On The Pegs June 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 6 | Page 130

On The Pegs P 130 JORDAN ASHBURN “It was pretty muddy when we started on Saturday and I was able to win that first test, which put me in good shape,” said Ashburn. “I felt really comfortable in that first test but it ended up being shortened because of the conditions, and I think that took away my ad- vantage, so I was trying to make up for that in the Cross test and it just didn’t happen.” Tely Racing KTM-backed Steward Baylor rounded out the top six, finishing 24 seconds behind Ashburn. Meanwhile, Beta USA’s Mike Witkowsi claimed his best finish of the year in seventh. Ohio motocrosser Mario Testa was eighth overall on a borrowed KTM, while SRT Rac- ing’s Evan Smith finished a heartbreaking ninth overall after winning Saturday’s round. Smith turned in his best performance of the season on Saturday and was in good shape to take the overall win for the weekend, when a thrown chain in test four on Sunday threw a wrench in the works and left him with a DNF for the test. “That’s dirt bike racing,” Smith said after the race. “I was feeling good on Saturday and I think I just had fewer mistakes than every- one else. I felt strong and fast and I carried that momentum into Sunday’s race, but in the fourth test a rock hit the chain guide and threw the chain off and it ended up getting wrapped up in the countershaft sprocket.” Ohio rider James Justice finished off the top 10 on a KTM. In the Pro2 class, Braxton McGee took top honors on a Husqvarna, finishing almost a minute ahead of KTM-mounted Cole Mat- tison. The win was Braxton’s first in the Pro2 class. “It feels good to win one of these things,” said McGee. “I started off with two bad tests so I was trying to push hard to overcome that. I was battling all weekend with Cole and he