Plus 30 Splash! Brooke Remley - the 12 young lady would bring 4 laps! Great Job! She's a Tough Girl ! Onto the Motorcycle Main Event... Team Geico is dominating the OMA Series with another 1-2 -- Whibley - Jarrett! Kurt Caselli would make his OMA debut with 3rd Overall. Sidi boots would take the podium sweep! Posted below is a few pictures taken by John Gasso (Minis) and Mark Kariya (Big Bikes) , click on images to enlarge. M/C Podium Interviews "Listen" 2008 OMA Champ Paul Whibley on a roll! - Team JG Offroad / Geico / /Monster Energy / Moose Racing / Sidi "Listen" Jimmy Jarrett - Team JG Offroad / Geico / Monster Energy / Moose Racing / Sidi Jimmy Jarrett "Listen" Newcomer- Kurt Caselli -KTM / Shock Doctor / Muscle Milk / CIT "Listen" Nick Fahringer - Husaberg / Pirelli / Motorex / Renthal / Scotts Performance "Listen" Justin Williamson - Gas Gas / Go Fasters / Klim / Arai / Dirt Tricks / Johnny Signs / Williamson Racing.com "Listen" Brett Zofchek - Andrews Cycle / Pro Circuit / Moose Racing / Scott / Motorex Alan Westerfield - Countryside Transmission / Moose Racing / Fastway, Motorex / Cycra / Pro Action "Listen" Catch Alan's Race Report Below Kenny Gilbert out of South Africa made an OMA debut - Moose Racing / Rekluse / G2 / VeeRubber / Scott - "Listen" A good view of the ice storm damage in the background Marty Michels - Open A - 2nd - House of HorsePower / All Finish Concrete / Fastway/ProMoto Billet / Clarke / Wasting Time Films "Listen" Zach Klamfoth - Open A - 4th Jeremy Smith - Moose Racing / Smith Goggles / Jackson Performance Center Keith Zaagman - Open A - 6th Maxxis / Moose Racing / Smith Daniel Janus - Open A - 7th Gas Gas / Fastway / ProMoto Billet / G2 Steve Leivan - 30-39 A - 3rd Yamaha / Answer / Dunlop / Fastway ProMoto Billet / G2 / Tsubaki / DP Brakes Barry Elliott (50-57) runs into carnage A good view of the ice storm damage in the background Harvey Whittaker - 40-49 A Mini Racing and Podium Photos ~Click to view larger 50cc 4-6 1st -Elliott Cox 2nd -N/P 3rd -N/P 50cc 7-8 1st -Adam Hollenkamp (C) 2nd -Josh Vender (L) 3rd -N/P 65cc 7-9 1st -Adam Hollenkamp (C) 2nd -Briar Gates (L) 3rd -Bailey Hall (R) 65cc 10-11 1st -Cody Barnes (C) 2nd -N/P 3rd -N/P 50cc 4-6 Elliott Cox 50cc 7-8 Adam Hollenkamp 50cc 7-8 Joshua Tilford 50cc 7-8 Josh Vender 65cc 7-9 Bailey Hall 65cc 10-11 1st -Cody Barnes 65cc 7-9 Bridget Gutish 65cc 7-9 Briar Gates OMA would like to thank Parts Unlimited / Moose Racing - Rekluse - Maxxis - Yamaha - Kawasaki - KTM - DP Brakes - SIDI - Motion Pro - Johnny Signs - Cycra - Kal Gard - ProMoto Billet/Fastway - Wiseco - Fun Mart Cycle Center - Scott Goggles - Moto Comm Helmet Cams Thanks to the Publications for their support of our racers and sponsors Cycle News - Dirt Bike Magazine - Dust Magazine - ATV Riders.com - ATV Action - Trail Rider - Parts Magazine - Off Road Champions - and new online supporter Dirt Rider and ATV Rider! A Special Thanks to the LANDOWNER, Dennis Ward for allowing us to hold an event at Royal ATV Park in Millerstown, Kentucky. We would like to thank everyone for supporting us on Mother's Day Weekend!!!

