AMPRO Factory Offroad Racing Race Report
Race: Round 1 – Southern Indiana Grand Prix Series
Riders:
Paul Whibley
Cooper Bailey
Blake Ricketts
Report:
The GNCC in Gosport, Indiana was cancel with just enough time for a few dedicated racers to make the three hour drive to Round 1 of the Southern Indiana Grand Prix Series. Paul Whibley, Cooper Bailey, Jordon Milbauer, and Zach Nash were amongst the few.
The Black Coal Motorcycle Club laid out a perfect loop of woods, grass track, and even a little bit of pavement that kept everyone on their toes. When the green flag dropped, AMPRO Yamaha’s Paul Whibley took the holeshot followed by local rider Zach Nash who was right behind him. Unfortunately for Obermeyer Yamaha’s Cooper Bailey, he would be the last off the line in the front row. Whibley and Nash rode nose to tail the first lap. Then Whibley put his head down and began to gap Zach and the rest of the field by over 30 seconds a lap. Nash was focused and riding well but soon found the guy who was last off the line nipping at his heels. Impressively, Cooper Bailey showed a remarkable amount of speed and worked his Offroad Viking, Raines Racing, Obermeyer, Leatt backed Yamaha YZ450F up into the 3rd place position then quickly made the move to 2nd place. Out of nowhere Whibley’s practice bike started having engine problems, forcing him to hand the lead to Nash and Bailey. Blake Ricketts, another local rider backed by the Obermeyer Yamaha Race Team had worked his way into third and was settled in with a good pace. With only 2 laps to go, Cooper Bailey dropped the hammer and tried putting a gap on Nash. Nash wasn’t going to let that happen though and pinned it to the point of boiling over. On the last lap, Nash and Bailey came into the final open section before the finish. It was wheel to wheel right down to the checkered flag with Bailey edging out Nash for the overall. Blake Ricketts held his place finishing a rewarding third place. On a side note, congrats to both my friend who won the Buddy Class; Danny Coultas and Donny Rye.
