Whibs' 2011 Campaign

**denill** · 3rd May 2011, 12:10

Race Report: Virginia Harescramble Series
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 3rd

With the cancellation of Round five of the GNCC series at Loretta Lyn’s in Tennessee due to flooding, a lot of riders looked elsewhere for their racing fix for the weekend. The Virginia Hare scramble Series upped their pay-out to attract some riders to their Martinsville event. Entries came from far and wide with riders from the GNCC, OMA, National Enduro and Eastern Hare Scramble series. I got a good start but got bounced around as we drove straight into the woods off the ine, settling in about 6th.

I followed my teammate Thad Duvall and we made some passes where possible and moved up toward the front. Thad got into 2nd and latched onto enduro rider and local favourite Brad Bakken. It took me too long to make my move into third and I lost contact with the lead duo. I settled into a good pace and tried to ride smooth and mistake free in the tight, rocky in places trail. Another Enduro rider, Nick Fahringer was not too far behind me and he had pressure from visiting Yamaha Australia rider Chris Hollis.

The track was fairly long, coming in at about 15 miles in length we only needed 3 laps to make the two hour event. Thad wasn’t able to make a move on Brad over the last lap and I was not able to make any time on the leaders so the order at the front remained the same at the front. Chris Hollis would eventually put his Yamaha in front of Nick Fahringer before the race was done.

1st: Brad Brakken
2nd: Thad Duvall
3rd: Paul Whibley

Paul Whibley is supported by:
AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith,
G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders
MCC, Darbis, GHQ, Sargent Motorcycles, Yamaha NZ,
Rosscos Start up Services, Works Connection, Leatt
Brace

**Shorty_925** · 10th May 2011, 18:24

From Cyclenews:

A rocky, hilly course proved too much for a number of competitors at the Motion Pro Hangman Cross-country National, round three of the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals, near Hanging Limb, Tennessee, on Mother's Day. But when it was over, AmPro/FMF Yamaha's Paul Whibley proved stronger and faster than everyone else to notch his second win in a row, followed by teammate Thad Duvall and Obermeyer/AmPro Yamaha's Jordan Ashburn.Paul Whibley

Things didn't start out so well for the three-time and defending series champion, though, as he sat on the line with a few others and could do nothing to prevent KTM-mounted privateer Dustin Gibson from stealing the $200 FMF Holeshot Award.

But Ashburn took the lead not long afterward, giving it up just before the end of the first challenging lap of 11 miles to New Zealand's Rory Mead, who borrowed a YZ450F from Whibley in order to try a few weeks of American racing. Mead surprised quite a few by leading for over an hour.

However, his pit strategy of pitting when Whibley did failed to consider that he might be leading so he set out on a fourth lap without refueling while Whilbley and others came in after three circuits.

Predictably, Mead ran out of fuel on the furthest reaches of the course, turning the lead over to Whibley. Though Duvall made a run at him, he'd damaged the rear wheel severely and downshifted to survival mode on the last lap, gladly settling for second while Ashburn claimed third for the third round in a row. American Honda/GEICO Powersports/JG Off-road's Scott Watkins (whose teammate Jimmy Jarrett crashed out on the second lap) and Husaberg's Nick Fahringer rounded out the top five.

Afterward, Whibley summed it up: "It was just one of those days where you've got to keep plugging away because there was so much rock and danger out there that anything could happen, anything could take you down. I think people had a lot of problems. It was a bit of a survival run." And Whibley was once again the fastest survivor.

And from bikesport: http://www.bikesportnz.com/2011/05/n...way/#more-7685

If Rory pitted, could have been a win in the US for him!

**Ktmboy** · 10th May 2011, 19:58

Thats damn awesome for Rory and he's still only 23 I think.
Rory has definately been in a league of his own this year on the NZ circuit and has been riding every day that he can. The next Whibbs perhaps.

**denill** · 11th May 2011, 07:10

Race Report: OMA Rnd 3 Tennessee
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 1st

With all the rain and flooding through Tennessee I was expecting a really wet race but conditions were pretty close to perfect.
A poor start left me with some work to do. A bit of a pile up on the first turn and a bottleneck in the first mud hole allowed me to make up some positions quickly. The track was fast in places with a few rocks to keep you on your toes as several riders would find out throughout the day.

I moved up to second by the fuel stop with Rory Mead out front in his first OMA. Katherine and Ryan handled the pit stop with ease and informed me Rory was not too far in front and had not stopped for gas. By their calculations he would not make it back without running out. Sure enough I completed the next lap and was in the lead. I must have past Rory on the side of the track somewhere. Thad Duvall was hot on my heels and we swapped positions as I made a small mistake on a tricky root infested hill climb as I tried to avoid some stuck riders. I retook the lead as Thad pin balled off a few trees on a steep descent.

Going into the last lap I had a five second lead over Thad and the stage was set for a battle over the last 10 miles. But the race never happened and my lead was pushed out to over a minute by the finish as Thad’s bike had suffered some damage in a hard days racing that prevented him from pushing to the flag.

All in all it was a good day for the Am Pro Yamaha team with Thad holding second and Jordan Ashburn on another YZ 450, filling the podium.

