Shane Watts finally ended long and frustrating winless dry spell by adding his name to the list of winners in the Parts Unlimited Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals, yesterday, topping round eight, the Coyote Cross Country, presented by Motion Pro, in Waukin, Iowa.
Defending series champ Jimmy Jarrett got the holeshot on his Andrews Cycle/Kenda/Moose-sponsored Suzuki RM250, but before long, Brian Garrahan went to the front on his Rentoneonline.com/NorCal Motorsports/Moose-backed RM250, leading a tightly packed procession.
Watts slotted himself into second to learn the long, technical course after having missed Saturday’s practice session.
“The other guys started making mistakes the first lap and a half, and it came to a stage where me and Brian had a little gap on the other guys,” Watts said. “I thought, ‘Well, now’s the time to pin it.’ So I pinned it then, because I felt good and had learned the track by then. From there, I just kept pulling away and pulling away.”
Indeed he did, despite the clutch and rear brake going away halfway through the race, Watts maintained a very comfortable and commanding lead all the way to the finish on his KTMHutt.com/Fun Mart Cycles/Moose 200 EXC.
Round seven winner Jarrett and round six winner Justin Williamson, who are 1-2 in series points, ended up battling back and forth for the runner-up spot.
Jarrett found it difficult to ride due to pain and weakness in the shoulder he separated two weeks before at the ISDE in Slovakia, and he conceded second to Williamson until he came around a corner and found the Williamsonracing.com YZ250 racer picking himself up from a crash. Jarrett sped by and fended off Williamson’s attack for the rest of the lap to secure second place and add a few more precious points to his lead as the series heads into its final two rounds.
Early leader Garrahan came out on top of a battle for fourth, just ahead of Chris Bach’s Midwest KTM/Torco/Pro-Action 250 EXC.
