Paul Whibley Clinches Sixth OMA Championship
Kit Palmer | September 29, 2014
Paul Whibley clinched his sixth OMA title in Iowa. Photography by Mark Kariya
With one round still to go in the 2014 Parts Unlimited Off-Road and ATV (OMA) National schedule, AmPro Yamaha’s Paul Whibley clinched the championship at the River Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Park in Council Bluffs, Iowa, September 28. For Whibley it’s his sixth OMA title, which is the most in the championship’s history.
At The Troll OMA National, Whibley got off to his customary fast start. He grabbed the holeshot and never looked back, saying that he wasn’t about to “cruise” just because he had a comfortable points lead going into the race.
“I don’t really like to cruise—you end up riding worse if you start cruising,” he said.
Most of the action happened behind him and his FMF/Kenda/Monster Energy YZ450F. Jason Thomas ran second for a bit on his Dirt Wise/Kenda/Klim-backed KTM 200 XC, but Adam Bonneur soon made his way past aboard his Woodstock KTM/Maxxis/Fly Racing 450 XC-F, making the podium: Whibley, Bonneur and Thomas.
Some of the best racing of the day took place once again in the popular Pro 2 division between class points leader Mark Heresco and Cody Bollinger, who’d won the previous two rounds. Heresco took control early on his SRT Off-road/Kenda/Clockwork KTM 250 XC with Bollinger falling in line right behind him from the start. The two battled to the end with Heresco holding on for the class win and fourth overall over Bollinger (fifth overall).
Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor
Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes ever since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.
