Offroad
Motorcycle and Atv Nationals
Nationals 2006 Series
Round #10 - Morrison, IL
"The Race"
October 29th & 30th, 2006 |
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Zimmerman Tops Ten Racing Podium
at “The Race”
OMA
Round 10 - Links |
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ATV
Overall Results |
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OMA Round 10:
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Rob
Zimmerman's Honda TRX450R featuring the new Sonic
Off-Road IRS |
Rob Zimmerman ( Honda / Moose Racing / Maxxis ) finished
the 2006 OMA Nationals season with a solid win aboard
his trusty 2005 Honda 450R. The series champion chose
“The Race” to debut his new Sonic Offroad
independent rear suspension. He also showed up on the
starting line with a helmet mounted camera and said he
was excited to be able to try some new things without
a lot of pressure since he now had the series championship
wrapped up. The start was a very long run
across a field and around two grain wagons before dropping
in to a motocross track section that lead to peat whoops,
some tight woods and a couple creek crossings. Zimmerman
chose a gear ratio that was far too high so he was unable
to reach top speed and keep up with the pack across
the field. However, he said “once we got over
in the whoops, that’s when I just started eatin
people alive, just passin left and right, here and there.
In those whoops the small stuff disappeared and I was
able to hold it wide open.” After he passed most
of the pack Zimmerman finally got around Todd Krupinski,
who had his Hillbilly Racing Honda buried and would
later suffer a dnf due to a stripped sprocket flange.
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Adam
Reed |
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Rob
Zimmerman |
Adam Reed was leading the race aboard a borrowed Yamaha
and was Zimmerman’s next target. Reed “got
stuck in that first small but really, really deep creek
crossing. He got buried there and I got by him”,
recalled Zimmerman. Unfortunately Zimmerman blew a corner
and realized he was lost in the briars when he heard
Reed go by to reclaim the lead. Somewhere in the charge
to overtake Reed again the camera was knocked off his
helmet so Zimmerman was now also dealing with a loose
cable and components banging around outside his helmet.
When the leaders arrived at a swamp section Zimmerman
stopped and photographer Mark Kariya removed the dangling
video components. Later in the lap Reed nearly went
down in a water section and Zimmerman said he chose
to not push his way through and “be the (jerk)
that shoves him way off in to the water and screws up
his day.” Zimmerman stopped in the pits for “goggles
and everything because (he) was soaked and the goggles
were trashed.” Reed stalled shortly after the
pit stop and allowed Zimmerman to pass again for the
lead. Reed suffered a crash later in the lap on the
motocross section and his race was over. Zimmerman “just
kept hammerin down” and ultimately finished with
a three minute and twenty second gap on the field.
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Kevin
Tinsely crossing Water |
Second place went to Kevin Tinsley ( Honda / Moose
Racing / ITP ) after a long day with a few problems.
A poor start left Tinsley behind the pack. “I
had to pass a lot of people and do a lot of work”,
said Tinsley. A stall in a creek crossing slowed his
progress, but he was able to restart and continue. Later
in the race his chain became derailed by a stick. Some
assistance from fellow racers got Tinsley and the chain
back on track again. A pit stop for fresh gloves helped
him stay up to speed in conditions that left hands wet,
slick, and cold. “It was a grueling course, a
tough one,” stated Tinsley. “Gusse knows
how to build a race track, that’s for sure.”
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Kenneth
Staake |
The final podium spot was taken by Kenneth Staake (
Yamaha / Troy Lee / Maxxis ) who said he finally got
the suspension dialed in on his Tuf Powersports sponsored
ride and it made a big difference. Staake had a problem
with one of the logs on all three laps and Kevin Tinsley
capitalized on that trouble in the last lap to pass
for second place. Staake said after Tinsley got by “I
turned it on as hard as I could. I ended up missing
the little wall down in the creek crossing and that
put me in the water. Anything below my helmet is soaking
wet.” Fortunately for Staake his dunking was late
in the race so he only spent a short time in wet gear.
Staake finished about two and one half minutes ahead
of Matt Lindle (Honda / Fox / Maxxis / Holeshot) , who
said he “ran out of gas about a quarter of the
way through the last lap and had to put it on reserve
and dog it back.”
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Rob
Zimmerman |
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Kenneth
Staake |
“The Race” is a tradition that began in
1976 and it continues to be the favorite event of many
who follow and participate in the OMA Nationals series.
The last event of the season is held on the Gusse family’s
home turf, and it is always an example of some of the
best that the OMA Nationals has to offer. Nobody said
off road racing was supposed to be easy. Spectators
and racers seem to enjoy the special brand of challenge
that this series provides. Technical trails and a good
mix of terrain are what set the OMA Nationals apart
from the crowd. This is off road racing.
OMA Nationals
Round #10 - Results
"The Race"
Top Pro ATV Results |
1. |
Rob
Zimmerman |
Honda |
2. |
Kevin
Tinsley |
Honda |
3. |
Kenneth
Staake |
Yamaha |
4. |
Matt
Lindle |
Honda |
5. |
Jake
Voss |
Honda |
6. |
Adam
Reed |
Yamaha |
7. |
Todd
Krupinski |
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8. |
Nick
Hollars |
Suzuki |
Article and
photos by John
Gasso
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