News Release
Another Kiwi Victory In The USA
13 August 2008
They must be getting sick and tired of Paul Whibley in the United States this season.
Whibley continues to stamp his authority on the US off-road motorcycling scene with the man from Pahiatua taking his Suzuki RM-Z450 to another commanding win, this time at round six of the prestigious OMA (Off-road Motorcycle and ATV) cross-country series in Ohio at the weekend.
Whibley's Suzuki team-mate, Ohio's Jimmy Jarrett, had held second spot until late in the race when he crashed.
Suffering concussion, Jarrett was out for the day, effectively ruining his hopes of adding a fifth consecutive series title to his résumé.
Jarrett's crash also opened the door for Yamaha's Brian Garrahan to claim the runner-up spot -- albeit finishing more than two minutes behind Whibley -- while Adam Bonneur came back from a first-turn crash to finish third and earn the first OMA podium of his career.
But the day belonged to the Kiwi interloper, Whibley racking up his fourth consecutive OMA series round win and extending his lead in the series.
Conditions for the race were not ideal because a dust-bowl had been created as the riders completed practice for the race, a huge turn-around from the grassy conditions for the quad bike racers the day before, but Whibley was not fazed by it.
"It was unusual for an OMA race but we had a fast grass section that led to a motocross track for the first part of the lap," said Whibley.
"The grass soon turned to dirt as the quads stripped all grass from the surface. There was some woods sections but not a lot of fresh tracks for the bikes. The dust was everywhere.
"From the wave of the flag I got a average start with three kicks to get the RMZ fired up. But I held a tight line around the second turn and moved up a lot of positions."
By the time the bikes arrived at the motocross section, Whibley was in second spot, close Garrahan.
"I pushed hard, wanting to be in the lead before we hit the woods. On the last corner before diving into the trail, I made the pass and took the lead. I continued to push and opened up a gap on the field. The bike was running great and the RG3 suspension was handling the fast motocross track as well as the numerous log crossings with ease.
"After five laps, I was gassed up and I could feel my rear mousse tube going bad and the rear tyre began to feel like it was rolling around a lot.
"I was kind of worried that it would come off the bead and began to take it a bit easier on many of the off-cambers and faster sections of the track.
"In the end, I took the win and was stoked to take my fourth OMA win in a row," said an elated Whibley afterwards.
"I'm just trying to keep doing well race after race and keep building the points. With a round to drop, I don't want to count on any points lead before the end of the series–we'll just see how it looks at the end–but it's looking good, I guess."
