VOL. 54 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 17, 2017 P39
close to the normal 90 minutes.
That didn't seem to bother
Thompson at all as he repeated
what he'd done the previous
afternoon, though his CRF450R
sort of dictated his strategy. Cur-
rently, there are no big fuel tanks
for the 2017s so, he said, "Yes-
terday, we pushed so hard those
first three laps to get the lead we
did where we had the time to pit
twice [without losing the lead]
because I knew I was going to
have to stop one more time than
everybody else.
"When it came to the restart,
they gave me a five-second lead.
The first three laps, I did the
same thing: pushed as hard as I
could to get that gap back.
"I got the gap back to 38
seconds when I pitted. Then
after that, I went three more laps
halfway decent. I pitted one more
time then I started cruising and
had over a minute lead so I just
rode my race and stayed on two
wheels."
Motocrosser Zach Bell ran a
strong second aboard an Ox Mo-
torsports Honda, but eventually
he found himself unable to hold
off first Stewart then Sutherlin.
Stewart bested Sutherlin to
move into second place before
the white flag, with Sutherlin
rounding out the podium. Bell
held on for fourth place with
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/Preci-
sion Concepts Kawasaki's Justin
Seeds fifth.
In the Pro II class, Mad Jack
Racing/Simi Valley Cycles/Fast-
house-sponsored Willy Simons,
Jr. borrowed a YZ250 from John
Langhammer and, like Thomp-
son, commanded both segments
for the $500 winner's share. At
the end, he had a 15-second
lead over class runner-up
Mitch Anderson's CST KTM
250 XC while Clay Hengeveld
rounded out the Pro II podium
on his Northland Motorsports
KX250F.
The WCGP Women Pro
class saw Brandy Richards
dominate both segments
aboard her JM Racing
YZ250F to earn the Queen
of Adelanto crown and $495.
Last year's Queen, Tatum
Sik, rode alone in second
the whole way on her MMR
Honda while Britney Gallegos
moved into third about halfway
through on her Motoffice KTM.
Mark Kariya
Despite requiring
a minor wardrobe
adjustment, Willy
Simons, Jr. led the way
in WCGP Pro II, his first
Big 6 Pro-class win.
The royal court: Queen of
Adelanto Brandy Richards and
King of Adelanto (for the second
year in a row) Blayne Thompson.
