When it was over, however, the winner hadn’t changed, with AmPro/FMF Yamaha’s Paul Whibley recording his sixth consecutive series victory to march one step closer to a third straight series championship. JG Off-road/GEICO Powersports/Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Scott Watkins gave chase all afternoon but couldn’t run him down, settling for second place and staying alive mathematically for his first series title. Husaberg’s Nick Fahringer rounded out the podium with his third overall, the third time this year he’s accomplished that despite having to stop a couple times late in the race to clean off the radiators when his bike started overheating.

Whibley appeared to have the start in the bag, but drifting just a bit wide and setting up for the turn into the woods allowed RM250-mounted privateer Shane Klimek to banzai past and steal the $200 K&N Filters Holeshot Award. Immediately after that, however, Klimek went tumbling while Whibley and several others motored by, but Klimek was stoked to grab the loot.

From that point on, however, the race belonged to Whibley. “We were all sort of bunched up on the first lap. After the end of the first lap, I got a bit of a gap when Scotty stopped for goggles. Once no one was [close] behind me, I started to ride my own race and started to pick it up a little bit [and] pulled a little bit of a lead.”

Once he’d lost contact with Whibley, Watkins couldn’t close the gap, though no one came up from behind to threaten either and he easily held second, finishing about two minutes behind the winner.

Fahringer had a somewhat slow start, picked off a few people, then lost ground and had to re-pass them back. His hopes of catching Watkins faded when his bike began overheating, leading him to stop a few times to clean debris from the radiators. Still, he finished about two and a half minutes up on K’s Motorsports KX450F-mounted Adam Bonneur who spent most of the afternoon chasing Klimek, finally finding an opening on the final lap to secure fourth.

Zach Klamfoth would win Open A and finish sixth overall aboard his Sport Cycles Racing YZ250, the final rider to complete four laps of the very challenging course. Watkins’ teammate Jimmy Jarrett, Open A runner-up Jake Fiddler, Lite A winner Daniel Janus and Kirk Foster rounded out the top 10.

The 10th and final round of the series takes place next month in Illinois at the Moose Run. But before that, the second annual Parts Unlimited OMA Winter Nationals kicks off in Hanging Limb, Tennessee, on October 2-3.

story and photography by Mark Kariya

The Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) Nationals kicks off its eighth year of presenting some of the best long-distance, single-track woods racing with three new venues incorporated into the 10-round schedule. Round one will be the Hill Jack Cross-country National, presented by Johnny Signs Graphics, in Medora, Indiana, on April 17-18 (one of the new venues). After that, the OMA tour will run through October, visiting eight states, with the world-famous Moose Run in Illinois on October 16-17 the finale.

Foremost on everyone’s mind, of course, is the question: Can Paul Whibley come anywhere close to his incredible 2009 perfect season and pull off a three-peat?

While even Whibley himself concedes it’s going to be a tall order to win all 10 rounds, he’ll likely be even more motivated than last year. Riding for the Am-Pro Yamaha team (his third different team in three years), he’s had bad luck at the first rounds of the GNCCs, where he’s also the defending champion, leaving just one series to assert himself: the OMAs.

But he’ll also face a larger and hungrier cast of competitors eager to dethrone him, starting with his two former JG Off-road/GEICO Powersports/Monster Energy Kawasaki teammates, Jimmy Jarrett and Scott Watkins. Jarrrett, of course, is the winningest racer in OMA history with four consecutive championships (2004-2007), and a wrist injury last season helped slow him to “only” third in the series. Watkins burst onto the series for the first time last year and learned the ropes quickly to earn the number two plate. They’ll be joined on the starting line by a number of others, of course, guys with solid credentials like Whibley’s new teammate Thad Duvall periodically, Husaberg’s Nick Fahringer, possibly Husqvarna’s Glen Kearney, FMF/KTM Factory Off-road Race Team’s Kailub Russell at times and others vying for a piece of the $20,000 series purse.

