Steward Baylor (514) swept both motos for the second consecutive round as he reeled off his fourth triumph in the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) Nationals on his Everrev KTM/Kenda/Fly Racing 250 XC.
The Buck Run—co-sanctioned by the MXC and WFO series—served as a round four makeup race after the originally scheduled event at this venue got rained out last month. Baylor, however, showed no sign of rust, chasing and then passing early leader Jimmy Jarrett in each 45-minute heat. Jarrett went 2-2 for second with Adam Bonneur a 3-3 third.
Jarrett nabbed the $100 FMF Holeshot Award in the first moto aboard his JJR Off-road/Dunlop/Moose-backed KTM 450 XC-F but couldn’t hold off Baylor for more than a few miles. Once Baylor got in front, he stretched his lead slowly but surely—11 seconds after the first lap, 12 seconds after the second, another 17 on the third and final circuit—with Jarrett probably trying too hard and making mistakes as a result, with Bonnneur also suffering the same fate.
Moto two saw Jarrett once again jump to an early lead but this time holding it for more than a lap.
Baylor said, “His speed was awesome and his lines were flawless, as always. It’s hard to capitalize on a mistake when a rider won’t make a mistake; that’s the biggest issue when riding with Jimmy: It’s hard to get him to make a mistake.”
Jarrett made one last push on the final lap of the day when he saw Baylor get stuck. Unfortunately for Jarrett, he also found himself bogged down and settled for second again.
A front foam insert with probably a bit too much time on it caused Bonneur grief he hadn’t counted on and put him on the ground a time or two, but the Fun Mart Cycles/Maxxis/Fly Racing KTM 350 XC-F racer saw the bright side: “I’m not happy being as far behind [Baylor and Jarrett] as I was, but I definitely think I had the speed. I just need to smooth out a little bit and have a little luck go my way!”
Once again, the Pro 2 division provided the most competition and saw some wild swings in fortune. Suzuki-mounted privateer Shane Klimek easily topped the first moto and appeared to be repeating that in the second heat when he went down, losing a lot of ground to end up ninth in the moto and fifth overall Pro 2.
Kerrn Racing YZ250-mounted Alec Bill came out on top with his 2-2 day, marking his first-ever OMA Pro 2 victory before heading to try his luck the next day at the Peoria TT amateur day. A 3-3 gave Fun Mart Cycles Husqvarna-mounted Colt Converse second in class while Bryan Johnson turned in a 4-4 performance for third aboard his Pirelli-backed KX250F.
Pro 2 points leader Duell Murphy DNFed after reportedly breaking a chain in a remote part of the course in moto one and Mark Heresco—the Pro 2 winner at rounds one and three—skipped the Buck Run. So, Klimek should be the new points leader after his fifth in class with 83 points, unofficially.
