Mullins gets second OMA victory at Millville
Charlie Mullins made it two in a row with his OMA victory at Millville, coming back from a first-lap crash to do so.
Am Pro Yamaha's Charles Mullins proved that the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals win he got at round six in Missouri last month was no fluke, as he backed that up by taking round seven, the Spring Creek Grand Prix presented by CRD, in Minnesota.
"It was good to win today," he said. "I felt like I really earned this one today. Everybody out there was riding fast."
Indeed he did have to earn this one. After a good start behind two-time and defending series champ Jimmy Jarrett, Mullins tumbled over an obstacle in the trail and tweaked his leg. However, he shook that off, regrouped and began reeling in the lead pack before they got away.
Jimmy Jarrett (1) proved he didn't lose his holeshot ability; he's trailed here by (visible from left) Justin Williamson (2), Charlie Mullins (112), Matt Crouch (26), Jason Thomas (14), Aaron Branham (32), Alan Westerfield (7) and Pete Graves (65).
That pack included Jarrett, Jason Thomas and Shane Watts--each of whom took a turn out front--as well as Justin Williamson, who basically played catch-up after getting a mediocre start on his Williamsonracing.com YZ250.
Less than an hour into the race at the beautifully prepared Spring Creek MX Park, Mullins had the lead once again, but he wouldn't surrender it this time on his Factory Connection/Bridgestone/MSR YZ250. He quickly forged a gap of about a minute over Williamson, who'd worked his way up to second place, and slowly but surely kept on moving away.
Williamson likewise enjoyed a similar margin over third place, which wasn't decided until the final lap. Watts held it for most of the latter stages on his KTMHutt.com/Fun Mart Cycles/M2R 200 XC, but there would be no holding off the surging Jarrett, who was just 12 seconds behind at the white flag.
Despite boiling the rear brake on his Andrews Cycles/Maxxis/Moose RM250 and suffering fatigue due to the layoff he took after wrenching his knee in a photo shoot (which kept him out of round six last month), Jarrett sprinted the final lap and managed to put the pass on Watts, who settled for fourth. Thomas rounded out the top five on his Fun Mart Cycles/Maxxis/Moose YZ250 after having to endure a lengthy pit stop to fix a bent rear rotor when he tangled with a lapped rider.
Spring Creek GP Pro results
1. Charles Mullins, Yamaha YZ250
2. Justin Williamson, Yamaha YZ250
3. Jimmy Jarrett, Suzuki RM250
4. Shane Watts, KTM 200 XC
5. Jason Thomas, Yamaha YZ250
6. Alan Westerfield, Yamaha YZ250F
A mediocre start left Justin Williamson with a lot of ground to make up, but he latched onto the lead pack and finished second. | 
Shane Watts led early and pushed harder than he has in a while, ending up fourth. |
From left: third-place Jimmy Jarrett, winner Charlie Mullins and runner-up Justin Williamson. | 
In his first race back since hurting his knee in a photo shoot, Jimmy Jarrett showed his old speed but no longer had race fitness. He had to work for the last podium spot. |
Jason Thomas, who'll be on the British Junior World Trophy team at the ISDE in New Zealand, also took a turn in the lead, but a bent rear rotor cost him; he finished fifth. | |