River Front GP - Fort Smith, AR- Round 3
All photos posted by Mark "Kato" Kariya
Be sure to friend OMA Nationals on Facebook to review all the video clips from this weekend.
Audio interviews on this wrap up report coming soon...
Thank you Arkansas Hare Scramble Championship Series, Mike Lorenz, Comfort Inn, and Ivy Owen and the FCRA for all their support! And a thank you to all the racers and their families who came out and supported us on the Best Holiday of the year!
Paul Whibley’s competitors know that their best chance of beating him is to get away from him at the start. So, for the River Front Grand Prix--round three of the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on Easter Sunday--Russell Bobbitt of the FMF/KTM Factory Off-road Racing Team installed a holeshot device on the front end of his 300 XC, finally getting it dialed not long before the start.
It apparently worked, as the enduro specialist rocketed off the line and around the first turn in front to grab the $200 FMF Holeshot Award.
Behind him, step two of the plan to unseat Whibley unfolded when Husaberg’s Nick Fahringer squared off the turn and shot to the inside exiting the turn, his line causing him to inadvertently sweep Whibley’s front wheel and deposit the AmPro/FMF Yamaha star on the ground.
By the time Whibley picked himself up, he was in last place and staring defeat in the face.
But Whibley hasn’t won the last four OMA championships by giving up and he went to work immediately. By the end of the first eight-mile-long lap, he trailed only Bobbitt and Fahringer, and knew that this race would come down to the last half.
His patience paid off.
Bobbitt reported, “After we pitted--about an hour in or so--I think I got some water in my gas or something because my bike started cutting out.” He double-checked the fuel petcock then tore the vent hose off the tank, but neither action immediately solved the problem.
Well, they did help Whibley, who finally passed the frustrated Bobbitt on the next-to-last lap. But Bobbitt wasn’t through yet. “I made a pass back on him and I kind of gave up one of my good lines, which I should have,” he said.
“Regardless, I got stuck on the last lap when I was right behind him. I had to pull my bike out of the rut and lost probably about a minute or something.”
That spelled the end of Bobbitt’s chance to repeat his triumph at last year’s series opener and Whibley sailed away uncontested the rest of the lap to win his third straight--12 if you count last year’s run.
“It took me a long time to start making any time on Russell,” Whibley conceded. In fact, Whibley didn’t realize he’d passed Bobbitt for the lead until after he went by and looked back: “So the race was on for the last half of the race, probably.
“It was tough. It was probably good for the spectators, but I like it better when I get a holeshot and take off!”
Fahringer ended up a lonely third on his TE 300 while TJ’s Cycles of Austin KTM-mounted Cole Kirkpatrick claimed fourth over local rider Zach Ingram. Shane Klimek put in a good ride for sixth aboard his trusty RM250 followed by Bryan Vaughn, 30-39 A winner Steve Leivan, Matt Barger and Lite A winner Andrew Smith.
We have come to see the resemblence between Paul Whibley and an unstoppable freight train.
Paul Whibley Race Report
A long 13 hour drive to the western corner of Arkansas, where round 3 of the OMA series was staged basically inside the city limits of Fort Smith. Don’t let that description fool you though as OMA promoter Bill Gusse still managed to find plenty of mud holes and tight technical woods to throw our way.
I got off to a good start, although so did Russell Bobbitt who lined up beside me and held the inside line into turn one. I got pushed wide and clipped Nick Fahringer as he swept around the outside, going down as my front end got taken out. Remounting in last position with twistedbars and a lot of work to do to catch Russell, who was fast creating a sizable lead. I managed to push my way up to third by the end of the first lap and could see Nick in second. Nearing the end of the second lap I swept past Nick as we entered a fast grass field. Russell had built a lead of over 30 seconds and was riding good. I kept pushing and slowly the gap closed.
At the fuel stop I caught sight of him as he left the pits. In the next lap Russell had some problems and I caught right up to him and made a pass. He recovered from his issues quickly and we started swapping positions as we battled for the lead. Going into the last lap I held the lead although I hadn’t managed to put any time on Russell. The track was cutting up and some deep ruts were forming in some mud holes. Russell picked a bad line and wedged his KTM in one of these deep ruts coming up out of a small creek crossing. I hadn’t realized he had dropped so far back until crossing the line for the win. Assessing the damage from the first turn crash revealed a pretty twisted radiator although the
Unabiker radiator braces held it all together so I could finish the race.