1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Thad Duvall
3rd: Jordan Ashburn

Paul Whibley is supported by:
AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith,
G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders
MCC, Darbis, GHQ, Sargent Motorcycles, Yamaha NZ,
Rosscos Start up Services, Works Connection, Leatt
Braces, Race Pace services

**denill** · 25th May 2011, 06:58

Race Report: OMA Rnd 4 Ohio
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 1st

The latest round of the OMA series was staged in Rio Grande, Ohio. This event is one of the more enjoyable tracks on the circuit with loamy fields and flowing trails through the woods. Some steep hill climbs challenge the riders as did some of the slick sections of trail after the Saturday quad race. The recent rains that have drowned parts of America recently had the track watered to perfection though.
Off the line my YZ fired up fast, combine a Vortex ECU and a Works Connection holeshot device and a great start is all but guaranteed. Taking the holeshot and leading the race until Jimmy Jarrett snuck past on his Honda when I lost the trail momentarily in the fresh single track.

I latched onto Jimmy’s rear wheel and looked for an opportunity to re-take the position. On the second lap I moved into the lead and planned to stay there. Jordan Ashburn was close in 3rd position and both Jimmy and I wanted to keep this a two man race and upped the pace. I managed to put a couple seconds on Jimmy as the race progressed and as I learned the track and felt more comfortable with the pace I was running. By the fuel stop I had enough of a gap that I couldn’t see second. I continued to push hard as anything can happen in a 2 hour race. With the temperatures pushing 90f (+30c) the racing was demanding and as the race wore down so did the competition. I was able to extend my lead to a comfortable margin in the last couple laps and was able to put it on cruise mode to ensure the win was mine.

After the race I learned Jimmy Jarrett had taken a nasty digger and broken his collarbone, allowing my teammate Jordan Ashburn to move into second. Geico Honda rider Scott Watkins took the final podium spot.

1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Jordan Ashburn
3rd: Scott Watkins

Paul Whibley is supported by:
AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith,
G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders
MCC, Darbis, GHQ, Sargent Motorcycles, Yamaha NZ,
Rosscos Start up Services, Works Connection, Race
Pace Services

**NordieBoy** · 26th May 2011, 09:12

OMA Series points...
http://www.unitedoffroadracing.com/10points_oma.php

GNCC Series points...
http://www.racer-results.net/results...p20.asp?m=bike

**denill** · 26th May 2011, 09:32

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

OMA Series points...
http://www.unitedoffroadracing.com/10points_oma.php

GNCC Series points...
http://www.racer-results.net/results...p20.asp?m=bike

Whibs looks good when compared with his AmPro Yamaha team mate Jordan Ashburn.

**vazza** · 26th May 2011, 14:12

Look's like Rory Mead did a OMA round??

**takitimu** · 30th May 2011, 10:59

Whibs blasted back on Sunday, first time this season he's had the fastest lap and his last two were not only his fastest, but the fastest two of the day.
A huge win for Paul.

**Shorty_925** · 30th May 2011, 13:33

Originally Posted by vazza

Look's like Rory Mead did a OMA round??

Yep, and a few other races, he got 6th in the enduro he did a couple weeks back(http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/of...tional-enduro/), he got 8th in his first GNCC race over the weekend on a Honda of all bikes. Maybe picked up a deal while over there..?

Bike results from the latest gncc are : http://www.racer-results.net/results...&c=9999999&r=7

**denill** · 30th May 2011, 16:06

Originally Posted by takitimu

Whibs blasted back on Sunday, first time this season he's had the fastest lap and his last two were not only his fastest, but the fastest two of the day.
A huge win for Paul.

Great. And 20 points back.

http://www.racer-results.net/results...points.asp?s=5

**Ktmboy** · 30th May 2011, 20:28

Originally Posted by Shorty_925

Yep, and a few other races, he got 6th in the enduro he did a couple weeks back(http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/of...tional-enduro/), he got 8th in his first GNCC race over the weekend on a Honda of all bikes. Maybe picked up a deal while over there..?

Bike results from the latest gncc are : http://www.racer-results.net/results...&c=9999999&r=7

Rory rode Jimmy Jarrets bike as Jarret was out injured. Not a bad effort to jump onto someone elses bike and then come in 8th.
I think he's coming back for the Riverhead enduro this weekend.

**vazza** · 30th May 2011, 21:35

Stoked for Rory, look's like he's doing well!

Chris Birch, Karl Power, Jason Davis, Rory Mead.. All there at the Riverhead Enduro. Gonna be good!

**denill** · 1st June 2011, 06:57

Race Report: GNCC Round 5, Rock Run, PA
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 1st

With the week leading up to this race spent riding in the rocks, I felt prepared but not overly confident going into the first ever Rock Run GNCC in Pennsylvania.
I got a great jump off the line and took the lead. Charlie Mullins squeezed past as we headed to the woods but I was happy to watch and learn for a while. Although it wasn’t too long before I was back up front when my line through the mud hole was better than Charlie’s. With the lead back with me, I decided to ride smooth and smart as the high speed, rocky track had its fair share of places to create a “damn that was close” moment.
My game plan worked better than anticipated and I opened up a sizable lead over the first couple of laps. With the ground being so hard pack and rocks sticking up at some pretty random angles, smooth was the only way to avoid turning a moment into a race ender. The pit stop was quick and efficient with Katherine handing over goggles, Gary manning the dump can and Scotty and Ryan ready to sort any dramas.
On the third lap of the race Josh Strang made some gains and ate into my lead enough to latch on and start a battle for a lead. We swapped positions that lap when I took a bad line but his second fuel stop allowed me to make another break for it. Over the last couple of laps I upped the pace to try and prevent Josh from sneaking up on me again. With the win in sight taking a couple more risks seemed justified. On the last lap I was able to extend my lead over Josh and laid down my fastest lap of the race.

1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Josh Strang
3rd: Charlie Mullins

Paul Whibley is supported by:
AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith,
G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders
MCC, Darbis, GHQ, Sargent Motorcycles, Yamaha NZ,
Rosscos Start up Services, Works Connection, Race
Pace services