They came into the pits with
only seven seconds between
them, while JCR Honda Racing's
Preston Campbell was in fourth
place, less than 10 seconds
behind.
Having raced this location
many times before, Roberts
had a plan going into the day. "I
was a little far back in the sand
dunes; they scare me a bit, to be
honest, and those guys [Dalton
and Austin] were going fast. But
from the get-go, I knew my plan
was to push pretty hard in the
middle of the race, so once I hit
the alternate pit out there, that
was when I decided to start re
-
ally pushing."
Loop two was considerably
shorter, 32 miles in comparison
to the previous 56. In a dramatic
turn of events within only a few
miles from the finish, Shirey
went down, offering Roberts the
opportunity to make the pass
and take the win. Witnessing the
crash, Zane stopped to be sure
help was coming before finish
-
ing on to the checkers.
"Just coming into these
whoops here at the end, I'm
thinking, 'Oh man, we're pushing
so hard trying to close this thing
out,' and unfortunately, that's
when he went down; it was a
scary one to see," Roberts said.
"I was just coming over a blind
ridge when he went down, so
I didn't really see it, but I was
there 10-15 seconds after he
went down, so I stopped, and
there were people running over
the hill. I figured at that point it
was best to get in here [finish]
and try to get everyone [Husqvar
-
na team] out there. Nice to get
the win but really unfortunate for
that to happen."
Unfortunately, Shirey suffered
multiple injuries, including broken
ribs and punctured lungs, but it
appears he'll make a full recovery.
The second- and third-placed
riders cruised in within a minute
VOLUME ISSUE APRIL , P39
Austin Walton finished
a close second overall.
Aussie Sam
Pretscherer took the
250cc-class win to
extend his points lead.
