Am-Pro Yamaha Power Line Park Race Report
by: Jason Weigandt
Monday, October 20, 2008 | 12:00 AM
Round 12 of 13 of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series was held in St Clairsville, OH. The conditions were unseasonably warm and, like last year, very dusty. The race day pace was set up to be fast with open trail, sections of fields and power line roads. As the riders of Team Am-Pro Yamaha got ready for the day the fans situated themselves along the track to watch some of the best off road racers in the world compete at Power Line Park.
Barry Hawk Jr. started out with a mid-pack start which made passing difficult for the first lap with all the dust, Barry did make his way through the finish barrels in 9th for the first two laps of the race. Lap three is when Barry started to push forward, he made two passes around teammate Jason Raines and motocross legend Mike Brown. On lap four, with Thad Duvall out of the race, Barry Hawk found himself in the sixth position and looked for his next victim. Barry charged until the end and came within 30 sec on Nathan Kanney ending his day with sixth place. Barry is 10th place in points in the series
Jason Raines got off to a good start, then moved up to 4th at the mid way point of the first lap, but when he misjudged a split in the trail, he moved back into 7th. Unfortunately when he got separated from the pack, Jason had a hard time closing the gap in the dust. On lap five, Jason got stuck in a mud hole for a length of time widening the gap even more, during a pit stop for gloves and goggles Jessie Robinson passed him. From that point on Jason tried to move forward but mistakes made it hard to make progress on the rest of the field. Jason ended his day with 8th place and is currently 7th in the series.
Thad Duvall made his début in the XC1 class with a great start. Thad quickly found himself racing right up front with Suzuki's Charles Mullins and Red Bull KTM's Nathan Kanney in the first few laps. He held onto 2nd place solidly for lap one and two, then clutch problems began to arise that would eventually end his day early after just 4 laps.
Walker Fowler made his return to the 4 Stroke A Lites class with a solid ride. Walker's first lap put him in the hunt for the leader with a 4th place lap time. He quickly moved past Mike Wozny to place him in top three contention but still looking for more. When he made his way around Jake Fiddler, Walker was now in second place. Walker maintained second place across the finish line and making the day's race very exciting all the way to the end. Walker is currently 13th in the series.
With Ryan Belue wrapping up the 4 Stroke B likes class championship two rounds early, he decided to take on the challenge of the 4 Stroke A lites class. Ryan's day would show that fast consistent riding can get you a top three result. Belue charged out off the line grabbing the hole shot but had some trouble in the first lap, which forced him to jockey for sixth place. When Ryan came around for the next lap he had moved up to fifth place. Trying not to get trapped in the infamous mud hole that was claiming so many riders that day Ryan stayed smart and rode to the finish for his very first third place finish in the 4 Stroke A lites class.
Joseph Scherer had a solid start off the line and posted the lead lap in the Open A class. Unfortunately leading would not be where Joe stayed, mechanical issues forced Joseph into the pits where he ended his day after five hard laps of racing, Scherer did place fifth for the day and is still the series leader.
Team Am-Pro Yamaha would like to thank everyone for their support this season.
XC1
Paul Whibley 1st
Josh Strange 2nd
Charles Mullins 3rd
Jimmy Jarrett 4th
Nathan Kanney 5th
Barry Hawk Jr. 6th
Jessie Robinson 7th
Jason Raines 8th
Thad Duvall 13th
4 Stroke A Lites
Chase Bishop
Walker Fowler
Ryan Belue
Open A
Joshua Gaitten
Kenneth Gilbert
Andrew Millier
Cooper Bailey
Joseph Scherer
Barry Hawk Jr. started out with a mid-pack start which made passing difficult for the first lap with all the dust, Barry did make his way through the finish barrels in 9th for the first two laps of the race. Lap three is when Barry started to push forward, he made two passes around teammate Jason Raines and motocross legend Mike Brown. On lap four, with Thad Duvall out of the race, Barry Hawk found himself in the sixth position and looked for his next victim. Barry charged until the end and came within 30 sec on Nathan Kanney ending his day with sixth place. Barry is 10th place in points in the series
Jason Raines got off to a good start, then moved up to 4th at the mid way point of the first lap, but when he misjudged a split in the trail, he moved back into 7th. Unfortunately when he got separated from the pack, Jason had a hard time closing the gap in the dust. On lap five, Jason got stuck in a mud hole for a length of time widening the gap even more, during a pit stop for gloves and goggles Jessie Robinson passed him. From that point on Jason tried to move forward but mistakes made it hard to make progress on the rest of the field. Jason ended his day with 8th place and is currently 7th in the series.
Thad Duvall made his début in the XC1 class with a great start. Thad quickly found himself racing right up front with Suzuki's Charles Mullins and Red Bull KTM's Nathan Kanney in the first few laps. He held onto 2nd place solidly for lap one and two, then clutch problems began to arise that would eventually end his day early after just 4 laps.
Walker Fowler made his return to the 4 Stroke A Lites class with a solid ride. Walker's first lap put him in the hunt for the leader with a 4th place lap time. He quickly moved past Mike Wozny to place him in top three contention but still looking for more. When he made his way around Jake Fiddler, Walker was now in second place. Walker maintained second place across the finish line and making the day's race very exciting all the way to the end. Walker is currently 13th in the series.
With Ryan Belue wrapping up the 4 Stroke B likes class championship two rounds early, he decided to take on the challenge of the 4 Stroke A lites class. Ryan's day would show that fast consistent riding can get you a top three result. Belue charged out off the line grabbing the hole shot but had some trouble in the first lap, which forced him to jockey for sixth place. When Ryan came around for the next lap he had moved up to fifth place. Trying not to get trapped in the infamous mud hole that was claiming so many riders that day Ryan stayed smart and rode to the finish for his very first third place finish in the 4 Stroke A lites class.
Joseph Scherer had a solid start off the line and posted the lead lap in the Open A class. Unfortunately leading would not be where Joe stayed, mechanical issues forced Joseph into the pits where he ended his day after five hard laps of racing, Scherer did place fifth for the day and is still the series leader.
Team Am-Pro Yamaha would like to thank everyone for their support this season.
XC1
Paul Whibley 1st
Josh Strange 2nd
Charles Mullins 3rd
Jimmy Jarrett 4th
Nathan Kanney 5th
Barry Hawk Jr. 6th
Jessie Robinson 7th
Jason Raines 8th
Thad Duvall 13th
4 Stroke A Lites
Chase Bishop
Walker Fowler
Ryan Belue
Open A
Joshua Gaitten
Kenneth Gilbert
Andrew Millier
Cooper Bailey
Joseph Scherer