IN
THE
WIND
P28
THOMAS DOMINATES MOOSE RUN
J
ason Thomas was the big
winner in the 42nd running
of the legendary Moose Run
cross-country race in Fenton,
Illinois, November 5. This year's
race was the penultimate round
of the 2017 OMA Championship,
and organizer Bill Gusse made
sure that the race lived up to its
reputation as one of the tough-
est and most grueling off-road
races in the Midwest. And no
one was up to the challenge
more than Thomas.
The Moose Racing/Maxxis-
backed Husqvarna rider nailed
the $200 FMF Holeshot Award
and took control of the race,
though he did have his hands
full with Mike Witkowski for a bit
before pulling away.
"I got a good start and pretty
much led all day," said Thomas.
"We [he and Witkowski] went
back and forth a couple of
times; I just rode comfortable
and had fun, and I was able to
come away with the win, so it's
good.
"This [the Moose Run] was
just one that never seemed
to click for me, and today it
clicked," Thomas added. "It was
fun riding. It was still difficult,
and it was still a true woods
extreme race. I'm happy to go
away with a win, finally."
Witkowski, on the Klim/Maxx-
is KTM, took second but more
importantly, clinched the OMA
Championship for 2017.
Eighteen-year-old Cody
Barnes, on his Fly/Maxxis-
backed Yamaha, was third
overall.
Marc Heresco, on the SRT
KTM, was fourth overall but first
in the Pro 2 class, which ce-
mented the class championship.
Fifth overall and second in
Pro 2 was Beta-mounted Logan
Lowrey.
Despite rain and drizzle lead-
ing up to the race, winner Thom-
as said that the course held
up well. "The trail was primo,"
he said. "It wasn't slick. The
slickest part was the stuff they
rode yesterday. Everything else
was just really good dirt. On
the first lap, it didn't seem like
there were that many logs, but
the second lap there were logs
everywhere. It's kind of strange
like that. The mud holes weren't
too bad. I just kind of jumped
them, banzaied over them and
closed my eyes. They weren't as
bad as I've seen them, which is
surprising a little bit."
John Gasso
OVERALL
1. Jason Thomas (Hus)
2. Mike Witkowski (KTM)
3. Cody Barnes (Yam)
4. Mark Heresco (KTM)
5. Logan Lowrey (Bet)
Jason Thomas
took the overall
win at the OMA
Moose Run in
Illinois.
