It doesn't get much tighter...
It doesn't get much tighter than this either way you consider it! Jarrett waits for Mullins to free his bike from a sapling in the new-for-this-race hand-cleared section of willows.
Am Pro Yamaha rider Charles Mullins came out on top of an exciting three-way battle to win round 10--the finale--of the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals. Dubbed The Race and presented by Ten Racing, it featured a 35-mile loop in the fields and woods around Fenton, Illinois, with all sorts of terrain challenges, short of desert. Best of all, conditions were nearly perfect.
"It was a fun day--perfect weather, perfect track," the Factory Connection/FMF/MSR YZ250 rider observed. "I'm happy to end the season how I did; [I got] a few wins in the OMA series, and I'm happy with that."
But his win wasn't enough to take third in final points from Fun Mart Cycles/Maxxis/Moose YZ250-mounted Jason Thomas who ended up second, about seven seconds ahead of Jimmy Jarrett on the Andrews Cycles/Maxxis/Moose RM-Z450.
Jason Thomas, here ahead of...
Jason Thomas, here ahead of Mullins, changed tactics to lead much of the first half and settled for the runner-up spot, his best finish yet.
If Mullins won--which wasn't certain until the last half hour--Thomas could hold onto third in points only by finishing second, and he managed to pull that off despite going the wrong way at the end of the first lap then falling and bending his handlebar later. Unofficially and before considering throwaways, Thomas finished with 162 points while Mullins totaled 161.
Jarrett had already effectively wrapped up the championship--his third straight--and tried something different in riding his 450 instead of his usual RM250. "The championship was already over, and I wanted to try it and see how I liked it," he said. "I've been riding it a lot at home, and it actually worked a lot better than I thought it would today. I had fun.
"I thought for sure I could win it, then on the last lap I made three or four mistakes right in a row and Charlie got away. Then Jason caught me, and he and I battled to the end.
"I rode it better and I should've done better than I did today, but just a few little mistakes cost me."
But Jarrett did earn the $10,000 bonus for being the series winner, which helped take the sting off losing the $1000 race prize to Mullins.
Alan Westerfield and Cooper Bailey both enjoyed their best finishes of the season in fourth and fifth in the Pros. "I'm happy with that," Westerfield beamed. "You can never beat a podium, but I'll take fourth any day with this group."
Justin Williamson had his worst day of the season and DNFed after hitting a tree early in the race on his Williamsonracing.com YZ250. Though not seriously hurt, he decided his bike was too damaged to continue, and it didn't affect him in the final point standings as he'd already locked up second for the second year.
Top 10 Pro Results
1. Charles Mullins, Yamaha YZ250
2. Jason Thomas, Yamaha YZ250
3. Jimmy Jarrett, Suzuki RM-Z450
4. Alan Westerfield, Yamaha YZ290F
5. Cooper Bailey, KTM 250 XC
6. Tracy Bachman, Honda CR250R
7. David Swanson, Yamaha YZ250
8. Matt Dissell, KTM 250 XC
9. Matt Buck, Kawasaki KX250
10. Justin Williamson, Yamaha YZ250
Charlie Mullins broke away...
Charlie Mullins broke away for the win in the last half of the race, though it was really a close three-way dice for the for the first half.
Alan Westerfield found himself...
Alan Westerfield found himself a bit short on top speed on his YZ250F but made up for it elsewhere to earn a series-best fourth.
A few mistakes dropped Jimmy...
A few mistakes dropped Jimmy Jarrett from contention, and he had to settle for third on the day. He already had his third straight title wrapped up, though, and picked up his $10,000 bonus.