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With the wave of the green flag I kicked the WR to life and shot to turn one. Had a great drive and rounded the corner in first, taking the holeshot and the big check from Motorcycleusa.com.
The first half mile down and around the pits was pretty sloppy from the rain on Saturday, but after we crossed the road and into the woods we were back into the traditional Lorretta Lynns rock.
The woods were in pretty good shape as most of the rain had run off and any excess had been splashed off by the morning race.
Although most of the trail was pretty beat up, a 3 mile section of fresh single track was a welcomed relief.
I soon realized I had a problem as I went to readjust my clutch after the start and discovered the adjuster was jammed with almost zero free play. I was having a difficult time reaching the lever and began to tighten up as I struggled to deal with the issue.
I continued to lead the first lap but the lack of control caused me to clip a tree mid way through the second lap, going down and handing the lead over to the hungry pack.
I was signaled into the pits at the completion of the lap for repairs. The perch was replaced but took several minutes and by the time I rolled back out onto the track the leaders were long gone.
I continued to make laps and picked off a few riders, eventually moving up to 8th in the XC1 class.
Late in the race a lapped rider roosted a rock into my face, slamming into my goggles. I have heard a lot of horror storys about rocks blowing the lense right out of some goggles and tagging the rider in the face. Well I'm happy to report that my Smiths bounced that rock no problem at all.
Good news for the Am Pro Yamaha team came with Charlie Mullins taking his first win of the season and stopping Josh Strangs' win streak.
1st: Charlie Mullins
2nd: Josh Strang
3rd: Nate Kanney
Paul Whibley is supported by: AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith, Ohlins, G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions.
The AmPro Yamaha Team is supported by: FMF Kenda Yamalube Asterisk Cannondale CV4 Cycle Gear E-Batt EBC Brakes Factory Connection Fastway Gaerne Boots GYTR IMS Jonny Signs Leatt Brace Matrix Racing Products Motion Pro MSR Pro-Clean Rekluse Scott Shoei Slavens TM Designworks Twin Air Wiseco ZipTy Racing
