Cycle News

Cycle News 2019 Issue 31 August 6

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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tail. Duvall, riding a Husqvarna 350, battled with Robert for several laps before Duvall took the lead. The slick conditions rose up and bit Duvall though, sending him to the ground and allowing Robert to re- take the lead. Duvall made up time in second, and when Robert pitted, the Husky rider took the lead for good, riding to his second WORCS victory in less than a week. "It was tough out there," said Duvall. "The Pro-only section was super tough and challenging. It was fun coming off the mountain like that into single-track goat path. They did a really good job changing up the track. It was a cool learning experience riding the Pacific Northwest dirt. I had a blast, and I'm grateful for the op- portunity." Duvall said the track had entirely changed from the first round here to the second event. Heavy rains mostly affected the wider sections of track where traction-robbing mud was prevalent. Duvall enjoyed adapting to the conditions. "Today was a dramatic change; it was cool adapting and learn- ing to ride it," said Duvall. "Being smooth was important today, and I learned that early in the race. I was overriding the bike too much. I adapted and went from there." Though Robert's consecutive win streak was stopped at six earlier in the week, he was still pleased with finishing second twice in a row as the runner-up finishes allowed him to further pad his points lead. He was also pleased to be able to hang with Duvall in the woods. "On the last couple of laps, Thad was just killing it in the woods," said Robert. "This is more his style than mine, so I'm glad I could keep pace with him. It's a bummer not to win, but when you look at the big picture, it was two really good races." GNCC regular Ricky Russell finished third for the second con- secutive race. The Washington native enjoyed his first WORCS experience and hopes to do more in the future, as well as returning to GNCC when it comes back from summer break. "For what I was competing against, I was happy," said Russell. "I knew Thad was going to be hard to beat, and obviously he was." Dante Oliveira (KTM) scored his second straight fourth-place fin- VOLUME 56 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 6, 2019 P45 ish. Oliveira was also confounded by the slick conditions, so he focused on staying as smooth and consistent as possible. "The track was super slick and beat up, so it was hard to ride smooth and stay on the bike," said Oliveira. "So, I pretty much rode fourth for the race and tried to put together as many smooth laps as I could." In Pro 2, Austin Walton (KTM) won his second consecutive event. The new Pro section was a definite challenge for Walton. He fell sev- eral times on the wicked downhill. The two wins put him in an excel- lent position in points going into the final two races of the season. "I had so many mistakes through that section that it was pathetic, but it definitely chal- lenged me," said Walton. "I hit a tree and put a nice raspberry on my shoulder. I went over the bars and had a kid land on me, Andrew Short (29) grabs the holeshot in Washington, where Thad Duvall (989) won both legs of the Grays Harbor WORCS Series. PHOTOS: HARLEN FOLEY Thad Duvall (pictured) became the only rider to take wins away from Taylor Robert this season.

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