hose who might have written off former
World Enduro Champion Shane Watts as
being washed up just might have to rethink
their beliefs, because the oft-injured rider
from Australia looked like his old and
healthy self again at the Motion Pro Coyote Cross
Country in Iowa. At the eighth round of the Parts
Unlimited Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals, the
former GNCC Champion collected his first win of the
year after putting in a methodical and fast ride on the
typically technical Bill Gusse-designed racecourse.
Watts was forced to miss Saturday's practice, so
Watts used the first lap of Sunday's Pro race to get himself acquainted with the terrain and layout. Once he figured that out, Watts opened up the throttle on his trusty
and well-used KTM 200 EXC and ran off with the win.
"I've been riding the last two weeks - been able to
ride during the week - so I've been feeling a lot more
confident, whereas in the mid part of the year I didn't
ride, didn't train," said Watts, who, when he's not racing,
has been letting his lingering injuries heal. "I just wasn't
confident at all. I'm getting back to where I was at the
start of this year, where I was getting really good results
in the GNCCs. That's the plan - to come on strong at the
end of this year, just to prove to myself again, and I'll be
fully prepared for next year."
Defending series champ and previous-round winner
jimmy Jarrett edged round-six winner justin Williamson
for the runner-up spot to maintain his overail series
points lead.
The start of the five-lap race saw Jarrett get the jump
out of the first tum on his Andrews Cycles/Kendal
Moose-backed Suzuki RM250, followed by Brian
Garrahan, Watts, Chris Bach and Williamson. Garrahan
wasted little time getting to the front of the pack. He
held the point after the first lap, but josh McLevy, Watts,
Williamson, jarrett, Cole Calkins and Bach were right
behind him. Shortly thereafter, though, Watts broke out
and took command and slowly started to pull away.
"I didn't get to do the practice lap yesterday, so I followed," Watts said. "The other guys started making mistakes the first lap and a half, and it came to a stage where
me and Brian had a little gap on the other guys. Ithought,
T
