Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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VOL. 48 ISSUE 23 JULY 19, 2011 the final test. In the final five-mile section of trail, Bobbitt made up 17 seconds on Fahringer, but it would end up being too little too late, as Fahringer finished with a 10-second cushion for the "W," with Bobbitt and Mullins rounding out the podium. Buttrick came away with a fourth, while Lafferty made it five two-strokes in the top five by finishing fifth. By finishing ahead of Mullins, Bobbitt extended his lead in the series standings to six points over his teammate, and heads into the Pennsylvania round in two weeks My Own Race: 24A NICK FAHRINGER 1ST Nick Fahringer debuted the 2012 Husaberg TE300 twostroke at the Jack Pine, which he admitted was his first time to ride a two-stroke since mid-2007. "It was my first race on the TE300 two-stroke, so I was a little nervous when I went to the start," said Fahringer. "I've got about a week and a half on it, and in that first section, I was riding it a little too hard, but I had a decent time and I kind of got my rhythm. I felt super-strong in the second section, and I was really flowing with the bike. I just kept it going in the third test, and for some reason I always have my fastest time in the third test, whatever that means. I put some pressure on myself in the fourth test and I made a few mistakes, but I was able to settle down in the fifth test and keep it going. I think Russell caught me a little in the last test, but I rode good and it ended up being a relatively flawless day. I had a couple of times I touched the ground, but all in all I think I pulled off a pretty good ride." 23A RUSSELL BOBBITT 2ND Russell Bobbitt was disappointed at missing out on the win, but the KTM rider extended his lead in the series standings to six points over Mullins. "Overall, I would say I rode pretty good, and I was happy with my race minus the fourth test," said Bobbitt. "In the first section, I didn't have my groove yet, and I had a slow time. There were a lot of lappers and a lot of dust and I just struggled. But I picked it up and started feeling good after that. In the fourth, test I hit a stump and pitched it down. I kept it running, but I tweaked my forks and I had to ride about three-fourths of the test with my front wheel cocked sideways and I couldn't ride full bore. I think that hurt me the most. I came on strong in the last test and gained a good bit of time but it just wasn't enough." 21A CHARLIE MULLINS 3RD Charlie Mullins also switched to a two-stroke for the Jack Pine, but he came down with strep throat the week before the race and was still feeling the effects on race day. "I started off good in the first test, but I just wasn't feeling it in the second test," said Mullins. "I got lost pretty bad in the third test and that was frustrating. I lost a lot of time in that test, 76-81 Jack Pine Enduro.indd 79 P79 with a total of 177 points. Mullins left Michigan with a total of 171, while Buttrick sits third with 142 points. Meanwhile, Fahringer is a solid fourth at 138, 34 points ahead of Lafferty. CN but I think my times were pretty competitive in the last three tests. But it was a good day for me, considering what I went through this week. My body is still recovering and I was still pretty weak. I think switching to the two-stroke was a good choice, and I think it's only going to get better from here. Luckily, we have a week off before Pennsylvania and I can recover and come back strong." 22A CORY BUTTRICK 4TH 25A MICHAEL LAFFERTY 5TH 31A SHANE HUFFORD 6TH Like Mullins, Cory Buttrick also switched to a two-stroke, debuting the 2012 KTM 250 XC. "Overall, it was a good day," said Buttrick. "The two-stroke was great and I don't think I could have been any quicker on the 350. We got the bike dialed in pretty good this week and I am looking forward to the rest of the year. All the sections went pretty good for me and my energy levels were up all day and I didn't fade at the end so I was happy." Mike Lafferty was not far off the pace of the leaders and finished fourth, despite taking a bit of time to adjust to the Husaberg two-stroke. "I was like a fish out of water in the first test," said Lafferty, who was racing a two-stroke for the first time since 2005. "The bike is so aggressive, but once I settled down, I was able to ride it better. But my reaction time wasn't even close, because that motor is so quick. I'm used to pinning it on the four-stroke and you can't do that on that bike. This thing gets there in a hurry and if you twist the throttle you better be ready to get there in a hurry. It's just going to take me some time to get used to it, but I told myself win, lose or draw, I'm going to keep riding it." KTM rider Shane Hufford posted his best finish of the year with a sixth. "I started off pretty good," Hufford said. "I think my first section was good, but I just got tired later in the race because of the heat. That's something I need to work on. Some tests were really tight, but it would open up in places and got really fast. Overall, I think it was a great course, and the club did a great job. We had my suspension set a little too stiff because we were expecting a little bit faster course, but we got it dialed in after a few tests." 7/18/11 3:11 PM