VOL. 55 ISSUE 34 AUGUST 34, 2018 P25
real dusty stuff."
And he needed all of that gap
when he crashed hard toward the
end of the 37-mile first loop. But
he still had nearly a minute over
Chocolate Mountain Ranch/Pro
Circuit/Alpinestars CRF450X rider
Norman, who had about 22 sec-
onds on Burson and his Galfer/
BRP/Sidi-backed YZ450FX.
A mixup in the first miles of
the 36-mile second loop saw a
number of front-runners inadver-
tently follow the morning's Youth
minibike course, which brought
them back to the pits. In the end,
it affected Woolslayer Racing/
Economy Floors/Fly Racing
YZ250FX-mounted Daemon
Woolslayer the most. Second in
points to Fullerton in the FMF Pro
250s, he came in at the tail end of
the group who'd gone the wrong
way and instead of going into the
pits, he was directed to follow
the riders ahead of him, thus
bypassing the pit and, predictably,
running out of fuel later to end his
championship hopes.
Out front, Pearson kept mov-
ing away and by the finish added
another 30 seconds or so to his
lead, completing the dash in 1
hour 57 minutes and 27 seconds.
With FMF KTM Factory Off-
Road Racing Team's Taylor Rob-
ert out with another injury, Nor-
man added another 25 points to
his total with his runner-up finish in
1:59:42, Burson third in 2:00:47.
Unlike Pearson, who grew
up riding in the area, this was
Norman's first time racing here,
though he dismissed that as a fac-
tor, instead noting how fun it was.
"He was on it; he was riding
such a good race!" Norman said
of Pearson. "I did my best to try
to minimize my mistakes out there
and be smooth and be smart. I
was giving it my all out there and
Axel was killing it."
In the all-important points
chase, however, 2010 champ
Norman remains atop the charts
with 152 points and only one
round remaining. Burson's third-
place finish vaulted him to second
at 128 so he has a mathematical
chance at the championship with
only the finale in October remain-
ing. "It's not over yet," Norman
insisted.
Robert drops to third with his
90 points while SRT Husqvarna's
Ryan Smith came in fifth on the
day and finds himself fourth in
points at 89.
The finale will see no changes
at the top of the FMF Pro 250s,
however, with Fullerton and his
Kenda/Motul/Fast House 250 RR
Factory Edition clinching the title
at the Muley Run.
"Most importantly, I tried to stay
consistent," he said of his plan for
both the race and the season. "I
just tried to ride as conservatively
yet on pace as I could because
knowing that I needed to win was
a big thing, but at the same time
I knew that even if I was to pull
top-fives in the last two rounds, I
could still win [the title]. I was just
trying to ride as smart as possible;
everything was just about riding
smart."
Mark Kariya
OVERALL
1. Axel Pearson (Yam)
2. Kendall Norman (Hon)
3. Nicholas Burson (Yam)
4. Tuffy Pearson (Yam)
5. Ryan Smith (Hus)
6. Chance Fullerton (Beta)
7. Joseph Wasson (Beta)
8. Tyler Lynn (Yam)
9. Clayton Gerstner (Hus)
10. Skyler Howes (Hon)
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
MARK
KARIYA
Chance Fullerton locked up the FMF Pro 250
crown with his fourth win of the season, allowing
the Beta team to celebrate early.
