VOLUME 58 ISSUE 25 JUNE 22, 2021 P47
probably ridden four times since
I got hurt. I had no clue what to
expect when I came out here."
(He also switched brands, buy-
ing a new GasGas MC 450F,
sponsored in part by Mom &
Dad, Shoe and Fast House,
though he hadn't done so much
as even set suspension sag.)
En route to his eventual third
place aboard his Kenda/Motul/
Moose Racing-backed 480 RR,
Conatser said, "I was in the lead
for, I think, a little bit over a lap,
maybe a lap and a half or so,
and I felt like we had a three-way
battle going, just back-to-back
for a good part of the race. It
was fun!"
After Baker passed him back,
Conatser then tangled with
Serpa, and they bobbled with
Serpa recovering first. "I was so
pumped up after that short little
break, I started making a few
little mistakes here and there so I
kind of slowed down," Conatser
said.
"I thought I wasn't going to
be able to catch up to J.T. after
that, but I think he got wrapped
up with some lappers," Serpa
said. That allowed him and his
Kenda/Carson City Motors-
ports/Moose Racing 450 XC-F
to close the gap.
"I had a tip-over with maybe
a mile left to go," Baker said.
"Serpa was right on me, and I
high-sided and the bike landed
on me, and he had enough room
to go around me. It kind of sucks
to lead the whole thing and
crash the last lap but whatever."
"This is the first time I've gone
two [wins] in a row, it's probably
been three or four years," Serpa
said. "I'm pretty happy with it—it
feels pretty good! I think the
points leader [Larson] going in
got fourth or fifth, so it gives me
a pretty decent cushion, so I'm
pretty happy with it."
Serpa now has 85 points, Lar-
son slipping to second with 73
and Best third at 70. Best was
less than a minute away from
a podium with his fourth-place
finish for the day followed by
Larson, 3 Bros./Kilmartin Rac-
ing KTM's Shane Logan (the Pro
250 winner for the fourth straight
round) and Open A winner Ash-
ton Oudman on his YZ250.
Modesto Kawasaki's Zach
Kerling (Pro 250 runner-up),
Americool Heating & Air KTM-
mounted Zach Burrell and 707
Racing Yamaha rider Dillon
Sheppard (third Pro 250)
rounded out the top 10.
FMF/Maxxis/RPM Racing
KTM's Maria (Forsberg) Hahn
took a popular win in the morn-
ing race over teammate Kaitlyn
Jacobs with Tacoma Motors-
ports KTM rider Olivia Pugh
third. This marked Hahn's first
major race since returning from
a broken femur and subsequent
surgery.
"This was huge for me, per-
sonally, to know that I still kind of
have it, this old gal!" she said.
Mark Kariya
OVERALL
1. Austin Serpa (KTM)
2. JT Baker (GG)
3. Cole Conatser (Bet)
4. Blake Best (KTM)
5. Chase Larson (KTM)
6. Shane Logan (KTM)
7. Ashton Oudman (Yam)
8. Zach Kerling (Kaw)
9. Zach Burrell (KTM)
10. Dillon Sheppard (Yam)
In her first major race
since breaking her
femur last year, Maria
(Forsberg) Hahn took
advantage of being on
familiar ground to ace
the Pro Women's class,
taking the overall in the
morning race as well.