~OMA

Wasting Time Films latest OMA clips
Catch the clips from rd 2 - Millerstown KY (ATV / MC / Podium)

Shawn Hess Race Report ~Click

Kawasaki Race Report ~Click

Kole Henslee Race Report ~Click

May 10, 2009 OMA Round 2 Indian Bluff XC “The Mudder’s Day Massacre” By: Alan Westerfield   Bill “the hard way” Gusse accepts no watered down whiskey; and considers anything that isn’t as tough as himself… insulting.  His way of life makes the Marlboro man look about as gruff as Barbara Walters.  He eats sissies for breakfast and curses comfort.  Love him, hate him, or really hate him but his formula for off-road races WILL make you a better rider; or at least make you realize how tough an off road race can really be.  Enter May 10, 2009.  Now rewind to January 2009 when KY was hit with the worst ice storm ever recorded.  The temperatures dropped quickly with several inches of freezing rain, root-wadding even the sturdiest of trees and leaving some residents without power for over a month.  Almost every treetop was broken out, bowed over, or split.  The wooded landscape looked as if someone had taken a giant weed eater and made a swath across the land; not cutting the tops cleanly, but leaving them in a twisted configuration.  Spring rolled around with plenty of rain like always; and without the canopy cover, the ground burst with foliage and vegetation.  Most riders saw a mess, but when Bill Gusse came to town; he saw opportunity.   In the weeks leading up to the event, rain hammered the area.  I realized on the practice lap Saturday evening that this was going to be quite an interesting course.  Fast forward to Sunday at high noon.  Riders representing New Zealand, Great Britain, and South Africa lined up next to some of the best tight woods riders the Country has to offer and one local hero that was brave enough to face them.  I decided to pick a spot away from the fast guy coyote’s.  The only person to my outside was Justin Williamson on his Gas Gas 300 all by himself way up on the hill.  The flag finally waved and surprisingly, my 08 KTM 250SXF fired up on the first kick and I hammered toward the first corner.  I saw Justin coming up on my outside aiming for a hole-shot and I let off to avoid getting too close.  It wasn’t a great start for me but luckily I wasn’t in last place either.  Immediately, paddies of mud where hocked at my helmet and face and I could feel the weight of it all.  Head down, throttle locked back, and hope I don’t need to see where I’m going.  My 250F does not have the power to do any passing in the initial stages, but it holds it’s own.  The first mile took us through a few nasty mud holes and into the forest.  Jimmy Jarret ended up in the rear somehow and I heard his 450 Kawasaki bellowing behind me.  I dove off in the bushes to let him by before he punted me.  Soon Scotty Watkins was behind me; and I have nothing to gain by holding faster riders up so I let him pass.  The pecking order was now established and I had no idea what place I was in, but the lead pack had already separated it’s self from my line of sight.  If I had to guess my position, it would be somewhere near last or near last.  The course already showed signs of impassability in places.  A tight single-track trail is all that was cut out; and venturing off the trail proved to be inadequate in gaining time.  Viet Cong pongee sticks waited on victims and radiators while jagged treetops blocked off any would be short lines.    Soon I was alone; and my daydreams of podium celebrations relented themselves to the reality of my scrap eater identity.  I have come full circle as a rider, and have learned to accept what is and what is attainable.  I would be forced to feed off the weak; to thin the herd of those not worthy.  I would catch my unsuspecting victims in their darkest hour; hit them fast, and hit them hard.  My speed is hardly adequate in racing head to head on quick paced easy tracks; but in carrying forward momentum and making line decisions, I don’t do too poorly.  My bike was actually working great.  The standard motocross suspension proved to be a plus when hitting all the soft holes and it kept me from going over the bars on more than one occasion.  In general, woods suspension is great at soaking up small stuff, but taxes you hard when caked with mud and hitting army tank sized holes in the earth.  I have never found a happy medium, so this year I elected to take a beating in the trail junk and be able to slam some obstacles.  I called it my recession suspension set up.  I am running the bike bone stock with hand guards.  Pretty much any bike now days will do the job and you can’t buy a bad one.  Lap two proved that this day would be a long one, as holes became wallowed out and ruts began working in towards China.  Lap riders seemed to be everywhere, some stuck in ruts and some just parked in the middle of the trail.  Bottlenecks were already forming and riders were clumped together like POW’s in a Rambo movie; with that look of frustration and bewilderment welded into their expressions.  They reminded me of flies in a honey jar at some of the tougher mud holes.  