Verado Leads the
Way; Mika and Cones Remain Perfect at FVOR
Wedron, IL – August 2
By Nikki Dixon
The Fox Valley Off Road hare scramble series tallied
240 entrants for round three of five, with everyone getting a free FVOR t-shirt
at signup. After a slow and steady
rain the day before the event, the early races had a few slick spots, but worked
in perfect for great traction throughout the race day. FVOR runs split courses for the morning races, to accommodate
the different classes, and allow multiple classes to race on different courses
at the same time. The courses
incorporate several types of obstacles and terrain changes, such as a variety of
trails, twisty hill climbs, and sections of motocross track. And a trip through a "Rock"
creek bed and over the “spectator logs” for the quads and bigger bikes. A little something for everyone!
The quad classes kicked off the race day, with 22
riders making their way through
the moist trails. Quad +35 winner
Bradley Holder trailed Kevin Johnson on the first lap, but eventually moved out
front, and pulled away. Holder turned multiple laps around the 10 minute mark, making
him the fastest rider from all classes. Johnson
and Timothy Storey completed the top three in Quad +35.
Cody Toal reeled in Andre Topper mid-race in Quad B action,
and held the lead to the checkered flag. Paul
Schultz, Thomas Bassett, and Todd McGuire wrapped up the top five, after
multiple position changes throughout the race.
Brandon Haly led Quad C through the first two laps, with Quintin Smith in the hunt. But both riders lost time during the third lap, while Cody Smith and Riley Brueggren moved into first and second. Cody Smith and Brueggren went back and forth for the next four laps, with of Brueggren right on Cody Smith’s rear fender as they started the final lap. Cody Smith had problems on the last lap, while Brueggren rallied back from sixth place on the first lap to capture the win. Cody Smith, Quintin Smith, Haly, and Jacob Bill rounded out the top five, all finishing on the lead lap.
The 18-rider 65 Beginner class was the next race of the morning, and their course had a few slippery sections after rain showers the day before. The top three riders had a good battle the first half of the race, trading positions back and fourth. Aspen Park led three of the first four laps, but Colten Zuidema led the final seven laps to take the win. Bryce Otterbach and Park swapped the second position a few times in the final laps, with Otterbach edging out Park at the finish. Shawn Thompson and Tanner Whipple diced the whole race, with Thompson recovering from a last lap slide-out to finish fourth, with Whipple fifth. The top five riders all finished 11 laps. Garrett Ward earned the hard charger award, coming from 18th at the first and second checkpoints, to charge through the pack for an eight place finish.
Thompson and Whipple mixed it up again in 50 Senior. Thompson led the 11-rider class at the first three checkpoints, with Whipple right on his rear wheel. But Thompson had a rough lap four and five, as Whipple moved out front and pushed ahead for the win. Eli Otterbach turned in several fast laps to finish second, while Luke Wamhoff edged out Thompson for third. Thompson and Ward completed the top five.
Travis Ward 
(351) had the holeshot in the 17-rider 85cc class, but Nolan
Schuler (345) pulled along side of Ward as they entered the woods. Schuhler led through the checkpoint
after the first lap, followed closely by Joey Fortune(395), Ward, and Mitchell
Ternes (323). Fortune was the new
leader as they completed the second lap, with Ward right on his rear fender. On the third lap, Ward was the first
rider to break the six minute mark, as he moved into the lead and held it for
three laps. Ward hitting the ground, put
Fortune back in the lead on lap six and stayed out front to the finish. Ward turned a 5:34 on the final lap,
which was the fastest lap of the race, but still had to settle for second. Ternes, Nolan Schuhler, Riley Schuhler
(318), and Nate Hornung (304) wrapped up the top six, all finishing on the lead
lap.
The Thumper class (adults on air cooled bikes with a 150cc max) had an excellent turnout with 20 racers. Ryan Moss and John Conley mixed it up for the lead, as Moss lost the back end through a couple of slick turns, which allowed Conley to stay right with him. The two were running a blistering pace, until the fourth lap, when Conley blew a turn and slid into the creek! At first Conley thought he could ride it out, until he came across a deep spot and sank his bike, ending his day as he pushed his waterlogged bike back to the pits. Moss kept it pinned as he led at the checkpoint for all seven laps, and won by over two minutes over second place Nick Blacklaw. Matt Dissoll played catch-up after a bad start, going from 11th place after the first lap all the way up to third by the checkers, even matching Moss’s lap times the final three laps. Nick Broll and William Tracy rounded out the top five.
Chelsea Marfell led all six laps in the 11-rider Women’s class to take the win. Hannah Keith reeled in Veronica Martin for second late in the race. Keith turned the fastest lap of the Women’s class on the final lap, as she carded the second spot, less than a minute behind Marfell. Martin was running in third with a lap to go, but didn’t register through the final checkpoint, which dropped her to a fifth place finish. Taylor Clark put in consistent laps to take third, and Nikki Dixon came from seventh on the first lap to finish fourth.
