Saint Croix Falls, WI (6/3/2016)
– Jami Ward made her debut with the Bikeman
Performance/rOtation Motorsports team during
the John Penton GNCC in Millfield, OH and
finished sixth in the UTV XC2 Pro Sport SXS
Class. Fellow Bikeman racers Treavis Poynter
and Ward’s brother Jason Luburgh also competed
in the UTV XC1 Pro Class.
|
Jami
Ward took over the drivers seat for
the first time in the Bikeman / rOtation
Motorsports Polaris RZR at the John
Penton GNCC
|
Ward scored a top 10 in what was not only
her first race for the Bikeman squad, but
also her first time in the Polaris RZR 1000S.
Ward co-piloted for her brother Jason Luburgh
in the first three races of the season, but
she took over the driver’s seat at the John
Penton GNCC and brought home a sixth place
finish in the XC2 Pro Sport class even after
an early roll over.
“They offered me a place on the team, and
I’m excited and I’m proud of how we finished,”
said Ward. “The track was a little blue grooved
and I overcooked a pass and flipped. My co-pilot
Ben Francis knew the track like the back of
his hand. The first time I’ve even sat in
the RZR 1000S was at the start of the race,
and it was perfect for this track. I loved
running it. It cornered amazingly and it was
narrow so it’s much easier to navigate in
the woods. It was an all around great GNCC
weekend. Bikeman had it set up perfectly,
and it was ready to go for us.”
Luburgh and Poynter both had issues with
aftermarket hubs in the race. Luburgh had
a great run going with a brand new engine
in his Polaris XP 1000.
|
Jason
Luburgh at the start of the John Penton
GNCC
|
“We pulled the holeshot and we were running
really well,” said Luburgh. “I was taking
it easy to try to get a finish, but the hub
broke. This was just a fluke thing. The Bikeman
machine was really working perfectly. I was
cruising. It was fast and the Fox Shocks were
awesome. I was really bummed out when it broke.”
Poynter was also running well in his newly
built RZR 1000S. Bikeman, along with Crash
Addict, rebuilt a car crashed in South Carolina
with a new OEM frame, racing seats, a new
cage and a lot more. He was running third
when the hub problem ended his day.
|
Treavis
Poynter unfortunately broke a hub
after a hard charge in his Polaris
RZR
|
“This car has a much better setup for racing,”
said Poynter. “We were running just behind
the front row and the RZR was just phenomenal.
I could pass anywhere we could. But right
when we caught the lead pack, we broke the
hub. Everything was on our side, but that’s
just the way things go when you’re racing.”
The Bikeman Performance/rOtation Motorsports
team team will return to action after the
GNCC summer break when the series heads to
Powerline Park in St. Clairsville, OH October
1-2.