I thought I was going to have to stop after sucking some pollen in my windpipe.  It’s happened before in the springtime and whatever it is, it gags me to the point of dry heaves.  I drank some water and did my best cat with a hairball impression to free my airway.     Laps 3 and 4 were fairly uneventful as well and quite predictable with deteriorating conditions.  There were a few ditch crossings that became especially messy.  Encountering one, there was no way around and no way through.  I aimed the little KTM for a 4-inch wide piece of dirt that was still in tact, revved it up in 2nd and when almost to the point of no return dropped the hammer and yanked the bars.  The bike jumped through the air and landed perfectly, keeping me moving.  The fellows waiting to get through were really impressed and cheering me on.  There’s no need to tell them how close I came to eating the moss off the ditch bank attempting that little stunt.  I came upon a young woman from the KY series in the tightest section of the track.  If all trails were like this you would want to hack saw your frame into for an extra hinge point.  Her bike was on its side and there was no way around.  She was straining with all her might.  I kept encouraging her and she kept lifting until she had freed her self.  I think its pretty special to see some one that just won’t give up.  It may cost a few seconds but those people make me proud and I’m going to give them a pat on the back.  You go Jen!  It’s really something to see a woman accept this type of challenge and to complete a lap.  The terrain got worse and worse with each passing lap.  Of all the primates; dirt bike riders have the uncanny ability of finding ways to bull doze new lines with dirt bikes through places that are almost impassable on foot.  It’s my theory that others in the primate family are simply smarter than to put themselves through such punishment.  Out of all the mistakes I saw lap riders do; the worst one is that when some of them get stuck, they simply pin it and dig a hole as deep as a five gallon bucket and adhere a 300 pound motorcycle to the terra firma.  Luckily, the course remained passable; although that is still debatable.    On lap 5 I rounded a corner to find myself in one such rut.  It was nearly handlebar deep and I was dumbfounded as to how this particular rut got so deep with machines that only have 12 inches of ground clearance.  Usually, I would get the front wheel up and dry to wheelie through.  A rider was stuck and obviously had no intentions, energy, or ability to improve his situation.  I hammered my bike and pulled the front well up out of the rut and pushed with all my strength to free myself from the grasp of this quagmire.  It worked and I was so thankful my bike didn’t weigh any more or I may have still been there.  Towards the end of the lap, something strange happened.  I came upon a rider by the name of Scotty Watkins.  Surely, I thought, this can’t be the Watkins that I know of…the one that is fully capable of winning the XCII class in GNCC races.  It certainly was.  There is no mystery in this situation.  99% of the time, I couldn’t get close enough to this bad boy to see his dust; but survival situations can make hero’s out of ordinary folk.  He looked about as comfortable as a politician hooked to a lie detector.  I figured he probably didn’t have a brake pedal or shifter; or else he would be long gone.  To my credit, I am quite a bit larger with long arms and legs and I could goon my way through.  Usually, I see this as a liability because long limbs require more leverage and are easier to break.  I always figured a more compact individual could be stronger, quicker, and have more longevity.  But when you need to get a foot on the ground in the most odd situations, having an extra few inches of legs can make a big difference.  I followed for half a lap and he gave me an opportunity to make a pass.  The scrap eater struck again.  It gave me a newfound energy to pass a rider that is better than myself and I felt like I was breaking the rules.  I rode faster.  Soon I came upon another Kawasaki rider named Brett Zofchek.  He appeared to have hit the wall as well.  I made the pass, and realized that maybe I was doing better than I thought.  Finally, the white flag appeared and I couldn’t be happier to have something to look forward to- the finish.  By this time the track was impassable and would rate in the top 5 of the most difficult tracks ever.  I charged ahead.  Into the lap I came upon another Pro rider- Adam Bonneur.  I slyly crept up on him and made a pass when he went wide around a bad rut and I charged through.  Shortly there after, my tired body forced me to fall over on a mud slick root.  There was Adam laughing and spinning his tire trying to get free.  He made it out before me.  On that final lap, I was able to ride with a couple of history makers.  106 time Missouri State Champion Steve Levian must have had some bad luck because he was a lap down.  Somebody please put a statue of this fellow on top of the Missouri state capital.  Then I came upon the legend Jeff Fredette and made a pass.  