Visiting the Kirkpatrick land north of Memphis, Missouri, May 22-23, round two of the Rock River Arms OMA Nationals Series, the Team K Outfitters Sarge XC presented by FamMX and co-sanctioned with MXC and IERA, took place on a course that was pummeled by rain. But that only seemed to play into the hands of Illinois’ own Tommy Fortune Jr. (Yamaha) who needed just two minutes on Bryan Johnson (Kawasaki) to claim the overall win after nearly two hours of racing in the slop.
Fortune Wins Sarge Cross-Country
The next-best rider, TJ Nees (FunMart Cycle G2 KTM 250), was a bit farther back, taking the checkered flag a little more than 14 minutes later.
The weather forecast called for sunny and mild on Saturday. It was wrong! Rain earlier in the week left the ground saturated and continuous drizzle overnight Friday combined with off-and-on rain Saturday morning made conditions less than favorable. While the rain did finally cease before the one-hour delayed afternoon start, the trails were left in a quagmire.
The two morning races, Youth and C classes, utilized much of the same six-mile trail that the afternoon Pro-Am race would follow. After one hour and 52 minutes and five laps of struggling through the mud it was Fortune Jr., aka “Buddy,” taking the checkers aboard his Mom and Dad-sponsored G2 Douglas and Frye Yamaha YZ250.
“Old man” Johnson put his Moose Racing FMF Kawasaki 250F on the podium after getting off to a slow start. TJ Nees rounded out the Pro-Am podium, finishing third overall.
“It was great. It felt good,” said Buddy. “It [the mud] wasn’t too bad. There was a lot of single-trail. It was definitely challenging where you had to think real smart. There were holes everywhere. Pretty much every other corner. I basically just tried to keep it on two wheels the whole time. I think I only laid it over once. Other than that, I had a great race, and just tried not to get stuck.”
Johnson had a terrible start, and the veteran racer had to play catch-up all day. Following his last-place start, Johnson was able to get himself within two minutes of Fortune after five laps of mud and struggles.
“I’m pretty pumped,” Johnson said. “[This was my] best national in a little while. Hanging with the kids. I couldn’t quite catch the leader. I didn’t get to see him. That’s what happens when you start last. I like to pass everybody. I passed more people than him [Fortune].”
Although the trails were very muddy, “It wasn’t fun,” Johnson said. “But it sure did suit my riding style, so I can’t complain about the finish. It was rough. You could get stuck pretty much anywhere. On the start line you could get stuck. It was bad.”
Rounding out the Pro-Am podium, Nees was happy with the track conditions. “It was pretty fun,” he said. “I was going into this race hoping for a mudder. I got what I wished for and ended up getting third place. I just tried to have fun. I got stuck a couple times, but I ended up getting out and pushing to the finish.”
Close on Nees’ heels was A-class rider Gavin Minnaert (KTM). The youngster from Geneseo, Illinois, captured his class win along with fourth place overall. Minnaert was the only A rider to complete all five laps.
Pro-Am Kirk Foster (Beta), the final Pro-Am rider to complete five laps of the grueling course, finished five minutes behind Minnaert with a final time of two hours and 15 minutes.
Trevor Kromray was sixth overall and the second-best A-class rider on the day. Kromay finished a little more than a minute ahead of Kawasaki-mounted Kody Schetler, who was the top-placing B-class rider.
Dakota Carber (KTM), Jason Protiva (Yamaha) and Briar Greene (KTM), who was the runner-up B rider, completed the top 10 overall.
Drew Allen (Yamaha) was the overall winner in the C-class group.
By John Gasso
RRA OMA Nationals Series
Round 2
Sarge XC
Memphis, Missouri
RESULTS (May 23, 2021)
OVERALL (Top 10)
| 1. | Tommy Fortune Jr. | (Yam) |
| 2. | Bryan Johnson | (Kaw) |
| 3. | TJ Nees | (KTM) |
| 4. | Gavin Minnaert | (KTM) A |
| 5. | Kirk Foster | (Bet) |
| 6. | Trevor Kromray | (KTM) A |
| 7. | Kody Schetler | (Kaw) B |
| 8. | Dakota Carber | (KTM) A |
| 9. | Jason Protiva | (Yam) |
| 10. | Briar Greene | (KTM) B |
Click here for all the latest off-road racing news.
