  he Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals series opened the 2008 season with the Maxxis Hangman XC in Hanging Limb, Tennessee. Four straight days of rain left the area saturated, but race promoter Bill Gusse managed to provide a first class racing weekend for hundreds of participants. The pro ATV podium on Saturday saw three-time OMA Nationals champion Rob Zimmerman at the top. The Moose Racing Honda of Zimmerman completed six laps of grueling hills and mud after nearly two hours of battle with current number one plate holder Andy Lagzdins aboard the Duncan Dirt First Honda. Series newcomer David Crane grabbed the final ATV podium slot aboard his Moose Racing/Rekluse KTM.Zimmerman won the event after local racer Craig Reed led the first five laps. Reed, who according to Zimmerman, “was whuppin’ up on us pretty good,” suffered a front sprocket failure after the fifth lap. Meanwhile, Rob Zimmerman was back in good form and ran a strong but steady race to take his first victory of the season. “It was definitely a good track,” said the Maxxis/Moose Racing/Honda racer from Ohio. “It was technical. The whole thing was like a downhill, off-camber. You could just slide off easy, nail a tree, get hung up on the tree.” Dirt First Racing-backed Andy Lagzdins was happy with his second place finish for the day. He said, “It’s a long series, you know. Yeah, I’m really just trying not to go out and go crazy and try to win everything. Just keeping it consistent.” The Maryland based Moose Racing rider complimented Zimmerman on his race, saying, “Rob rode a really good race. There was nothing I could do to get in front of him. He did a good job.” Lagzdins said the track was “a lot of good hill climbs and good downhills, some rocks thrown in and log jumps and streams, a bit of everything. It made it real interesting, real technical, and a lot of fun.” David Crane came over from northeast Mississippi with a brand new Moose Racing/Rekluse KTM to do battle at his first ever OMA Nationals event. The friendly young man was shaking from the cold but wearing a big smile after picking up the third spot aboard his new machine. “It’s definitely, out of the box a race-ready four wheeler,” said Crane about his KTM ATV. “This was our first race on it. We’ve got a few things to work out, but it’s gonna be a great bike. Real strong, handles great, suspension’s great.” When he finished the race, Crane was soaked from the numerous water areas on the track. “It was wet, a lot of deep creeks,” he recalled. “Other than that it was pretty good. It was laid out good.” Sunday greeted the motorcycle racers with a clear sky and sunny conditions for the main event. After seven laps of racing it was all Suzuki on the podium. Charlie Mullins grabbed the number one spot with his Parts Unlimited/Thor Suzuki. Moose Racing’s Paul Whibley pulled his Suzuki through the Moose Racing scoring tent just four seconds later. Jimmy Jarrett rounded out the podium with his Moose Racing/FMF Suzuki. Wet conditions kept the Suzuki team semi transporter out of the facility, but FMF/Team Suzuki racers still dominated the event. Charlie Mullins had a rough start, but managed to get a good lead through the middle of the race and pulled out the win while suffering some pain from a wrist injury he suffered in North Carolina. “It was a pretty good day,” said Mullins. “I kind of messed up in the first corner. I grabbed a little too much front brake and ended up going down but I think I worked my way up to third on the first lap. Paul and Jimmy got behind a lapper down by the creek and I was able to get around them. I just kind of rode my own race and after the gas stop I felt pretty comfortable.” Mullins pushed hard through the last couple laps and held off a charge by teammate Paul Whibley. “I knew Paul was gaining on me,” recalled Mullins. “He was riding really good today. I was just happy to see the checkers.” Mullins had his wrist on ice after the race, but still said, “It was a good day.” He also noted “the track was really rough. It was probably one of the roughest OMAs I’ve done. It was just real deep mud and roots and rocks. It was a pretty gnarly track. One of the gnarliest ones I’ve rode in a while, that’s for sure. I think it was pretty tough, and anybody who finished the day did pretty well. I really enjoyed the course and everything. Bill, he did a nice job putting it on. I really enjoyed it.” Team FMF/Suzuki/Moose Racing rider Paul Whibley nearly caught his fellow Suzuki racer, but missed bumping Mullins out by just four seconds. The New Zealander said, “The soil was pretty good. That fresh dirt, it was good in the track in the trees. It was pretty fun; a lot of roots and hard work.” Whibley also enjoyed the racing experience at this event. “It was cool catching up with Charlie, actually racing with Jimmy near the start of the race,” he said. “Jimmy had stretched a lead out on the first lap. I got past him in one piece but he got me back again pretty quick. We stopped to help out a lapper out there and I think everyone else caught up on the second lap.” He recalled the situation saying, “some lapper got stuck on a rooty section. Jimmy jumped off to give him a push and I held Jimmy’s bike for a minute. That’s when Charlie got past us.” The two managed to get clear of the lapped rider, but Mullins was on a roll and would not be denied this victory. Whibley summed up his day saying “it was good racing with Charlie and Jimmy and Josh. It was a pretty cool track.” The final pro motorcycle podium position went to current OMA Nationals champion Jimmy Jarrett aboard yet another Moose Racing/Team FMF Suzuki. The Ohio racer had some troubles in the woods and would settle for a third place finish ahead of Josh Strang on the fourth FMF Suzuki entered in the event. “I had an ok start until my teammate here tried to take me to the fence,” Jarrett said with a smile. “I had an ok race. I just got hung up behind a few people and had a big crash. I just got behind those guys and just couldn’t make it up and settled for third.” A late race error by Jarrett also nearly cost him the podium spot. “He (Josh Strang) caught me,” recalled Jarrett. “They re-routed the track and I didn’t catch it and ended up going down through the river again and he came out right behind me. We had a pretty good ride all the way to the end. He stopped for goggles or gas on the last lap. I got away from him a little bit and that was it.” Round One of the Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals 2008 series is in the books with a heap of Moose Racing/Parts Unlimited riders standing at the top. Weather conditions before the racing weekend made it a challenging event for the racers and promoter Bill Gusse, but the words awesome, gnarly, great, and fun were used by many racers to describe the event. For more information and a schedule of upcoming events visit www.omanationals.com.   |
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