Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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IN THE WIND P34 BACH VICTORIOUS AT PLAINVIEW OMA I t was another long and dusty race for the OMA Nationals in Plainview, Illinois, August 5-6. Held at the FamMX De- sign Grouch XC facility, on the Brueggeman family farm, the pro-class racers were pushing the pace on the long laps, pass- ing through scoring just a couple minutes shy of the one-hour-and- 50-minute mark, which pushed the white flag back for one additional lap. After seven laps of the challenging, technical, single- track trail, Chris Bach (KTM/ Klim/Maxxis) emerged victori- ous, bettering his RPM Racing teammate Mike Witkowski by one minute and 16 seconds. Privateer Cody Barnes (Yamaha/Fly/Maxx- is), who started the race with an- other FMF holeshot, completed the pro podium, clocking in just 44 seconds behind Witkowski. Logan Lowrey put his Beta on top of the Pro 2 box after finish- ing fourth overall, while pro rider Adam Bonneur (Suzuki/Fly Rac- ing) captured fourth in the Pro class and fifth overall. "I thought these things were supposed to be two hours," said race winner Chris Bach. "But the last three we have done have been pushing two and a half. It keeps happening. We just barely beat the clock to get the flag. But, that's good. That means we are pushing the pace and every- body is riding good." According to Bach, the race was "super dusty." "Me and Mike [Witkowski] both got off to terrible starts," Bach said. "On that whole first lap, you are riding, and you can't really see the ground underneath you. It's hard to make quick moves and get up front when you need to. Especially at a single-track race like the OMAs, you need to get up front and make your moves around people and space yourself out. If you get stuck be- hind the wrong guy at the wrong time it can really ruin your day." Bach was able to pass Barnes after the third lap when they both pitted for fuel. A shorter stop al- lowed Bach to get away first, and then he began to push harder to increase his lead. "Once I got around Cody, I used the dust to my advantage," Bach said. "I even knew with Mike, even if he was pushing it and he caught me, I could use the dust and form a nice little buffer behind me and just control the race from there. Luckily, he didn't catch me, and I was able to keep the pace up and actually put a little time in to him at the end there, the last two laps, and come away with the win. The kid beat me last race, and I couldn't let that happen twice in a row." John Gasso OVERALL 1. Chris Bach (KTM) Pro 2. Mike Witkowski (KTM) Pro 3. Cody Barnes (Yam) Pro 4. Logan Lowrey (Beta) Pro 2 5. Adam Bonneur (Suz) Pro 6. Cody Bollinger (Yam) Pro 2 7. Drake Lineback (KTM) Pro 2 8. Mark Heresco (KTM) Pro 2 9. Steve Leivan (KTM) Pro 10. Tommy Fortune Jr. (Yam) B After a poor start, Chris Bach worked his way to the front and took the win at the OMA Nationals Grouch XC in Plainview, Illinois. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN GASSO