| July 17, 2017
2017 Cyclone XC OMA National Results – The OMA Nationals Rekluse Cyclone XC, co-sanctioned with the Iowa Enduro Riders Association and the Midwest Cross Country Series, played out at the Lundberg family farm near Dayton, Iowa, July 15. Following three earlier rounds of wet, muddy, sloppy racing, the Cyclone XC would be entirely different. Hot and dry were the words that best described conditions for this installment of the OMA Nationals series. Hard-packed ground on numerous hills, along with stifling heat, made it a tough day to race a motorcycle in Iowa.
2017 Cyclone XC OMA National Results
When the dust settled after seven grueling laps of the eight-mile course, Mike Witkowski (KTM/Klim/Maxxis) emerged victorious, leading his RPM Racing teammate Chris Bach by 14 seconds. FMF holeshot winner Cody Barnes (Yamaha/Fly Racing/Maxxis) held on for third place in the Pro class, just two minutes behind the leaders.
“It was good,” said Witkowski of his race. “Luckily, I got a pretty good start behind Cody [Barnes] and kind of rode behind him until he made a mistake. It was super dusty if you were back in the pack, so I tried to lead as much as I could. When Chris did get by me, I tried to make sure I stayed right with him, and actually made a pass back.”
The pair—Witkowski and Bach—poured on the speed when they broke free of the pack, and continued to log laps in the low 18-minute range, while their fastest competitors hovered around the mid-19-minute mark. The fastest lap of the race, an 18-minute, six-second run, was logged by Witkowski on his final lap.
“It was actually a really fun course,” said Witkowski. “I was kind of surprised. A few years ago, I came here and kind of got my butt handed to me. I definitely figured it out today, and it was fun. It’s actually super exciting to win against good competition. It was a long day, and Chris made it interesting.”
Witkowski’s teammate and unofficial RPM Racing team mentor, Bach, was happy with his own race performance, and more so with that of Witkowski’s.
“I obviously would have liked to win,” said Bach, “but, from a team aspect, I am super happy with the way Mike rode. He managed the race like a professional today. It [race course] was really tight and didn’t allow for a lot of passing, so the racing was pretty tough. It was fun again. If someone asked you to describe a Bill Gusse course, today would have been it. It’s hard to come and find tracks like this anymore. It had the off-cambers and stuff we don’t see anymore.”
Recapping his race day, Bach said, “I chased Mike [Witkowski] around all day. I definitely feel like I was faster than he was, but he had me covered and rode a very smart, strategic race and beat me straight up. I think we both pushed the pace at the end. I don’t know if I want to go much faster than that. It was a good day and a great course, and it is super hot.”
In the Pro 2 division, series points leader Mark Heresco suffered a rare mechanical failure on the last lap, opening the door for Logan Lowrey (Beta/O’Neal) to lock in the win.
Adam Bonneur (Suzuki/Fly Racing) finished fourth in the Pro class and fifth overall, followed by the KTM of hard charging A Class winner Tanner Whipple.
2017 Cyclone XC OMA National Results
OVERALL
- Mike Witkowski (KTM)
- Chris Bach (KTM)
- Cody Barnes (Yam)
- Logan Lowrey (Beta) Pro 2
- Adam Bonneur (Suz)
- Tanner Whipple (KTM) A
- Steve Leivan (KTM)
- Brandon Farnum (Yam) Pro 2
- Colten Zuidema (KTM) Pro 2
- Tristin Melgoza (Yam) Pro 2