I almost flagged him down to shake his hand because I have never met the guy, but am well aware of his years of accomplishments on the KDX 200- the bike that started it all for me too.   I held steady to finish the race with an 8th place finish.  All in all it was tough, brutal, and just the kind of experience I race off road for- to challenge myself against the terrain and other riders.  I needed this because I was growing bored with watered down tracks that cater to beginner riders.  I want big hills, big logs, tight trails, and all those things that add character to a race course.  I was able to beat several riders that, in reality, are faster racers than me; but I’m not a racer.  I work on transmissions and this is my story of how one crazy old fellow with a machete and two dogs made a memory that will last a lifetime.  There really is a place for Bill Gusse in the world; and he’s still doing a good job.  Bring it on Billy! A big congratulation goes out to Paul Whibley not only for his lead in the OMA series but for leading the GNCC series as well.  Can anyone stop this mad man?  Good job to Jimmy Jarrett who is always in the hunt and remains a viable threat anywhere he goes.  A round of applause also for Kurt Casselli for proving that a West Coast (with every coast skills) rider really can rail the tight woods…with out HAND GAURDS!   What a nut!        STEVE LEIVAN Race Report THE BATTLEGROUNDS: Round 2 OMA Nationals; Millerstown, KY; May 10 WHICH YAMAHA I CHOSE: WR290 WHERE I FINISHED: 3rd Vet “A” GETTING READY: Mothers Day weekend was picked for another “Gusse-test” and in the weeks leading up to the event, there were many of my riding pals throwing out the ole “yeah, I’m in this time” line. And once again my list of invitees dwindled, as we got closer to departure time. Some of the excuses this time included “I hurt my shoulder”, “wife said no”, “I might have mono”, “gotta get someone out of jail”, and the ever popular “it ain’t gonna be muddy is it?” So Saturday morning came and Dad aimed the van towards Kentucky while I crawled in the sleeper. I woke up a while later to Dad yelling, “Kole Henslee is on the phone and he thinks he is going with us”. I yelled back “he is” and then I felt the van do a 180-degree turn. Seems Dad missed that memo and had driven past the pick up point by 25 miles or so. No big deal. At least we weren’t in Kentucky when Kole called. We landed at the track figuring that we missed Saturday practice but Gusse told us we were just in time. Kole and I headed to sign-up where my weekend started to go downhill. Dan Janus was in front of me and after several verbal jabs; I gave him a polite slap to the chest. He responded with a very inconsiderate slap to “the twins” and I nearly puked. It would be the first of many “twin-slaps” this weekend that would leave me searching for the ego that I somehow lost in the Kentucky backwoods. Since it appeared to be quite wet, I took Dads’ bike out for the practice lap and left mine in the van to stay dry and clean. While it was muddy in places, more than anything it was TIGHT. Gusse had warned us that it was the tightest course he had laid out and he was true to his word. Seems there was five inches of ice there over the winter which broke the hell out of the trees and then after he hacked out a trail through some of that, high winds and rain came through Thursday and Friday and knocked a bunch of other debris in the way. I’m quite sure Gusse worked his ass off to make this race even happen….and did I mention it was gonna be TIGHT? “GO TIME”: Race day was sunny and bright which gave a bit of a false indication of what was about to go on. I picked a spot towards the inside between Harvey Whitaker and his 570 Berg and “The Question Mark” Andy Brannon on another SCR Yamaha. The flag dropped, I got an awesome jump, shifted into third, and received “slap” number two of the weekend. My bike started cutting out which caused me to quickly think, “Damn, I left the choke on”. I managed to finesse my way through turn one and reach for the choke heading to turn two. The choke wasn’t on. Does that count for “slap” number three? We got to the woods and I realized that the bike would run okay below half throttle. With the tight trail, I immediately saw that glimmer of hope and thought that everything might be fine. And it was fine until we went about ¾ of a mile and found the first bottleneck on a slippery, root infested, uphill turn. It seemed like there were 15 bikes there when I rode up (four were from my row) so I joined the chaos. It seemed like no one had any patience and there was as much ramming, jamming, pushing, and shoving as I’ve seen in a while. I got through there and unknowingly took over the lead. I also managed to go the correct way where the first trail split was and for the rest of the lap things went good. The trail wasn’t too, bad yet and I worked my way around several Lites and Open guys from the row in front of me. My bike blubber only held me back in the open sections so I tried to keep the rpm’s down and keep on keepin’on. Lap two was quite different. There were ruts everywhere and lots of riders who were struggling to finish lap one. The course was so