The Pros will appreciate the OMA’s new format which will have C riders, Super Seniors and Women competing on Sunday mornings while the Pros, A’s and Bs will square off on Sunday afternoons for two hours plus a lap. ATVs will still race on Saturday on a largely separate course to accommodate their greater width, and late Saturday afternoon will still feature the fun motorcycle race. And all will be scored utilizing the new transponder system (utilizing credit card-sized sending units) tested recently during the OMA Winter Nationals. It provides instant feedback for racers at the end of each lap, information also displayed on a large monitor for spectators.

There will again be plenty of swag for racers to shoot for, thanks to both new and returning sponsors like Maxxis, FMF Racing, K&N Filters, Race Tech, RK Chain/Excel and Dirt Tricks. Manufacturers offering contingency awards include Can-Am (ATV racers only), Kawasaki, KTM and Yamaha. FMF, Maxxis, Rekluse and other vital sponsors will also provide trackside support at selected rounds. In addition to its amateur contingency program, K&N Filters plans to provide cash holeshot awards for the Pro ATVs as well as the Pro motorcycles.

For more information, visit www.omanationals.com.

Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals
Round 1: April 17-18 Medora, Indiana
Round 2: May 1-2 Hanging Limb, Tennessee
Round 3: May 29-30 Rio Grande, Ohio
Round 4: June 12-13 Clay City, Kentucky
Round 5: July 10-11 Mesick, Michigan
Round 6: July 31-August 1 Millville, Minnesota
Round 7: August 14-15 Newark, Missouri
Round 8: August 28-29 Bedford, Indiana
Round 9: September 18-19 Memphis, Missouri
Round 10: October 16-17 Fenton, Illinois

That, of course, gives him a perfect record in the series so far and gives him the upper hand as he seeks to defend the championship that he wrestled away from four-time title holder Jimmy Jarrett, though he refused to count on a second-straight crown just yet……….

For the full story check out Cycle News.com

Four-time and defending series champion Jimmy Jarrett mounted his strongest challenge yet to teammate Paul Whibley, but in the end, Whibley notched his third consecutive victory in the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals. The two Team FMF/Suzuki Off-road standouts battled back and forth throughout the DP Brakes Wolverine Cross-country National near Copemish, Michigan, round five of the series, and their intense personal skirmish carried them far from the field with third-place Brian Garrahan finishing almost eight minutes behind.

Jarrett made his intentions clear right away as he fired off the line on his RM250 and clearly grabbed the $200 Vemar Helmets Holeshot Award followed by YZ250-mounted privateer Trey Verardo, Whibley’s RM-Z450 and the rest of the pack.

Whibley, however, had no intention of letting Jarrett make an early break and quickly caught up to him before they reached the first woods section. After leading three of the approximately sandy seven-mile laps around the Twisted Trails Offroad Park, however, Jarrett finally conceded the lead after he pitted and fell a lap later, letting Whibley make a temporary break. However, Jarrett managed to reel his teammate back in, setting up their epic last lap with a pass before they got the white flag.

“I was kind of planning on passing later in the race, and I got around him quicker than I wanted to,” Jarrett commented. “As soon as that happened, man, the race was on then. We definitely picked it up after that. I think on the last lap we passed each other back and forth like four or five times—like full commit, both of us didn’t want to back off and we were banging into each other and it was fun!”

With each pass, the finish—and chance to win—drew closer, making each turn and every obstacle in the trail taken with increasing desperation; neither wanted to lose this one.

Whibley said, “In the end, I passed him somewhere and I thought, ‘I’m leading him’ and kind of settled into a comfortable pace, then Jimmy got me back again. Then I got him back, then he got me back! I don’t know how we got past each other so many times on the last lap, but it was cool!”

Whibley made his final pass stick, though Jarrett made one last desperate attempt to stick a wheel inside as he soared over an uphill road jump followed immediately by a tight left. When Jarrett lost the front end, Whibley scooted away to the checkered flag first for the third time in a row, Jarrett picking up his machine and earning runner-up for the third time in a row.

Valli Motorsports YZ450F-mounted Garrahan netted third for the third time this season and the second time in a row, though he had his hands full at this one fending off several “young whippersnappers” including eventual fourth-place finisher Adam Bonneur on his Fun Mart Cycles YZ250 and Spastic Designs YZ250 rider Aaron Wegner, the first Michigan resident.

