VOL. 55 ISSUE 18 MAY 8, 2018 P37
BARNES TOPS FLAT RIVER
GP OMA OPENING
R
ound one of the newly
restructured OMA
Pro-Am Series took place
at St. Joe park near Park
Hills, Missouri, May 5.
With first tier factory pro
riders no longer in the
class structure, the series
is aiming to provide better
paybacks deeper in the
standings, and a more
focused and competitive
series for up-and-coming
riders to showcase their
skills on the tight, technical
trails that the OMA Nation-
als Series is known for.
Tucked in behind the
historic lead mines near
St. Joe State Park, the
course for this event
wound through 7.5 miles
of trail that included some high-
speed, desert-like sections inter-
spersed with tight woods sections
and a few mud holes. Hills and
single-track sections rounded out
the classic OMA-style event.
Cody Barnes (MCS/Moose
Racing/Kenda YZ250) took the
win after two hours and eight min-
utes of battle. Brandon Forester
(Husqvarna), who started the race
dead last, rolled through scor-
ing four minutes and 18 seconds
later, with Colten Zuidema and
his KTM rounding out the podium
at two hours, 16 minutes and 49
seconds.
"It was a good race," said
Barnes. "I got off to a good start. I
was right behind Zach [Sulzberg-
er], and he messed up at the fin-
ish [line area]. Then, a little way in
to the woods, I took kind of a bad
line around one of the mud holes,
and Cole [Zuidema] got in front of
me for a little bit on the first lap.
He ended up making a mistake,
and I was able to get around him.
Then I was able to ride smooth
and come out with the win."
According to Barnes, "the track
was really good. It kind of remind-
ed me of an old OMA. We had the
tight, technical stuff around the
mud holes."
John Gasso
PRO-AM:
1. Cody Barnes (Yam)
2. Brandon Forester (Hus)
3. Colten Zuidema (KTM)
4. Dylan Voss (Yam)
5. Ty England (Yam)
6. Zac Dubus (Yam)
7. Zach Sulzberger (Yam)
8. Bryan Johnson (Kaw)
9. Kaleb Coffman (KTM)
10. David Stickel (KTM)
On top of the podium at the
inaugural round of the OMA
Pro-Am series, Cody Barnes
took his YZ250 to the lead
early in the first lap and
never looked back.
