JG Offroad/GEICO/Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Paul Whibley once again led the way to the checkered flag as the Parts Unlimited Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals paid a visit to the Royal Oak ATV Trails riding park in Millerstown, Kentucky, on May 10 for the Rekluse Indian Bluff Cross Country National – round two of the series.
As with the opening round last month, Whibley’s teammate Jimmy Jarrett claimed second while Shock Doctor KTM’s Kurt Caselli made his OMA debut good for third place.
Co-sanctioned by the Kentucky Off Road Hare Scrambles Series, the woods at Royal Oak were simply a tangle of downed trees, courtesy of severe ice storms over the winter. As a result, promoter Bill Gusse warned participants that he’d been forced to lay out approximate seven of the tightest miles he’d ever come up with. Despite storms a few days before the Mother’s Day race, mud was not a huge problem, being present in only a few low-lying area, though the mostly virgin trail did rut up.
Whibley got things going early, grabbing the $100 Bike Barn Holeshot Award on his RG3-backed KX450F. Caselli also got an excellent start with his Muscle Milk/Michelin/KTM Powerwear 300 XC, tucking into second behind Whibley right away and even taking the lead for a short distance on the opening lap when Whibley took a wrong turn.
But once Whibley corrected his mistake, he quickly snatched the lead back and charged hard in order to break away; he would complete six laps in two hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds.
Unlike his teammate, Jarrett got a horrible start when his bike refused to start so he reluctantly took the Bike Barn $50 Last-place Start Award. Once underway, however, he quickly hunted down the leaders and slotted into second place.
That would be as far as he’d get, though, and Jarrett – still recovering from a cold – finished almost five minutes back in 2:37:33 with Caselli nearly another five minutes back in third.
“Everything’s going good for me – the bike’s working really good, the team’s working good – everything’s coming together,” Whibley observed, “but it’s still a long season; there are eight more OMAs and seven or eight more GNCCs.”
Husaberg’s Nick Fahringer finished a strong fourth with Mid-South Motoplex Kawasaki’s Dustin Gibson rallying for fifth. Gas Gas-mounted Justin Williamson earned sixth in his first OMA appearance of the season over the Yamaha of Adam Bonneur. Local favorite Alan Westerfield put his KTM into eighth over Kawasaki-supported Jordan Ashburn, the first A racer, and Brett Zofchak rounded out the top 10 on his KX450F.
