Offroad Motorcycle and ATV Nationals 2008 OMA Racing Series Round #3 - Rio Grande, OH Coal Miner XC May 25, 2008

By: Andy Lagzdins

The terrain at the Ohio track was standard cross country fare, with the hard pack dirt making the woods fast and the turns flat. A few muddy areas and stream crossings would keep things interesting, and the long grass section would make for many passing opportunities. With the weather leading up to the event having been fairly wet, there was absolutely no dust on the track. On the sighting lap, it was apparent that the race would be high speed, with only a few questionable mud holes that could get sloppier than a 3 year old with a bowl of Franco-American ravioli and meat sauce. The open fields were going to be fun, as there is nothing like sliding your quad in third gear full throttle through sweeping turns with the steering to the stops and the engine banging off the rev limiter.

Yamaha's Brandon Sommers Lead the Pro ATV pack through the first turn

The OMA regulars were on the start line, with points leader Rob Zimmerman, Shane Gaunt, Matt Lindle and I ready to do battle with the AWRCS contingent of Brandon Sommers, Jeff Pickens, Johnny Gallagher. Also on hand were GNCC ProAm riders Donnie Ockerman and Mark Notman, with KTM-mounted David Crane making another appearance after contesting the previous two rounds of the OMA Series. Sommers pulled the holeshot, followed by Ockerman and Notman. Top GNCC Senior A rider Tom Wright was making his OMA debut, but got T-boned by another rider in the first turn and locked quads, which required a few people to separate the two machines.

Fifth place at the OMA Nationals round three Coal Miner XC went to KTM pilot David Crane. Crane had a little hang time on this uphill that was capped with a bit of a kicker.	Yokley Racing / National Guard's Mark Notman rounded out the Motion Pro Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals Pro ATV podium with a third place finish at two hours, four minutes, and forty four seconds.

Going through the four grassy turns before entering the woods, and I was running fifth with David Crane putting the pressure on me. Crane and Zimmerman both made there way past me in the opening laps, and I was struggling to keep the pace. I tried to put in consistent, mistake free laps to have a good result this year after crashing late in the 2007 event and badly breaking my throttle thumb. As the race approached the halfway mark, Brandon and Donnie were battling out front, with Pickens and Notman giving chase.