Paul Whibley is supported by:
AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith, G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders MCC, Darbis, GHQ, Sargent Motorcycles, Yamaha NZ,
Rosscos Start up Services, Works Connection, Pro Taper, Race Pace Services, Unabiker, Leatt Brace, Tire Balls, bikesportnz.com, Stuk
The AmPro Yamaha Team is supported by:
FMF Kenda Yamalube Asterisk CV4 Cycle Gear E-Bat, EBC Brakes Factory Connection Fastway Gaerne GYTR, IMS Leatt Brace Motion Pro MSR Pro-Clean Rekluse
Shoei Slavens TM Designworks Cycra Twin Air Wiseco, ZipTy Racing AllBalls Racing Pro Taper Stuk
RUSSELL BOBBITT GRABS THE FMF HOLESHOT
On Saturday, Russell sat on the starting line for Saturday's fun race, staged right next to Paul Whibley, fidgeting with his "new secret holeshot weapon"... with about 30 seconds left, he gets help from OMA crew member Ryan Wilkens,
we are all one big family, as the seconds come to an end the green flag ready to drop, Russell shouts out "Thanks! Paul's holeshots are Over!" Followed by a chuckle from Paul, as if he has no concern of this threat.
Here... Both feel confident the other is not a threat in getting the FMF Racing Holeshot.
Paul stumbles as Russell grabs the holeshot with his new ''secret holeshot weapon"
All photos are available for purchase, contact John at john@photobyjohn.com
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After falling in the first turn and getting away last, Paul Whibley ran down the pack and kept his OMA record perfect at three for three. If you count his wins from last year, that's 12 in a row.
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Russell Bobbitt got a great start to earn the $200 FMF Racing Holeshot Award and led the way until late in the race; getting stuck in a mudhole on the last lap relegated him to second.
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After riding through arm pump in the opening laps, Nick Fahringer would take podium third. Sometimes that "Line" looks better than it actually turns out to be. |
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Cole Kirkpatrick made his first OMA in a while, ran near the front and ended up fourth |
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Local racer Zach Ingram put in a great ride to end up fifth for the day.
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MATT BARGER
Interview below in Part 3 of Podium |
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TUCKER SMITH
Tucker Smith was running 6th Overall until the bad luck we all have experienced a time or two.. running out of gas.
Bet that ride home was not fun for the pit crew :)
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TYLER BARRETT
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Interview below in Part 3 of Podium |
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RUSSELL BOBBITT
GEOFF BRAICO |
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Paul Whibley (Yamaha jacket) at the autograph session getting a thank you from little Ryder Reneau after Paul gave Ryder a autographed race jersey. Ryder had a bad crash during his morning Pee Wee race breaking his nose in the process. Ryder Is one tough Lil kid.. and Paul is a great role model.
Interview
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50cc PODIUM
1st- Ty West (Center)
2nd- Jason Anderson (Right)
3rd- Mackenzie Burns (Left)
Interview |
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RUSSELL BOBBITT
GEOFF BRAICO |
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Leivan Race Report
MY BIKE: KTM 250 XC
WHAT/WHERE/WHEN: Round 3 OMA Nationals; Ft. Smith, AR; April 8
HOW IT ENDED: 1st +30 “A” – OVERALL “A” – 8TH OVERALL
BEFORE THE START: After a week off, the OMA Nationals were in action again at the “closest to home” race on the schedule (for me). Since it was just three hours from home, we (Lance, Andrew, and I) decided to head out on Saturday morning which meant a very rare Friday night at home.
We got to the track on Saturday afternoon and set up camp and listened to the gossip about the “dust between the mud holes”. Hmmmm. Later in the afternoon, it was our turn for a practice lap around the track and yeah, there was a bit of dust. But not all that much. There was a lot of fresh trail for our race and a lot of it was soft and seemed certain to rut up. Oh, and yes, there were some mud holes. All in all, it was a cool track with plenty of stuff to think about.
That night we headed into town with Cole Kirkpatrick and Drew Higgins to wash bikes and grab a bite to eat. When we headed back to the track to camp for the night, it started to rain, but luckily it didn’t last for long. We called it a night and slept in a little the next morning, until we heard Gusse on the loud speaker inviting all the kids to participate in the Easter egg hunt. Lance and Andrew were both very disappointed that the had forgot to bring their baskets.
THE RACE: The +30 “A” class was on the fourth row and I was able to get the holeshot – which turned out to be pretty beneficial since there was a bit of dust right off the start. The first few miles was ATV trail so you could clip along pretty good and I tried to ride hard to start catching the rows in front of me. I was able to do just that and slip by a few guys before the end of lap one.
The next couple of laps were more of the same – just trying to go fast and catch the next guy. Some sections of the track were falling apart and it was important to pay attention and read the trail so you didn’t end up in a bottomless rut. I caught up to my buddy Andrew halfway through lap three and he was rolling – and leading the Lite “A’ class. I pretty much let him pull through all of the bogs and ruts and at the end of the lap I stopped for fuel.
Dad didn’t go with us this trip and I didn’t really have anyone designated to pit for me, so I gassed myself and then I was back on my way. It took me a bit to catch up to Andrew and when I did, I realized that he had caught up to Drew (who was leading the Open “A” class). I felt like we were all going good and it was pretty cool the next four miles or so – all three of us keying off of each other and all three of us winning our classes.
