Parts Unlimited OMA Nationals, Round 5: Whibley wins by a whisker in Michigan

(story & photos: Mark Kariya)

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)