Over 120 big bikes lined up at the west staging area for the final race of the day, ready to put in 90 minutes on the full Fox Valley course. AA class winner Trey Verado was the first rider to see the checkered flag, as he led the last seven of nine laps. 16 riders finished on the lead lap, which included the winners of six different classes (AA, 86-Open A, 201-Open B, 86-200 B, +40A, and +30A).
Only four riders were able to break the 10 minute lap mark,
which were AA riders Verado
(13), Ryan Moss (24), Lee Lankutis (11), and Matt Dissoll. Lankutis had the AA holeshot, with Moss
sweeping in from the outside as they entered the woods. Moss led through the first lap
checkpoint, chased by Lankutis and Verado.
By lap three, Verado had moved into the lead, but Moss stayed right with
him for a couple more laps and the two blazed through the trails. Lankutis held off a late charge by
Dissoll to finish third, with Dissoll one second behind through the final
checkpoint. Matthew Westlake
completed the top five, and was the final AA rider to finish all nine laps. Moss logged the fastest lap of the day
with a 9:41 as he battled with Verado on lap four, who clocked a 9:42 on the
same lap.
Devin Bertrand led the 10-rider 86-Open A class into the woods, but Jesse Keith was out front as they finished the first lap, chased by Kyleer Vance, Joel Mertes, and Jeffery Kaylor(129). Vance was the new leader as they completed lap two, followed by Derek Toberman who turned a 10:07 to go from seventh to second, which ended up being the fastest lap of the race. Then Vance picked it up a notch, and led the next several laps, putting almost a minute on Toberman. Early leader Bertrand suffered an injury on lap four. Then on lap six, Vance’s day was cut short, when a damaged bike sent him riding up the access road and back to the pits. Toberman took over the lead, but couldn’t hold off Rick Kinkelaar who rallied from an eight place on the first lap, to become the new leader on lap seven and sprint away for the win. While running in second, Toberman had a rough lap, in what would become his eight and final lap. Kaylor, Keith (103), and John Siekmann all completed nine laps to round out the top four, followed by Toberman in fifth.
Kenneth Otterbach
(603) picked up the +40A holeshot, with Don
Raschke cutting in from the outside through the first turn. Raschke led the class through the first
lap checkpoint, trailed closely by James Wancket, Otterbach, Jim Perry, and
Thomas Burtle. On lap three,
Otterbach moved into second, just a few seconds behind the leader. But Raschke slowly inched away from Otterbach while
completing nine solid laps for the win. Otterbach
also finished nine laps, just under a minute behind Raschke across the checkers. Perry, Wancket, and Burtle traded spots
during the race, and completed the top five, finishing within 30 seconds of each
other.
The 10-rider +50 class had a solid turnout, with Mike McConaughy grabbing the holeshot and leading the first lap, followed by Gary Peterson, Rick Mahrt, Don Carqueville, and Wally Mika. The gap from first to fifth was only 10 seconds after two laps, with Peterson eventually taking the lead on lap four, chased by Mika. On lap five, Mika broke the 11 minute mark, which put him out front. Mika continued to turn laps in the 10 minute range for the remainder of the race to go three for three at Fox Valley this season. Peterson, McConaughy, Carqueville, and Mahrt wrapped up the top five, and all finished on the lead lap.
Brian Roland led the 8-rider +30B class into the woods, and put in a solid first lap, to have a 30 second lead at the first checkpoint, with Josa Villarreal, Jerry Oksas, Todd Brough, and Brian Goodin in tow. Villarreal had a rough second lap, as Roland, Oksas, and Goodin were the new top three. Oksas reeled in Roland on lap four, and pulled away for the win. Roland and Mark Ficek finished second and third, and Villarreal edged out Jason Ketoe in the final lap to finish fourth, with Ketoe fifth.
Grant Bodmer (955)
led the 12-rider 86-200 C class after the first lap, trailed by
JJ Cones, Jake Seibert, Reid Ward, and Dylan Broll. Cones was the new leader on lap two, but
Bodmer answered right back, to move out front again on lap three. Cones fought back into the lead on lap
four, and stayed out front to the finish, to remain undefeated at Fox Valley
through round three of five. Siebert
(953) 
reeled in Bodmer around the hour mark, and held the second spot to the checkers. Bodmer finished third, and was the final
rider on the lead lap. Nicholas
Broll, Ward, and Tyler Sanders wrapped up the top six, and all finished seven
laps.
201-Open C was the biggest class of the day, with 28
riders. Mark Rybicka and Bryan
Clucas had the quickest reaction time in the dead engine start, leading the way
to the first turn. Rybicka led
through the checkpoint for the first seven laps, with Steven Daniels in striking
distance the whole race. On the
final lap, Daniels turned in his fastest lap of the day with a 10:53, which
earned him the win. Rybicka
finished two seconds behind Daniels at the checkered flag, after a close race. Clucas finished a solid third, followed
by Micah Statler who had the fastest lap time of the class with a 10:48 on lap
three. Nicholas Desautels came from
an 11th place on the first lap to finish fifth, and Justin Cox
finished right behind him for sixth, and was the final rider on the lead lap.
There are only two more chances to check out the race action at Fox Valley Off Road this year. September 13th is the next event, and October 4th is the District 17 Championship Race. Don’t miss out!