VOLUME 57 ISSUE 10 MARCH 10, 2020 P41
while those entered in the non-
points-paying team classes were
to do three laps—until Mint of-
ficials—not the NHHA—decided at
the last-minute to cut that to two
laps, reportedly due to a sched-
uling issue since they didn't want
bikes still on course when the
UTV race got underway.)
Off the start, located in back of
the Buffalo Bill's Resort and Ca-
sino, 3 Bros./SRT Husqvarna's
Ryan Smith got the best jump
off the line, but teammate Shirey
quickly got around him and led
for miles, though Kamo sneaked
by as they finished the first lap.
"I kind of rode my own race for
a long time, but I came into the
main pit [at the end of the first
lap], and I think Davey Kamo was
speeding [coming] in the pits,"
Shirey said.
Officially, that gave Kamo the
lead at the end of the lap, as they
went through the scoring chute,
but Shirey wasted no time in re-
passing his rival. "This course,
the first few corners, is just like
a normal WORCS or GP course,
so I just freaking turned into moto
[mode] and laid down a couple
good corners and got right back
around him and just took off back
out into the desert."
Shirey kept Kamo at bay after
that over the mostly fast course
with Baja winner Kamo saying,
"I knew the Honda was the right
choice for this race (he'd ridden
the first two rounds on his KTM)
because this was more of a Baja
setup and style [race]. It belongs
here and in Baja—it's perfect for
it!"
In fact, the Monster En-
ergy/Lava Propane/Skechers
CRF450X was the same bike
he'd ridden with the SLR Honda
crew in winning the Baja 1000 in
November.
For Roberts and his Motul/
Kenda/Klim 430 RR, a mediocre
start left him with some ground to
make up, which he did in a hurry,
making it up to third place by the
first pit 24 miles in.
"Things kind of bunched up
when we got back here [to the
main pit] to the speed zone
because there was a little confu-
sion there on when that started
or what speed we were sup-
posed to be going so that kind of
bunched things up again. I got a
little angry from that and was able
to get back out in that second
[lap] and kind of get a gap," Rob-
erts shared.
Finishing 1:05 behind him was
Beta teammate Joe Wasson who
reportedly had one huge mo-
ment that caused him to rethink
his pacing strategy, while fifth
went to SLR Honda rider Jack
Simpson, a guest recruit from
Australia. After moving up to third
early on, he confessed, "I really
struggled with navigating the
track—overshooting turns and
getting lost. It's completely differ-
Cole Conatser (X561) won Pro 250 for
the third time in the three rounds thus far,
while Tayson Weeks (X4) finished second—
his best result to date. Joe Wasson (2) was
fourth at the end of the 160-mile race.
