Whibley Wins Winterset OMA

Mark Kariya | August 22, 2011

A brand-new venue didn’t derail the Whibley wagon at the Sidi Blackhawk Cross-country National on August 21, round seven of the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals, co-sanctioned with the Iowa Enduro Riders Association. Despite some early pressure from American Beta’s Chris Bach and Obermeyer Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn, Whibley rolled to his sixth-consecutive series win.

The three-time and defending series champion got it started with a killer jump off the line and snatched the $200 FMF Holeshot Award, Bach sliding into second place right away. Ashburn, on the other hand, spotted the field 12 seconds when he failed to start his Factory Connection/Kenda/MSR-sponsored YZ250F. Only a banzai charge during the first lap got him into third and within range of Whibley and Bach.

From there, Bach and Ashburn both harassed Whibley, with Bach tasting the lead but Whibley grabbing it right back, Ashburn watching it all go down from a close vantage point.

But a couple of freak issues hit Bach’s FMF/Maxxis/Fly-backed 450 RR, both centering around the petcock. First, something turned it off and killed the bike. Not long afterward, it died again and when Bach looked down, he saw fuel pouring out of a hole where the petcock used to be before something broke it off. He was done for the day.