Phoenix Honda Racing's Cody
Barnes and FMF KTM Factory
Racing Team Landers' Angus
Riordan began a battle for sec-
ond in the XC2 250 Pro class and
top five overall that would last the
entire three-hour, seven-lap race.
Steward was soon into the lead
and looking in control as Ashburn
and Witkowski chased. The trio
extended a gap that included
Ricky Russell, Grant Baylor and
Kailub Russell. On adjusted time,
however (the XC2 class starts
one minute behind the XC1
class), the overall positions were
Davis, FMF KTM Factory Racing
Team Landers' Angus Riordan,
Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawa
-
saki's Josh Toth, Flatrock Motor-
sports GasGas Factory Racing's
Jason Tino and Steward Baylor.
Ashburn didn't make it easy on
Steward, the Tennessee native
sniffing Baylor's tailpipe for the
entirety of lap three. Meanwhile,
Davis was consistently turning
some of the fastest lap times.
Steward bobbled on lap four,
allowing Witkowski to take the
lead, although the Honda rider
later took a rock to his clutch
cover and had to stop his race
when he lost all his clutch fluid.
This mishap allowed Steward
back into the lead, ahead of
Ricky Russell, Kailub Russell and
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's
Craig DeLong.
Lap five took its toll on several
riders, as Ashburn caught a tree
and tore one of his radiators off,
Steward did nearly the same
thing, but only tore off a radia
-
tor hose, putting both riders on
extended pit stops. Meanwhile,
Toth lost his front end, wrapped
himself around a tree and
decided to call it quits when he
began to cough up blood.
Kelley continued to haul the
mail up front, pulling away from
a fierce battle between the two
Russells, with Ricky leading for a
lap and then giving way to Kailub.
Ricky held down second behind
Kelley on the final lap until less
than a mile from the finish, when
a lapper forced him off his line.
"I had it with about half mile to
go, and some lappers screwed
me up, and Kailub snuck by
for that final overall spot," said
Ricky. "So that was a bummer,
but it's a huge improvement from
where I've been." Ricky went on
to finish fourth overall and third
in the XC1 division.
Kelley had made up all but 14
seconds of the adjusted time
difference between Davis and
himself after Davis made a mis
-
take and went down in the mud
with a few laps to go. On the
final lap, Kelley demonstrated his
endurance and determination by
beating out Davis for the overall
VOLUME ISSUE APRIL , P45
Grant Davis was second overall
but the XC2 Pro-class winner.
Kailub Russell got
on the podium
with third overall.
