EKS Brand Weekend Report
EKS BRAND racers had another incredible weekend sweeping two National podiums!
Kevin Strijbos, MX-1 7th. FIM Grand Prix of Mexico
The new venue in Mexico brought some unique racing to the GP's. After a complete rider protest on Saturday for "unsafe" track conditions, the track was very dusty, the races proceeded on Sunday without a hitch. Kevin Strijbos rode to a hard fought 5th place finish the first moto and then struggled to a 10th in the second. This gave him 7th overall and he now sits in 7th place in the overall World championship point standings.
Kevin Strijbos: “It was a little difficult this weekend for me. The first race was ok. I made a good start and I rode in sixth position for most of the moto but Pourcel made a mistake somewhere and finally I finished fifth. I really felt ok; I didn't have arm pump, and my vision was perfect so I was happy with this result. In the second race, I felt strange, not tired but it was too hot and I tried to push and I couldn't. My start wasn't too good like the first one and I tried to find my lines and do my best. Finally I was tenth and I am not happy with that but the positive thing is that I was fifth in the first race and I hope that I make a better job next week in Brazil.”
EKS BRAND racer Micheal Leib was on hand racing Zach Osborne's Monster Energy Yamaha for this round. Michael actually won the MX-2 qualifying heat on Saturday but an early crash in moto 1 on Sunday left Leib with a badly beat up hand. There hasn't been an official word as to how bad the hand is hurt. Hopefully he will be ready for the Hangtown National this weekend in Sacramento Ca.
Jordan Ashburn XC-1 3rd. Chris Bach 5th. GNCC Limestone 100.
Andrew DeLong XC-2 1st. Jason Thomas 2nd. Jedediah Haines 3rd. Brad Bakken 4th.
Springville, Ind. (May 14, 2012) – The Dunlop Limestone 100, round six of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, marks the second new stop on this year’s 13-round schedule. Equipped with new course layouts and added obstacles, these minor changes have added an element of surprise and unpredictability to the already exciting championship battles. F.A.R Husqvarna’s Andrew DeLong put a buzz throughout the pits as he put himself into contention for the overall lead from the XC2 class. DeLong wasn’t able to best Russell for the overall win, but the rookie landed second place overall and his first XC2 class win this season.
DeLong says he wasn’t necessarily focusing on the overall win.“I was just focusing on not making mistakes out there,” DeLong said. “It wasn’t about who was the fastest, it was about who was the smoothest and made the least mistakes.”
The XC-1 race saw EKS BRAND racer Jordan Ashburn cross the line in a solid 3rd place.“It’s a big learning curve going from XC2 to here [XC1],” Ashburn said. “Starting with these guys is so much harder than chasing them before and it takes a lot of time. I felt really good and rode as hard as I could all day.”
Obermeyer Yamaha- EKS BRAND backed Chris Bach put in a solid day; finishing a season best fifth in the XC1 class aboard his new YZF450 machine.
In the XC-2 class, DeLong’s XC2 class win ended Baylor’s five-race win-streak. KR4 Performance’s/EKS BRAND's Jason Thomas took home second in XC2 behind DeLong.
Thomas put himself into the lead battles early on, but ran into some issues near the end that set him back a few minutes in the overall. Thomas still holds second overall in the championship battle.
It was an incredible day for Obermeyer Yamaha/Raines Riding University/Offroadviking.com/EKS BRAND rider Jedediah Haines as he secured his first-ever XC2 podium finish, while also taking ninth overall behind Thomas. Haines came out strong in the early stages and he held tough with the lead pack for a majority of the three-hour race.
Beau Barron 1st, David Haagsma 2nd, Dustin Nelson 3rd, WORCS Round 5.
EKS BRAND backed H&M Motosports riders Beau Baron and David Haagsma took the top two spots of the podium this past weekend at Round 5 of the WORCS ATV series. The dominating team of Barron and Haagsma was closely followed across the line by a fellow EKS BRAND racer, Team Yamaha's Dustin Nelson making it an EKS BRAND sweep of the podium!
Baron now holds a 9 point lead in the series.
Congratulations to all of the EKS BRAND racers. Were are very proud to have some of the worlds fastest motocrossers, Off road racers BMX'rs and quad racers wearing our goggles. THANK YOU!