Riders gathered Saturday and Sunday for the 5th round of Quadcross Northwest at Straddleline ORV park. While Cody Irving was absent from the Pro class, opting instead to spectate the events and take some photos, a few new faces turned up as well as some familiar ones local riders have not seen in a while. Many riders commented on how much they enjoyed Straddleline’s improvements, some coming as far as California and Canada to participate in the event.
Saturday was cool and overcast for the majority of the day. It warmed up in the afternoon but in typical Northwest summer style, the clouds stuck around creating a mildly humid environment for racers. The track retained it’s moisture helping to prevent dust and the large turnout meant intense racing all day. Some of the biggest races were those involving the 250 classes, including the Schoolboy classes. It is easy to see that the wealth of talent runs deep in the Northwest, as several mini riders were doing jumps many of the adults did not try. There were a lot of mid-pack battles in all the classes, most notably in the Pro-Am races on Saturday as well as in the Production B classes. The Vet line had intense battling throughout the weekend. Rich Moore was flying on Sunday as was Josh Fain. Scooter Wingerd, as usual, was a hard man to catch. Sunday, Moore and Fain did him a favor by upping the ante. Fain and Moore lined up on opposite ends of the gate and sat in chairs in the center furthest from their respective bikes. When the gate dropped, Fain and Moore had to ditch the chairs, start their bikes, and then try to beat Wingerd who was leading the entire race.
At Pro Qualifying on Saturday, Phil Oppen posted the fastest lap at 1:28 with Jorie Williams and Clay Forenpohar right behind. Sunday’s Pro gate held Oppen and Williams as well as Bryan Martin, Clay Forenpohar, Cole Fite, Colby Thompson, Tim Shelman, Michael Owens and Bill Doyle. In moto one, Cole Fite just edged out Jorie Williams for the holeshot, with Phil Oppen close behind. Phil, Jorie and Cole battled for the first few laps but Jorie managed to take the lead and put time on Phil and Cole. Fite and Oppen would battle for several laps before Phil managed to get around Fite and make up some time on Jorie. Meanwhile, Bryan Martin, Tim Shelman, Clay Forenpohar and Michael Owens were battling in the middle of the pack vying for position. In the end it would be Williams, Oppen, and Fite for moto 1.
From left to right: Forenpohar, Oppen, Fite make up the Pro Podium.
Moto 2 took off in a similar fashion, however Jorie Williams got the holeshot followed by Phil Oppen and the rest of the field. Phil and Jorie were tire to tire for the beginning of the race until Jorie had a mechanical issue that put him out of the race. Oppen led the remainder of the race without challengers and took the win. Martin, Doyle, Owens and Shelman all suffered bike issues in moto 2. Martin managed to get back on the track without too much delay, as did Shelman, however Doyle did not return to the track, and despite losing several components including his shift lever, Owens never left the track. Fite and Forenpohar had great races and rode solidly, rounding out the podium. The end results for the day were Phil Oppen with the 1, followed by Fite and Forenpohar for second and third respectively.
With one round left Cody Irving has wrapped up the points chase for the Pro class, leaving the remainder of the Pros to race for second. Quadcross will be heading to the legendary Washougal MX park August 25th and 26th to wrap up the season. Visit Quadcrossnw.com for information on the series, find them on Facebook, and see the rest of the photos here and even more photos from Boss Photography here.
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