AmPro Yamaha Race Report
Wedgefield, SC- Now that snow has cleared and the weather is back to normal on the dark sandy soil of South Carolina, it’s time to get back to racing!
With 15 pros eager to get an early season podium, this race was sure to be a challenge. The course was an eight mile loop on some of the best soil South Carolina has to offer. In traditional Hare Scramble format the AA Class raced 7 laps making it two full hours of action packed racing.
Starting it off with a bang (Literally they used an old Civil War cannon)!!! AmPro’s Jason Raines got a great jump with a fourth place start and quickly moved into second place right behind KTM’s Russell Bobbitt. Raines would push hard keeping Bobbitt in site for the first two laps of the race. Back at the starting line Thad Duvall would have his work cut out for him after a dead last start. However Thad was not giving up easily. Keeping his head down, Thad worked his way through the pack to the forth place position right behind KTM’s Steward Baylor. Thad continued pushing hard, but Steward kept it cool and stepped up the pace, passing Jason Raines for the 2nd place position. Once both Steward and Duvall made their moves around Raines, Duvall made his passed Baylor and started his charge to catch Bobbitt who had settled in with comfortable lead over the rest of the pack. Aboard his 2011 YZ250F Thad pushed hard gaining time on Bobbitt every minute and finally caught him on the second to last lap. The two would continue in an epic battle on the final lap swapping positions four times before Bobbitt ultimately took the win right ahead of Duvall.
“I feel great and the bike worked awesome!” says AmPro’s Thad Duvall. “I just moved back down to South Carolina last week and have been stoked for this race all month. It felt good to run down Bobbitt and really test my pace for the upcoming National Enduro Series. The YZ250F is a great bike and I’m pumped to get it on the box the first race out!”
Team owner Randy Hawkins even showed up on the line to have a little fun and finished a respectable 4th Place in the 40+ class.
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