IN
THE
WIND
P38
BARNES OMA SWEEP CONTINUES
IN IOWA
R
ound four of the 2018 OMA
ProAm Nationals, the Hawk-
eye XC, co-sanctioned with the
MXC Series and Iowa Enduro
Riders Association (IERA), took
place on the Lundburg family
farm in rural Dayton, Iowa, July
14-15.
Oppressive heat the Friday
before the race was broken by
a storm that moved through that
evening. The upside was lower
temperatures and humidity for
Saturday. However, the system
dumped three tenths of an inch
of rain on the trails, which made
an already challenging track a
bit moist for the event. Partici-
pants in the morning events were
treated to slick and muddy trails
that left many struggling to com-
plete just one circuit of the six-
mile course. After a short delay
to sweep the course of stranded
C riders, the trails were in slightly
better shape for the afternoon
race, which included ProAm, A-,
and B-class riders.
Cody Barnes (Yamaha/
Moose/Kenda) captured the
holeshot and held on to lead all
seven laps of the gruelling trail,
tallying his fourth consecutive
OMA ProAm victory this season.
While Cole Zuidema (KTM/
Moose/Kenda) was able to keep
Barnes in his sights early, the
teenager from Morrison, Illinois,
eventually dropped back to finish
second with a four-and-a-half-
minute deficit to Barnes on lap
seven.
Rounding out the podium was
Zach Sulzberger (Barbies Lawn
Care and Snow Removal Ya-
maha). Chris Huffman (KTM) and
Bryan Johnson (Kawasaki) were
the only other riders, from a pool
of 82 racers on the course in the
afternoon, to complete all seven
laps in the event, collecting
fourth and fifth place, respec-
tively.
According to Barnes, "It was
good. I mean, it was kind of
tight, technical, and the mud that
we got I think made it a lot better.
It reminded me of the older OMA
races. It was tighter and slicker,
with pretty big hills that were
challenging. I didn't really do so
well [at previous events] when it
was tons of dust and you really
couldn't see the ruts."
Barnes added, "I really en-
joyed the track today, unless a
lapper was stuck on one of the
hills, which happened a couple
times. I didn't really have any bad
problems out there, so, it was
good."
John Gasso
1. Cody Barnes (Yam) ProAm
2. Cole Zuidema (KTM) ProAm
3. Zach Sulzberger (Yam) ProAm
4. Chris Huffman (KTM) ProAm
5. Bryan Johnson (Kaw) ProAm
6. Chad Toth (KTM) ProAm
7. David Stickel (KTM) ProAm
8. Ben Ward (KTM) A Class
9. Tobin Miller (KTM) A Class
10. Luke Kaszynski (Yam) Vet A
Cody Barnes
continues to rule
the 2018 OMA
ProAm Nationals.
His latest victory
came at the
Hawkeye Cross
Country in
Dayton, Iowa.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN
GASSO
