VOL. 53 ISSUE 34 AUGUST 30, 2016 P29
a good time. I was just trying
to focus on looking ahead and
trying to read the terrain. I was
in front the whole time so I didn't
really have anybody to key off of
so it was definitely all coming up
pretty quick!"
Second all day aboard his
Bonanza Plumbing/Renthal/WP
450 XC-F, Sutherlin said, "I put a
lot of emphasis on the start. Tay-
lor got me on the start and I was
like, 'All right, just be smooth
and key [off him]. He rode really,
really good today; I was im-
pressed. He pushed really hard
the first loop and gapped me a
little bit. It took me a little bit to
get going and I started moving
pretty good on the second loop.
I had a couple little stupid falls
today. We got close a couple
times today—I got in his dust—but
hats off to him; he rode a great
race today."
Somewhat gun shy of creek
crossings after losing round two
when he drowned his FC 450
(his only non-podium finish of
the year so far), Argubright opted
for dry lines whenever possible
en route to third for the second
round in a row. A crash late in
the race tore his fork seals,
dumping the fluid all over the
front of the bike and leaving him
with only the rear brake.
"I felt pretty good after last
week (where he finished third af-
ter leading Vegas to Reno early
on)," Argubright said. "There
were a couple road sections that
I felt I did pretty well on, thanks
to Vegas to Reno!"
Purvines Racing Beta's Axel
Pearson was a close five sec-
onds behind in fourth at the
finish on his 480 RR, teammate
Nick Burson farther back for
fifth. Skyler Howes, Ryan Smith,
Justin Morgan, FMF Pro 250
winner (for the fourth consecu-
tive round) Joe Wasson and Max
Eddy Jr. rounded out the top 10
overall.
Among the early notable
front-runners was Zip-Ty Racing
Husqvarna's Dalton Shirey who
ran out of gas close to the fin-
ish while holding fourth behind
Argubright, and FMF KTM's Ivan
Ramirez who was 10th Pro and
12th overall after crashing hard
in his first race back from a wrist
injury.
The series will now be a
seven-round series as the race
scheduled for September 27 in
Yerington, Nevada, has been
cancelled due in part to land-
use issues. Round six remains
September 17-18 at Red Moun-
tain, California, with the finale
on October 22-23 at Lucerne
Valley, California.
Mark Kariya
OVERALL
1. Taylor Robert (KTM)
2. Gary Sutherlin (KTM)
3. Jacob Argubright (Hus)
4. Axel Pearson (Bet)
5. Nick Burson (Bet)
6. Skyler Howes (Yam)
7. Ryan Smith (Yam)
8. Justin Morgan (Yam)
9. Joseph Wasson (Yam)
10. Max Eddy Jr. (Kaw)
Racer Fry won the Pee Wee
division (50cc, 4-8 years old)
despite giving up the lead briefly
before the white flag.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
MARK
KARIYA
