a little closer to [Robert] on the
third loop but made a big mis-
take on my part and kind of went
off the side of the mountain—had
to stop and get the bike turned
around. I just lost too much time
right there to Taylor. He rode a
great race today. Hats off to him
coming back from injury and
kicking our butts. It's not fun, of
course, getting beat, but at the
same time I'm in it for the big
picture right now. I'm happy with
second."
Tuffy Pearson was as sur-
prised as anyone with his third
place, saying, "The start helped
out. I was able to ride smooth
after a few mistakes; I crashed
on the second lap—that's how I
gave away second. By the end
I rode conservatively and got it
in for third. I'm super-surprised,
actually! I didn't expect a podi-
um. I was hoping for top 10 and
here I am third so yeah, kind of
shocking!"
Somehow, Purvines DA8 Rac-
ing's Axel Pearson picked him-
self up and kept going after his
second huge get-off and gritted
it out to finish fourth, suspected
cracked collarbone and all. Still
feeling the effort from his part on
the winning Baja 500 team the
week before, Rocky Mountain
ATV-MC/Precision Concepts
CRF450X rider Justin Morgan
claimed fifth.
Notch Peak Racing KTM 250
XC-F rider Nick Tolman enjoyed
a great day, winning the FMF
Pro 250 class for the first time
and finishing sixth overall, three
minutes ahead of class runner-
up and seventh overall Clayton
Gerstner, who's been chasing
the GNCCs for the first part of
the season and was making his
first National start in a couple
years.
Senior A winner Cory Pincock
earned eighth overall followed
by Braydon Bland (third in FMF
Pro 250) and SRT Yamaha's
Ryan Smith.
In Women A, Britney Gallegos
picked up her second win of the
season aboard her Ryno Power/
FMF/Bell Helmets KTM 250
XC-F followed by Hare & Hound
debutante Brandi Richards and
FMF KTM's Kacy Martinez-Coy,
who remains the class points
leader.
Mark Kariya
OVERALL
1. Taylor Robert (KTM)
2. Gary Sutherlin (Yam)
3. Tuffy Pearson (KTM)
4. Axel Pearson (Yam)
5. Justin Morgan (Hon)
6. Nick Tolman (KTM) Pro 250
7. Clayton Gerstner (KTM) Pro 250
8. Cory Pincock (KTM)
9. Braydon Bland (KTM) Pro 250
10. Ryan Smith (Yam)
IN
THE
WIND
P34
The Women A podium consisted
of (from left) Brandi Richards who
finished second in her first hare &
hound, Britney Gallegos and Kacy
Martinez-Coy.
