Whibley Closes in on OMA Championship

 

Team FMF Suzuki Off Road’s Paul Whibley didn’t get the holeshot, but that was about the only time he wasn’t in front as the RM-Z450 mounted star ran away with the Cycra Buckeye Cross Country National, round six in the Parts Unlimited Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals.

FMF Suzuki Off Road teammate Jimmy Jarrett held second until late in the race when he crashed, hurting his wrist and hitting his head hard enough to leave him dazed so he packed it in early, effectively ending his hopes of adding a fifth consecutive series title to his résumé.

It didn’t take long before Whibley got to the front on his Suzuki RM-Z450 and made the race for first boringly simple by staying well out of reach of his rivals, with Jarrett the closest.

Whibley’s fourth consecutive victory has him smelling his first American championship, but he’s not counting on anything yet: ‘I’m just trying to keep doing well race after race and keep building the points. With a round to drop, I don’t want to count on any points lead before the end of the series–we’ll just see how it looks at the end–but it’s looking good, I guess.’

With four consecutive wins and a massive point’s lead, the only riders with a mathematical chance of catching Whibley are his own FMF Suzuki Off Road teammates. Whibley is also currently second in the GNCC point’s chase with two victories in that prestigious series.