Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1532929
was like, 'Let's suck it up and see what we got.' I was able to ride a mistake-free race for the most part, and I felt good. I felt damn good, and Johnny was just better than me in about three-quarters of the track. I just stayed safe, just hit my marks, and I feel like I was going to beat him on fitness if I was going to beat him at all. I almost got there, but he rode great. Hats off to him." Kelley got off to an unfortunate start but got faster as the event wore on and was only 45 seconds behind Russell at the finish. "I got pinched a little in that third corner, and I was maybe sixth or seventh when I exited," said Kelley. "I was just cruising that first lap, trying to pick my way through and learn the track, and I slowly made my way closer and closer to the front, trying to make a charge. I just had a couple of hard crashes out there. It's a tough track, and I felt good. I just needed a little more speed and a couple less crashes out there to get up closer and battle with these guys for the win." FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers' Grant Davis was fifth physically on the track; however, the XC2 rider was fourth overall on adjusted time and first in the XC2 class. FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers' Angus Riordan finished fifth overall and second in the XC2 class, battling all the while with Davis for the fourth overall position. "The XC2 riders get the good hand dealt to us," said Riordan. "The XC1 guys start first, and they're dealing with all the lines and [are making] the lines for us. They're do - ing the hard yards, and we just get sucked in with them. Once we catch them, we don't need to pass them; we can just stay there because, on corrected time, we have a minute on them. So, if you can get up front a bit earlier, you just get sucked along where they've got to put more effort into passing." AmPro Yamaha riders missed the podium for the first time this year, finishing seventh overall and fourth in the XC1 class, 48 seconds ahead of Phoenix Honda's Mike Witkowski, who ran up front during the early stages of the race. Lyndon Snodgrass (Husqvarna) ran in third off and on during the first two laps, but a crash on lap four set the Aussie back, and then he ran out of gas and was penal- ized one position for refueling outside of the designated pit area, leaving him in eighth overall. Phoenix Honda Racing's Cody Barnes was ninth, while Triumph- mounted Ricky Russell rounded out the top 10. Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki's Steward Baylor Jr had a rough day, finishing 15th after DNFing the last race. James Jenkins, Yamaha rider out of Missouri, took another win in the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, finishing a little over four minutes ahead of fellow Yamaha rider Luke Brown, with Raley Messer (Beta) finishing third. FMF KTM's Brandy Richards topped Phoenix Honda Racing's Tayla Jones to win the Women's WMX class. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's Korie Steede finished out the podium, while Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki's Rachael Archer and Rieju USA's Rachel Gutish round - ed out the top five. Shan Moore OVERALL 1. Johnny Girroir (KTM) 2. Kailub Russell (Yam) 3. Ben Kelley (KTM) 4. Grant Davis (KTM) 5. Angus Riordan (KTM) 6. Liam Draper (Yam) 7. Mike Witkowski (Hon) 8. Lyndon Snodgrass (Hus) 9. Cody Barnes (Hon) 10. Ricky Russell (Tri) WIND IN THE P40 Brandy Richards won the WXC division.