|
Offroad Motorcycle
and ATV Nationals
2008 OMA Racing Series
Round #6 - Carrollton, Ohio
Buckeye XC
August 9th, 2008 |
Photos and Story
By: John Gasso |
Chris Bithell on Top at OMA
Buckeye XC ATV Race
| OMA
ATV Racing Links
Round 6 - Buckeye XC
|
| Race
Results |
|
 |
Chris Bithel rode
his Can-Am DS450 ATV to a First Place
Finish
|
Carrollton, OH - Area 330, a recreation
area outside Carrollton, Ohio, hosted the round
six installment of the OMA Nationals ATV Racing
Series. A huge motocross section with extensive
hill climbs and jumps added to the character of
this event. Unlike previous rounds, rain would have
been a nice addition to the weekend. Dry track conditions
made for a very dusty race. After the dust settled,
the Can-Am DS450 of Chris Bithell crossed the Moose
Racing finish line first after two hours, nine minutes,
and twenty six seconds. Twenty five year ATV racing
veteran Johnny Gallagher followed one minute later
aboard his GT Thunder Factory Yamaha. The final
podium spot went to Jeff Pickens, who motored his
Tom Clark Motorsports Honda across the line just
nine seconds behind Gallagher. The GT Thunder Maxxis
Yamaha of Marshall, Illinois Pro Donnie Ockerman
was next through the gate at two hours, eleven minutes,
and twenty two seconds. Rounding out the top five
was the Honda of Brad Shankel.
|
|
|
Johnny Gallagher
scored 2nd on his GT Thunder Factory Yamaha
YFZ450 ATV
|
Donnie Ockerman just
missed the podium on his GT Thunder /
Maxxis YFZ450 ATV
|
|
|
Jeff Pickens placed
3rd overall on his Honda TRX450 ATV
|
The race did not start well for Chris Bithell.
It appears you really do have to turn on the ignition
for an ATV to start. “I actually forgot
to turn my key on, so I was dead last,”
said a slightly embarrassed Bithell. After working
his way through the pack to second place Bithell
had another delay in his charge to the front.
“There was a little girl stuck in a tree
with her leg all twisted under the quad,”
recalled Bithell, “so me and my buddy Jeff
(Pickens) stopped and picked the quad up off of
her and made sure she was alright.” The
stuck racer ended up with some bruising on her
leg, but appeared to recover from the incident
well. Meanwhile, Bithell was back on the charge.
“I just put my head down and charged as
hard as I could. I caught Johnny and passed him.
I think it was on the motocross track,”
said the Cycra BRP Can-Am racer. “I did
that and again put my head down and said I’m
leavin' him.” After passing Gallagher, Bithell
was also beginning to feel the effects of their
very fast pace. “There must have been three
laps to go in the race,” he said. “I
was really looking for that white flag. It was
a pretty long race, so I ran the last two laps
there and I was feelin' it. I was pretty tired
out. I pulled it off and stayed ahead of them
a good ways, so I was happy.”
|
