Whibley Takes Seventh OMA Win In Indiana
Medora, IN, (August 5, 2012) – Monster Energy Athlete Paul Whibley turned in another stellar performance in the Parts Unlimited OMA National Cross-country series, winning this weekend’s round in Medora, Indiana by nearly two minutes over series rival Russell Bobbitt.
The victory was Whibley’s seventh of the season in OMA competition, and it extended his lead in the championship chase to a whopping 47 points over Bobbitt with three rounds remaining on the schedule. And if all goes as planned, Whibley will take home an unprecedented fifth-straight OMA national title in 2012.
As usual, Whibley got a good jump off the start at the drop of the green flag. However, the Am Pro Yamaha rider uncharacteristically ran wide in the first turn, allowing Bobbitt and Husaberg rider Nick Fahringer into the top two positions. Heading into the woods for the first time the order was Bobbitt, Fahringer and Whibley.
Midway into the opening lap, Whibs picked up the pace and dropped Fahringer back to third. In the meantime, Bobbitt had managed to break away from the lead pack in a particularly tight wooded section, leaving the Axe Man with a considerable distance to make up.
Whibley gained some ground at the end of lap one in the ultra-fast grass track portion of the track, and one lap later he passed Bobbitt for the lead in the same part of the track.
Once in the lead, Whibley was able to slowly pull away, finishing the race with a minute and forty seconds to spare over Bobbitt, with Fahringer rounding out the top three.
Q: How was this racetrack? Was it to your liking?
A: Yeah, I would say it was a good course. We got a bit of rain on Friday, which kept down the dust, although it was still a little dry in certain portions. The course had good variety, though, with some rocky hill climbs, a grass track section, and a really tight, first-gear woods section.
Q: Did you have trouble staying with Bobbitt during the early going?
A: He managed to get away from us when I was trying to get by Nick. There was a really tight first gear section that was tough to ride on a 450, and Russ was particularly good in that section on his two-stroke. I reeled him in on the grass track, which was a lot faster part of the track. And then that’s where I passed him on the second lap. I think he had trouble at the gas stop after that, because I pulled a big gap at that point.
Q: Did you have any problems or tip-overs?
A: No, everything went smooth for me, except for the start. I got a good jump, but Bobbitt was on the inside of me and he ran a little wide and that pushed me outside and then Fahringer got around me too. But it all worked out in the end.
Q: So you kept the streak alive.
A: Yeah, we’ve had a pretty good year in OMAs, and luckily we have seven straight wins and a big lead.
Q: You and Katherine were staying in Indiana with friends, so I guess you will be driving back home to South Carolina now?
A: Yeah, we’ll start back in the morning and get back to the usual routine. Next week I’ll race a local race and then we have another OMA in Iowa in the 18th.
