'Okay, I'm going to start manag-
ing the race,' because I knew my
fitness might be a little lacking.
Three-quarters into the second
[40-mile] loop, I was getting a
little tired and I was making a lot
of mistakes—just couldn't stay
on course too well—and Zane
caught me and I fell over so he
passed me. I got up and caught
back up to Zane and sat behind
him, then he fell over. From there
on, I just took it home."
Roberts said, "We've got a lot
of updated stuff for this year—
it's quite a bit faster than it was
in the past—but I've been super-
sick the last three weeks or so. I
kind of knew it'd be just getting
through today.
"I think the win was there for
us today. I got into the lead for
15 or 20 minutes there on the
second loop, but I just didn't
have much energy and fell down,
and it was right when we got into
this fast stuff, and you're just not
going to pass that guy back in
the fast stuff."
After testing showed that
slightly softer suspension
settings compared to his GP
setup were better for the desert,
Walton looked forward to racing
not only a series that was new to
him but in optimum conditions.
"The first loop [of 40 miles]
was definitely fun and fast,"
Walton said. "The second loop
added a lot more challenge and
it was rough, some of the rocks
and whatnot, but we were able
to make a good push and come
out with a third place in the first
race. I'm stoked! I can't thank the
whole team enough for that."
Third after the bomb, Johnny
Campbell Racing Honda's Pres
-
ton Campbell slipped to fifth on
his Pro Circuit/Pirelli/Fly Rac-
ing CRF450X before grabbing
fourth on the second loop. That
relegated the 3Bros/AHF Fac
-
tory Services/Fasthouse KTM
450 XC-F rider Carter Klein to
fifth, followed by 3Bros/Hatch
Racing GasGas-mounted Gia
-
como Redondi, Liqui Moly Beta's
Joe Wasson (who raced with a
broken hand after his van door
slammed shut on it that morn
-
ing) and 2019 series champ
Jacob Argubright, who borrowed
Master-class racer Larry Eng
-
wall's Husky FC 450 and rode
less than a day after returning
VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P45
Australia's Sam
Pretscherer got off to
a slow start but spent
the entire race picking
others off to end up
ninth overall, good for
the Pro 250 victory
in his first American
desert race.
