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With two rounds remaining in the 2008 series, the battle for supremacy in all
three classes is hotter than ever. No single rider has a hammerlock on a
championship so the final double header in Austin, Texas on October 11-12 is
destined to be an amazing affair.
Round four went off at Miller Motorsports just outside of Salt Lake City in
Tooele, Utah. Miller is a spectacular facility that features a world-class road
race track and a state-of-the-art kart/supermoto track with dirt sections at
both ends of the track. The XTRM, AMA and Miller crew orchestrated the day’s
events to run like a well-oiled clock.
The 450/Premier class main event had the crowd on its feet the entire time as
Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Honda rider Cassidy Anderson, Team KTM HMC Racing’s
Troy Herfoss and Chris Fillmore, and reigning 450 champion Mark Burkhart aboard
his Graves Yamaha put on a riding clinic for the rest of the field.
Semi-retired and former two-time champion Jeff Ward was also in the mix but
slightly off the pace compared to the top four riders.
450/Premier
In the 450/Premier main, Anderson yanked the holeshot with Fillmore, Herfoss
and Burkhart in tight formation. The freight train of riders railed the Miller
course nose to tail for the first half of the race. Fillmore made a few pass
attempts but was not able to make them stick. By the halfway point, Anderson
seemed to be holding up the field a smidge. Anderson later commented he was
suffering from severe arm pump and could hardly hang on to the bike.
Fillmore had had enough as the laps were staring to wind down fast. Blazing
down the inside of a fast pavement corner, Fillmore went in for the kill and
took the line and the lead away from Anderson. In the midst of the melee,
Herfoss also made his way to second, dropping Anderson to third. At this point,
Burkhart was also hot in the mix and started to challenge Anderson for the
final podium position.
Fillmore led the train and with two laps to go, disaster struck the KTM HMC
rider. In a double apex tight turn, Fillmore hit a slick spot in the pavement
and lost the front wheel and started to head for the ground. Herfoss narrowly
avoided the incident to take the lead. Both Anderson and Burkhart also gained a
position as Fillmore quickly snapped his bike back on two wheels and motored
away. The checkered flag flew the following lap with an elated Herfoss
capturing his third consecutive victory while extending his point lead over
Burkhart by eight points.
250/Lites
The 250 Lites was also another great race. Litz Racing Moto XXX Racing Fuels
Honda-backed Matt Abbott yanked the holeshot with newcomer SuperMoto Pro
sponsored Gray Davenport and Graves Yamaha’s Brandon Currie right there. Two
riders jumped the start and both Davenport and TLD’s David Pingree had to come
in for a mandatory stop and go.
Up front, Currie took over the lead with Abbott and RJ Performance MDK-backed
Matt Burton trailing. After the stop and go, the rookie Davenport was on a
mission and on the gas. He made up for lost time and his stellar dirt skills
prevailed. He made his way into third and started to dog Abbott for the second
podium position. At one point Burton actually spun out but made a quick
recovery.
Currie had the race in the bag and on the last lap Davenport went for broke. In
the second dirt section he jumped next to Abbott, who panicked and missed his
line and went off the track. This opened the door for Davenport to take second
and Burton inherited the final podium spot but maintained his second place in
the point’s race for the championship. Burton trails Currie by 14 points with
two races to go but still has a chance to take the title.
Unlimited
The Unlimited race was a race Hart and Huntington Rock Star Mach 1 Motorsports
rider Steve Drew would like to forget. The former point leader led the main
event but Factory Aprilia Rip It Energy’s Darryl Atkins was not about to let
him pull away. Atkins pulled an inside move on Drew about five laps into the
race when Drew went a tad wide in a tight double apex turn. Atkins stuck a
wheel in, Drew went wide and ended up tucking the front wheel and going down.
There was a little heat after the race, some said it was a clean pass and
others, such as Drew, said Atkins caused the crash. Nevertheless, Drew was on
the ground and not very happy. Atkins cruised in for the win. All Access GP
Husqvarna-mounted Derek Costella kept his race solid and finally put himself
and his bike on the box, finishing an uncontested second. Privateer Josh Chisum
continued his strongest season with another podium finish with third on a KTM.
Drew now trails Atkins going into the final double header by five points.
Next Event
Round five, now the final round of the series, will make its way to Austin,
Texas on October 11-12. The Vegas event was not able to happen and now the
Texas race is a double header.
For more racing news and video go to the XTRM network at
xtrm.com.
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