tight, in some places it was difficult to get out of the rut or get around a stuck rider. I fell over trying to get set up for a particularly wet ditch crossing where a half dozen worn out souls looked for an easy route. I stuck both hands in the soupy mud and wasted my goggles all in one fluid motion. I think it was fluid anyway. Whatever the case, it was a motion and it was in the form of another “slap”. Making my way through the ruts and carnage was eventful for sure. My blubbering trouble was not only annoying but also inconvenient since anytime I needed to accelerate quickly to get the front end light or build speed to get through a rut or bog, I would auger right in rather than float right over. But it was still running and I stayed in the lead though the end of lap two. Did I mention that I didn’t know I was in front? With all the mud and chaos it was difficult to tell who anyone was. I stopped for gloves, goggles, gas, and checked the coolant at the start of lap three. Dad and I simultaneously said, “What the hell is wrong with this thing?” We didn’t have a good quick fix-it plan so I took off again. While I was still in sight of the van, I went to wheelie through a rut and instead buried it. I jumped off and used a trick that I learned at the ISDE in New Zealand to extract my bike. I’m small enough that I don’t have much leverage for getting un-stuck so I stood in the rut and leaned in between the rear wheel and fender placing my right shoulder under the silencer. Then I basically do a “squat” until the bike is high enough and then I let it fall over. It worked well this time, but when I went to take off I slid back into the rut and got to do it all over again. Gloves = not clean anymore. Ego = slightly deflated since everyone in the pits was watching. Position = still in front but the wheels are about to come off. Who the hell loosened my axle nuts? Just after the first field, I wadded my bike into another huge rut. I took a few breaths and lifted it out. As I regrouped and tried to find my rhythm, I got hung up on that same rooty turn that was a problem off the start. I got a log wedged between my front fender and tire and as I was working on that I watched Brannon and Jeff Fredette ride by. I got going again and tucked in behind Fredette, who then went the wrong, way and I followed him. Although I figured out our mistake first, that mistake allowed Brannon to get far enough away that I never saw him again. I had two more “major” momentum breakers that lap in which I had to dig my way out. One time I even had to dig another guys bike out first. As if I don’t have enough problems? I lost eight minutes in that one lap….and I wasn’t leading anymore. How many more “slaps” do I get? Lap four and five are mostly a blur. The trail was haggard, bikes and bodies were strewn everywhere, and Whibley was polite enough to lap me and show me the fast way around the trail. On the last lap I came up to the worst hill on the course and paused to look for a line since I had been stuck there already. In the distance I could hear a stroker banging off the rev limiter and then a loud “WHAM” and then the entire hill was coated in a thick white smoke. It was so bad that I couldn’t even see the trees on the hill. I shut my bike off and sat there for a couple of minutes before I could see where to go. I can’t say as I’ve ever done that before. From there I pretty much just rode in and I was happy to see the checkered flag. I felt fortunate that my bike ran all the way to the end and when I saw that I had finished third, I realized that I salvaged something out of what could have been a much worse day. Brannon got second and only beat me by 38 seconds and made me promise to never refer to him as “The Question Mark” again. Done. Bryan Johnson won by a bit over a minute and I never saw him. I reckon he went by during my lap three nightmare. Whatever the case, the three of us weren’t far apart at the end, which means their days must have been as eventful as mine. OTHER STUFF: For not liking mud, Kole did bitchin’! He was 19th O/A and 5th in the super competitive Open “A” class. He really digs dirt bikes and is hauling ass right now and he is just 16 and he drives a van! I bet I can talk him into Michigan in June and the best part is this year he can help drive! So “The Question Mark” story is as follows. After the last OMA round, I did my report before the results were on the website. I couldn’t remember the names of second and third so I put “?”. Well, Mr. SCR Yamaha main man Tim Shephard gets my reports and helps out this Andy Brannon dude as well so when he found out that Andy got second and saw he was a”?” in my report, he gave him some hell. So Andy came by the van before the race and we laughed about it….and then he beat me….and I expect to get some hell from Shephard this time around. Brannon is the mechanic for the current Arenacross champion Jeff Gibson. How cool is that? TODAYS “5 FASTEST”: 1. Johnson (Kaw); 2. Brannon (YAMAHA); 3. LEIVAN (YAMAHA); 4. Studniarz (KTM); 5. McWilliams (Hon) THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT! 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