NATIONALS
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY
MARK KARIYA
T
hough he'd never raced
in South Dakota or taken
part in the Parts Unlimited
Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV
(OMA) Nationals before, Taylor
Robert of the FMF KTM Factory
Off-Road Racing Team looked
right at home on both counts,
winning both motos of the in-
augural Rekluse Buffalo Run to
take home a fat $5000 check.
Robert's triumph meant series
points leader Paul Whibley suf-
fered his first loss of the season,
though with four consecutive
victories and a runner-up finish
here, the five-time series champ
remains comfortably ahead
in the points chase with three
rounds left.
Four-time series champ Jimmy
Jarrett enjoyed his best result of
the season, going 3-3 for third.
In the Pro 2 division, Cody
Bolinger picked up his first win in
the class, his 3-1 topping Shane
Klimek's consistent 2-2 while
points leader Mark Heresco—
winner of the first four rounds—
had an off day, going 1-6 for third.
For the first-ever OMA in St-
urgis, officials introduced a new
twist as well as a huge purse
VOL. 51 ISSUE 30 JULY 29, 2014 P93
Briefly...
In the first Pro 2 moto, Cody Bol-
linger got the $100 Barnes Racing
Holeshot Award on his Lakewood
Electric/Fun Mart Cycles/Parents-
backed YZ250. Mark Heresco went
into the first corner a bit too hot and
slid out. By the time he got going
again, he was at the back of the pack
and facing quite a challenge, but he
proved up to the task and re-passed
the entire field to take the win aboard
his SRT Off-road/Kenda/Clockwork
KTM 250 XC. In the second moto,
however, Heresco's luck changed
for the worse and he ended up a
couple laps down.
Cody Bollinger said his parents
and girlfriend helped motivate him
with a pit board message that read,
"Stay up front! Big money! $$$" He
earned $1000 for the Pro 2 win in ad-
dition to the holeshot award money.
Pro Jason Thomas and Pro 2 rid-
er Derek Spangler suffered hard
crashes in the opening laps of the
first moto and were unable to con-
tinue. Both went down in the same
general area (a high-speed section
on a ridgeline) that Whibley had tak-
en his tumble on Saturday after hit-
ting a rock, rolling down the side of
the hill as a result. "I hurt my wrist and
my thumb's a bit jacked up," Whibley
said. "I came back [to the pits] after
that and I had a bit of double vision."
Interestingly, Taylor Robert rode
the bike he'll be sending to Argentina
next month for the ISDE and he rode
it mostly the way he'll run it there,
right down to the FIM-mandated "en-
duro" tires. (He didn't run the kick-
stand at Sturgis, though.) But what
makes it more interesting is that it's a
450 SX-F with a 500 XC-W top end,
continued on next page
Taylor Robert Goes Buffalo
Hunting At Sturgis
Robert Rails In
OMA Debut
