After a disappointing DNF at round seven, Team FMF/Suzuki Off-Road’s Jimmy Jarrett got back into his usual groove by winning round eight of the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals, the Cycra Coyote Cross-country near Waukon, Iowa. Despite a last-place start when his Works Connection/Dunlop/Moose-backed RM-Z450 didn’t light up until the entire pack exited the second turn, Jarrett ran his competitors down and picked up his sixth victory of the season. In the process, he also clinched his fourth consecutive series championship. Teammate Josh Strang stayed close behind for nearly the entire distance and made it a Suzuki 1-2 on his 450, while early leader Brian Garrahan put in one of his better rides to claim third on his Valli Construction/Maxxis/Moose YZ450F.
“I definitely wanted to come out here and win, but also I want to win a championship so that’s in the back of my mind, too,” Jarrett said. “I was able to do both today so I’m pretty happy.”
With the series championship worth $10,000 from the OMA alone and the Cycra race win paying out a $2500 event purse to the Pros, the monetary rewards undoubtedly figured into Jarrett’s satisfaction.
However, he did it the hard way. In order to prepare for Suzuki’s planned exclusive use of the big four-stroke next season, Jarrett and Strang made their first starts on the RM-Z in Iowa, but Jarrett’s bike failed to start when promoter Bill Gusse waved the green flag. By the time YZ250-mounted privateer Aaron Wegner was leading the field out of the second turn, Jarrett was just starting to roll away from the starting line.
“I’ve kicked it a few times just to practice and it’s always fired right up, and I wasn’t even worried about it,” Jarrett claimed. “When it came time to have to start it [in a race], it never did so I was a little bummed about that. I just put my head down and charged pretty hard the first lap and was able to get up front so it was good from there.”
Indeed, Jarrett charged from last to first in the space of the first nine-mile lap and held it to the finish, though Strang managed to get close in the latter stages of the race. Unfortunately for the young Australian, getting stuck for a moment on one hill gave Jarrett some breathing room, and Strang would end up 25 seconds back at the checkered flag, equaling his series best finish and making for two podium finishes in three starts.
Garrahan, who’d poked his head in front in the early going, would end up almost two minutes back for third place, solidifying his hold on second in series points. Fun Mart Cycles/Maxxis/Moose YZ250-mounted Adam Bonneur claimed fourth, while Wegner finished fifth on his Kenda/WER/Zip-Ty Racing YZ250, taking over third in points from Chris Bach whose KTM suffered engine problems which dropped him from contention.
