VOL. 53 ISSUE 24 JUNE 21, 2016 P33
Graffunder and Redmond re-entered the race
nearly side-by-side and had an exciting battle.
Meanwhile, Webb was off to a 10-minute lead.
"It almost didn't feel fair to the other guys,"
Webb said. "It wasn't like how I wanted to make it
happen. I wanted to have a little bit of a fight with
those guys. But we got the job done so that's all
that matters."
As for Colton Haaker, the factory Husqvarna
rider had a crash in LDS-2 that saw him take a
rock to the lower back. He finished the race in a
sub-par position and elected to call it a day.
The only real threat to Webb's victory might
have been the threat of disqualification when he
inadvertently went around a hill climb in LDS-3
on the first lap. But on the second time around,
the issue was brought to Webb's attention. He
completed the climb twice in a row to make up for
the error, and went on to the victory.
"It was a lot of fun, but it's kind of tricky with
the course changing every time," said Webb,
describing how new sections were added in
between the LDS-1 (prologue), LDS-2 and LDS-3
races. "It was tricky to hit the right spots and not
go the wrong way. It changed race after race."
Webb, Graffunder and Redmond were the only
three to complete two laps in the final. Only two
other riders completed a lap: Mitch Carvolth and
Garrett Carlson. Carvolth admittedly waited for
Webb to lap him at the end of the first lap so he
could call it a day. "I heard Cody
wasn't far behind, and I couldn't
do another lap," said Carvolth. "I
wish I could run their pace. They're
at the next level. But it was a good
day if I finished fourth."
The Prairie Dogs MC honored
Carlson with the "True Grit Award"
for being the only expert-class
rider to complete a lap in LDS-3.
Jean Turner
1. Cody Webb (KTM)
2. Cory Graffunder (KTM)
3. Kyle Redmond (Bet)
4. Mitch Carvolth (KTM)
5. Garrett Carlson (Yam)
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JEAN
TURNER
Cory Graf-
funder makes
his way
through "the
maze" on the
final lap.
Kyle Redmond
negotiates one of
the steep waterfall-
littered canyons.
