| Offroad
Motorcycle and ATV Nationals
2007 OMA Racing Series
Round #1 - Short Creek, Kentucky
Maxxis "Rough River Run"
March 17, 2007 |
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Andy Lagzdins Wins in OMA
Pro ATV Racing Debut
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Andy Lagzdins takes over the early lead and maintains
the lead despite a lengthy stop for fresh goggles
and gloves |
I followed Derrick through the grass track section
in second. Once we got into the woods, the first few
miles were fairly open, but then we made a hard turn
into a tight rocky section that looked more like a trials
course. There is nothing like having absolutely no tracks
to follow, just an intermittent red arrow here and there
keeping you going in the right direction. A lot of the
tracks these days are so beat in that the entire loop
is made up of existing trails, and it's nice to hit
long virgin sections that haven't been ridden or raced
on by other classes. Derrick lost the arrows for a second,
and it was all I needed to get into the lead. At the
halfway mark, the track went into a stream that we splashed
through for at least an eighth of a mile. The last part
of the course was a fast switchback trail that was just
a blast for me to hang it all out, getting way off the
side of the quad and sliding on the hard packed soil
with my ITP Holeshot tires clawing for every bit of
traction.
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Rob Zimmerman splashed his way through the course
to finish out the race in the runners up spot
followed by Derrick Schrock |
As the race wore on, the stream runs and multiple mudholes
were taking their toll on the riders. I pitted at the
one hour mark, getting goggles and gloves along with
fuel. Zimmerman was working his way up after a slow
start and passed Schrock for second, and I only had
a small lead after my extended pit stop. The combination
of high speeds and splashing water made my fingers numb,
and I really couldn't feel my levers until changing
into some fresh Moose gloves. Some of the fast sections
had water holes in them, which were deep enough that
I had to slow down and putt though them to avoid watering
out the quad. Once in a while I would forget where they
were and I would go sliding sideways into them with
the rear wheels locked up, throwing up a tsunami wave
and drenching myself with mud water.
I managed to hold on to my quad long enough to take
the checkered flag and the win, with Rob Zimmerman and
Derrick Schrock taking second and third. Suzuki-mounted
Todd Gilham finished only seconds behind Derrick, and
Matt Lindle was only seconds behind Todd in fifth.
The next round of the OMA series will take place further
West in Arkansas, but I'm hoping to hit some more of
the OMA events when series comes back east to Ohio and
Pennsylvania. The OMA events are a class act, and with
challenging tracks and professional organization the
series definitely has some of the best offroad races
in the country.
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Pro
ATV Top Three Overall (left to
Right)
Rob Zimmerman, Andy Lagzdins, Derrick Schrock |
photos by
John
Gasso
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