Offroad Motorcycle and ATV Nationals 2008 OMA Racing Series Round #10 - Fenton, Illinois Moose Run October 18th, 2008

Photos and Story By: John Gasso

OMA ATV Racing Links Round 10 - Moose Run XC Race Results

Rob Zimmerman slid in to a seemingly easy victory at the Moose Run. The Team Honda Research machine crossed the finish line five minutes and nineteen seconds ahead of Bryan Hulsey.

Fenton, IL - The final installment of the Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals 2008 series was held near Fenton, Illinois at the Bike Barn. Bill Gusse laid out a course for the Moose Run that wound through ten miles of woods and peat whoops with some open field sections thrown in for variety.

When the green flag fell for the start it was Rob Zimmerman finally shaking the bad start gremlins and rocketing to the front of the pack aboard his Team Honda Research Moose Racing Honda. One hour and fifty two minutes later the Ohio pro would cross the finish line with a five minute and nineteen second gap over the Dirtworks Performance EBC Brakes Honda of Bryan Hulsey. Local racer Curt DeMay rounded out the all Moose Racing podium aboard his Gieson Motorsports Quad City Quad Doctor Yamaha at two hours and twenty seconds followed just ten seconds later by the Duncan Racing PJ-1 Honda of John Pitts. C Class racer Gabe Young crossed the final telephone pole hazard at the finish line with his Honda machine after running for two hours, four minutes, and twelve seconds to capture fifth place. Plus Thirty class Honda racers Brad Holder and Dennis Edwards picked up sixth and seventh place respectively. The A class Hondas of Ryan Barness and Quintin Smith earned eighth and ninth, while Don Deutsch rounded out the top ten aboard his Plus Thirty class KTM.

2008 OMA Nationals Series champion Bryan Hulsey flies over a log at the Moose Run. Hulsey took second at the event and tallied three series points more than past champion Rob Zimmerman to capture the number one plate.	It was the final straightaway at the Moose Run with Curt DeMay leading John Pitts for third place in the season finale.

Zimmerman was all smiles after the race. He said the race went “how it should have gone all year. I didn’t have any problems. I led start to finish.” The Maxxis Fox Pro Armor Honda that Zimmerman rode was the same machine he has run all year, but Zimmerman appeared to be riding with a renewed sense of competition. His intent to win this event was clear from the start. “Once I got in the lead I was like, I’m putting the wood down and get as much gap as I can in case I have problems later on,” said the former series champion. “That’s how my year has been, nothing but problems.” This day finally turned out to be a trouble free race for Zimmerman and he was happy with the race course. “The track was awesome,” he said. However, it was not all easy going in the woods due to some creative track design by Gusse. “I never ran over so many logs in my life,” recalled Zimmerman. “I think Bill was just putting all the logs in the middle of the track.”

The Moose Run start was anything but pretty. Zimmerman and DeMay make the first turn while Bryan Hulsey becomes disconnected from his machine.

Second place was the spot that Bryan Hulsey settled his Duncan Racing Duro Tires Honda in after losing some time early in the event. “I got lost a lot on the first lap. There were some arrows down in the fields. We’d come across the fields and we didn’t know where to go. We had to double back.” The missing markers gave an advantage to Zimmerman, as he had walked much of the track on Friday afternoon and was aware of the proper course. According to Hulsey “It was very, very fast.” Given the speed of the course, it did not take Zimmerman much time to develop an insurmountable lead. “The track was pretty fast, in the fields especially,” said Hulsey. “Then it has some nice tight stuff. It was a good race. Everything ended up working out ok. I’m happy.” The second place finish combined with his previous three consecutive victories provided enough series points to place Hulsey at number one for the season. Zimmerman retains his number two plate this year, falling just three points short of Hulsey.

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