The OMAs now take a brief summer break before the last half of the series picks up in Ohio. Whibley enjoys a comfortable lead in points over Jarrett, 140-114, with Garrahan fairly close in third at 97.

The Top 10
1. Paul Whibley (Suzuki RM-Z450)
2. Jimmy Jarrett (Suzuki RM250)
3. Brian Garrahan (Yamaha YZ450F)
4. Adam Bonneur (Yamaha YZ250)
5. Aaron Wegner (Yamaha YZ250)
6. Chris Nelson (Honda CRF450R)
7. Chris Gallt (KTM 250 XC-F, 1st Lite A)
8. Cooper Bailey (Honda CRF450R)
9. Derek Spangler (Yamaha YZ250, 1st Open A)
10.Ryan Lenth (Yamaha YZ250, 2nd Open A)

(story & photos- Mark Kariya)

The Paul Whibley Express continued its roll across the American woods racing scene when the Team FMF/Suzuki Off-road competitor outsplashed everyone to win the Maxxis Coyote Cross-country National in Waukon, Iowa, round four of the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals. It marked his second straight series triumph and allowed him to stretch his lead over teammate Jimmy Jarrett, the four-time and defending series champion, 110 to 89. Jarrett once again played second fiddle to Whibley while Yamaha privateer Brian Garrahan made his second podium appearance of the series with his third-place finish.

Whibley got a good start on his RM-Z450, though he conceded the $200 Vemar Helmets Holeshot Award to YZ250-mounted Aaron Wegner. It didn’t take long, however, before Whibley was in front to stay.
Jarrett, in the meantime, followed Whibley around most everyone until he followed only Whibley. Unfortunately for Jarrett, this would not be his day, as he went down a few times on his RM-Z450 and could never get a solid run at his teammate.

For Garrahan, it was a day of give and take. After getting a good jump off the line on his YZ250F, he got bumped wide in the first turn by Jarrett and found it hard to keep up in the heavy mud of the wide-open grass track sections. “I couldn’t really hold her to the moon or it’d blow her up,” he said. Still, he was able to make up time in the woods, though promoter Bill Gusse had to shorten and ease up on course difficulty due to the torrential storms that had inundated the area with a reported nine and a half inches of rain over the previous 24 hours. Garrahan, ever the grinder, was the final rider to complete 10 laps, thus staying on the same lap as Whibley and Jarrett.

Enduro specialist Nick Fahringer claimed a best-to-date fourth on his Husaberg FE450e, citing the bike’s ability to shrug off deep water crossings as a key factor.

Also getting a best-to-date finish with his fifth was Storm Lake Honda.com’s Cooper Bailey. After getting one of his better starts only to have his CRF450R stall in the second turn, the teenager from Oklahoma battled his way back from last.

Despite the mud and another storm that drenched the area for the last half of the race, nearly everyone’s filthy faces beamed brightly as they pulled into the scoring station in a barn. “It’s funny when you have mud races like that, it seems like everyone’s more laid back,” Jarrett observed. “I don’t know what it is about it, but it turns into more a fun race and survival race than it is so serious. I think Paul and I both haven’t had such fun just going around swapping in the mud trying to roost each other.”

Whibley, of course, had the most fun—winners usually do. “I’ve had a pretty good run at some of these races, I guess,” he offered. “I’m more comfortable in this wet than the dust. I’m just going to keep putting together these good results and, hopefully, carry it through to the end of the season, but it’s a long way to go yet. I’m just kind of stoked the way things are going.”

The Top 10
1. Paul Whibley (Suzuki RM-Z450)
2. Jimmy Jarrett (Suzuki RM-Z450)
3. Brian Garrahan (Yamaha YZ250F)
4. Nick Fahringer (Husaberg FE450e)
5. Cooper Bailey (Honda CRF450R)
6. Aaron Wegner (Yamaha YZ250)
7. Zack Klamforth (Yamaha YZ250; 1st Open A)
8. Chuck Garetson (Suzuki RM250; 1st 30-39 A)
9. Keith Zaagman (Suzuki RM-Z250; 1st Lite A)
10. Dennis Stapleton (Yamaha YZ450F)