Riders: Paul Whibley (XC1) Thad DuVall (XC1) Jordan Ashburn (XC2)
Race Report: Powerline Park in St. Clairsville, OH holds a special place in all of our hearts. The course has a fast, technical layout, which always makes for some amazing racing!
XC1 Class
Amazing racing would be the theme of the day, as AmPro Yamaha's Paul Whibley fired off the line, grabbing the $250.00 Motosport.com holeshot award and leading the XC1 pack into the woods. Fellow AmPro Yamaha rider and teammate Thad DuVall started off the race mid-pack but quickly worked his way into the top 5. From there, both riders spent a majority of the three hour race battling for a podium position. The teammates would continue the battle all the way into the last corner of the track, with DuVall taking the inside line, securing a third place finish and Whibley taking the outside line, crashing into a tree. However, Whib's stayed strong and picked his bike up, crossing the finish line in 4th place.
"This was a great race," says DuVall. "The bike worked awesome and I had a blast battling with Paul all day. It feels great to finish on the box. I hope to carry this momentum into the Iron Man!"
"What a day," says Whibley. "I think Thad, myself, and Josh battled most of the race. It came down to the last corner and Thad had the better line. I hit the ground pretty hard but I knew I had to pick my bike up and get across the line before Josh. As usual my bike worked amazing and I'd like to thank the Team for all their hard work this weekend."
XC2 Class
Obermeyer / AmPro Yamaha's Jordan Ashburn began the day with a top 5 start. Unfortunately, the start would be the only good part of the first lap, as the infamous Powerline Park mud hole swallowed up his Yamaha YZ250F faster than you can blink an eye. After getting loose and back on the track, Ashburn had quite a bit of time to make up. He charged hard, passing all the way up to second place by the 5th lap, only 15 seconds behind 1st. However, an untimely crash would send Jordan plummeting to the ground, breaking off his front brake lever. Getting up, Jordan made due and continued pushing forward. On the last lap Ashburn pitted, fixing his brake lever and charging back out on the course, where he would finish in 2nd place, nearly two minutes ahead of third.
"I had fun time today," says Ashburn. "As usual the mud hole was nobody's friend out there! I had a good race and the bike worked awesome... When I pitted on the last lap, I was in third and the guys changed out my front brake lever ridiculously fast, sending me back out on the course in seconds. I think the last lap I had tunnel vision or something because all I could think about was catching first place... I don't even remember passing second. I'd like to thank my family and the Obermeyer / AmPro Team for all their efforts this weekend. I'm excited to race in Indiana!"
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