Liqui Moly Beta's Jhak Walker
was 16 when he won it two years
ago, DNFed last year, then came
back to avenge that black mark
this year, with newcomer James
Jenkins and 2021 winner Tan
-
ner Whipple joining him on the
overall podium.
The field faced a 50-mile-long
loop run twice (once for the C
riders), with its usual mix of tight,
technical woods and generous
stretches of freshly harvested
cornfields, allowing riders to
stretch throttle cables to the
limit. Pros would vie for a $2000
purse, half of it earmarked for
the winner.
Toby Cleveland stretched the
throttle cable of his Bell's Elec
-
tric Husqvarna best and chose
the fastest way to the holeshot
money as well as a couple of
other firsts, though he would
later drop down the field.
That opened up a battle for
the lead among several contend
-
ers, including former winner
Cody Barnes (on an ex-Josh
Strang Beta 480 RR he'd picked
up the day before), Walker,
Jayson Crawford, Tobin Miller,
Whipple, Adam Bonneur and
others.
But as the miles wore on, the
pack grew smaller, with Walker
taking firm command coming
into the Bike Barn main pit at the
end of the first 50 miles.
"Honestly, I wasn't sure what
was going to happen coming
into here [since] I was on a
250cc two-stroke and everyone
else was on big-bores," the FMF/
Bridgestone/FXR-backed 250 RR
rider admitted. "I'm pretty happy
VOLUME ISSUE NOVEMBER , P53
Though he ran near the front on
the first lap, James Jenkins ended
up losing contact when he fell
then lost more time searching for
the right line in some fields. But
the second lap saw him make up
ground to claim second at the
finish in his debut at The Race.