I was able to get by Drew by jumping a muddy high speed ditch and then I did the exact same thing to get by Andrew just a few hundred yards later. That gave me a gap over those guys and from there on I tried to ride a good pace, but one that would keep me out of trouble and preserve the bike.
I wasn’t sure how many laps we were going to go so I stopped and gassed myself one more time at the start of what turned out to be my last lap. Whibley was in his typical “late race mode” and lapped me a couple of miles from the end of the lap. I was bummed that I didn’t get to go again because I was really hoping for a good overall result and then I started thinking that I had passed all of the other “A” riders, so maybe I would have a good O/A anyhow.
THOUGHTS & OBSERVATIONS: I was pretty stoked to see that I finished 8th Overall and was the Overall “A’ rider. It’s been a while since I’ve done that (Overall “A”) so it’s good to be there again. All in all I felt really good and had a clean ride except for one small tip over. It was probably good practice for the upcoming NEPG events in that I spent a lot of time trying to charge after the next guy, and in the process I was setting my own pace.
Andrew had another awesome day winning his class and getting 10th Overall. It was fun riding with him and Drew and cool that we were all able to win.
Lance was having a top 15 overall ride when his bike gave up on the last lap. Andrew and I went to rescue him and he was obviously bummed. But I think he felt better knowing that he was riding good and could have (should have) earned a great overall result. We will have him ready for the next one.
Cole had a great day and finished fourth O/A. I know his body is a bit beat up from bailing off a couple of weeks ago, but he rode a bitchin’ race and finished behind the three guys that seem to hogging the podium every race so far.
Zach Ingram (Cole and my teammate at the Off Road Cup) had a great ride as well and finished fifth overall on his home turf. Good job boys!
THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!
SPONSOR LIST – HELPING ME MAKE IT HAPPEN
KTM NORTH AMERICA :: ARAI :: BULLET PROOF DESIGNS :: CLOCKWORK :: DUNLOP :: ENDURO ENGINEERING :: EVS :: FAH-Q :: FLY :: FREEDOM CYCLES :: LEOVINCE :: NGK SPARK PLUGS :: NICHOLS ENTERPRISE :: PIVOT WORKS :: PROUD SIS :: RACE TECH SUSPENSION :: RENTHAL :: SILKOLENE :: TSUBAKI :: VERTEX
All photos are available for purchase, contact John at john@photobyjohn.com
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Last year we had John Pitts dominating the Pro Class. With his third consecutive triumph, newcomer Jody Estes has become the dominating factor in the Pro Class.
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Runner-up Spencer Dickerson leading eventual fourth-place finisher Mike Taylor just before getting the white flag. It was a good race up front all day.
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Ryland Johnson got on to the podium for the first time this season with his third place.
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JD WILLIAMS |
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DUSTIN COWAN |
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A - CLASS HOLESHOT |
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OMA would like to announce our new graphics sponsor Stuk Graphix on board! Britt Hebenstreit an OMA A class racer himself, has officially launched his new graphics company, and we highly recommend racers to support Stuk Graphix, Britt is one you, a complete Off Road enthusiasts! You can contact him at stukgraphix@yahoo.com or 217-556-3051 for more information. Stuk Graphix's website will be launched soon. As of now you can catch him on Facebook
--------------------------------------------- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ---------------------------------------------
From: Maxxis International
Date: 1.20.2012
Over $1 Million Cash in Maxxis’ 2012 Race Contingencies
Maxxis is again offering cash contingencies totaling more than one
million dollars to all ATV and motorcycle racers in seven major U.S.
off-road race series.
That’s right - cash! Not just discounts, coupons or free product. Cash payouts are available to first through third-place finishers in most classes!
Payouts range from $25 all the way up to $500 for the pro class in certain series. Riders can earn cash in the following series: ATV Motocross Nationals; Extreme Dirt Track Nationals; GNCC ATV and MC; Maxxis New England ATV-MX; Mid America XC Racing ATV and MC; OMA Nationals ATV and MC; and WORCS ATV and MC.
“We’re offering up one million dollars in cash again for 2012,” said Scott Perkins, marketing specialist for Maxxis’ Specialty tire division. “We are proud to offer this support to all the racers in these series. Our tires are known for their durability along with their pro-level performance, which means they are already a great value to racers. But this cash goes above and beyond to help them with racing expenses.”
Riders must run Maxxis tires on all four wheels for ATV and on the front and rear for motorcycle, and must display the specified number of Maxxis decals on their vehicles. Full instructions are on the contingency application forms. To view or download forms, please visit
http://www.maxxis.com/MotorcycleATV/Contingency-Programs.aspx.
About Maxxis International
Maxxis International is a producer of high quality automotive, light truck, motorcycle, ATV, bicycle, lawn & garden and industrial tires. Maxxis has delivered quality tires to original equipment and aftermarket customers for over 40 years. For more information on Maxxis and Maxxis products, please visit maxxis.com.
For more information see our Rulebook ---- Welcome 2 OMA, ---- Event Info. |
