Whibley Captures Wolverine OMA Win
| June 24, 2009
The Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals visited Mesick, Michigan, June 21, for round four of the series – the Maxxis Wolverine Cross Country – and Paul Whibley captured win number four on his JG Off-Road Monster Energy Geico Kawasaki.
Whibley took the holeshot, but Whibley’s Kawasaki teammate Jimmy Jarrett took the point position for a few laps. The two set a brisk pace in the Michigan heat and soon had a gap on the rest of the field. The race had the makings of a classic Jarrett-versus-Whibley OMA battle until Jarrett cartwheeled in a high-speed grass track section, ending his day with a DNF. The Ohio-based racer says is okay following the crash, but obviously disappointed with the outcome.
Whibley went on to win the event, while fellow JG Off-Road Geico Kawasaki rider Scott Watkins, riding a KX250F, finished in the number-two slot.
“Things are going good and hopefully I can continue this pace and the results keep coming,” Whibley said.
Third place went to the Pro Moto Billet Rekluse Yamaha rider, local pro racer Aaron Wegner, while Adam Bonneur collected fourth aboard his Gieson Motorsports Moose Racing Yamaha.
Enduro racer Jeff Melik said he “had a bad day” but still rounded out the top five aboard his Pro Action MSR Rekluse Yamaha YZ250.
Watkins summed up the conditions at this event, saying, “I think that was probably one of the hottest races we’ve had yet this year. The heat, you just couldn’t get away from it. There wasn’t enough air and you were just out there being punished the whole time.”
