I think the last two laps I was
kind of able to pull a little bit of a
gap, and he had to [finally pit for
gas] as well. It was good day. I
think this race pays pretty good
[contingency] to win. I've got two
kids, and diapers ain't cheap, so
I'm happy to get her done!"
For his part, Miller said, "I
pulled a pretty good start; I
think I was fifth into the woods,
maybe. I just wanted to get
ahead of most of the dust and
work from there. I was charging
hard trying to pass Tanner, but
that guy's so bulletproof! When
the pressure's on—and there was
a lot of money at this race, so
the pressure was on—he shows
up to play."
The hard enduro specialist
and his Zavorotti Suspension/
Bulletproof Designs/Klim 300
XC-W finished a minute and
seven seconds behind Whipple,
who took the checkered after
2:13:37. (Coincidentally, Whipple
and Miller were third and fourth
overall at MXC's The Race last
November.)
As for Heilman, who rounded
out the overall and AA podium
(he was fifth overall and first A
at The Race) on his D&W Cycles/
G2 Ergonomics/FXR 300 XC, the
Moose Run was a mostly soli
-
tary ride. "That was my biggest
problem," he said. "After Tobin
passed me, I was by myself the
whole time, and I started los-
ing pace and getting caught [by
Converse]."
Heilman opened his cushion
over Hall's Cycles Husqvarna
rider Converse from 17 seconds
on lap five to 55 seconds at the
finish.
KTM-mounted Benjamin Ward
was another 30 seconds back in
fifth, followed by Dunlop YZ250
rider Jason Crawford and Steven
Vanloo on his FXR KTM. Pro
Motorsports KTM's Briar Greene
and Muc-Off Yamaha rider Brady
Dillbeck were eighth and ninth,
respectively, overall. Top A rider
Jaden Hamilton rounded out
the top 10 overall on his FamMX
Husqvarna, though second A
overall Cael Johnson was just
one second behind aboard his
Cycle Tech Sherco.
Mark Kariya
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P39
Running his hard
enduro setup didn't
seem to hinder Tobin
Miller, who kept
Whipple in sight until
the final couple laps
and was the only
other rider to stay on
the lead lap.
Top A overall belonged
to Jaden Hamilton at
10th overall, though
second A-class rider
Cael Johnson was just
one second behind at
the finish.
