August 2020 -- Vol 4 -- Issue 8 August 2020 | Page 145

On The Pegs VOL. 4 ISSUE 8 - August 2020 145 Strang finished the weekend off just 2.5 seconds behind Russell for second overall, which the Aussie off-road was pleased with. “You just have to be aggressive but also have to not make any mistakes, and it’s difficult,” said Strang. “I enjoyed it yesterday more so than today, but the woods test for me was fun all weekend. My times were competitive too, which was good. Usually the Cross test I’m more competitive and I lose a little bit in the enduro. I think I won four enduro tests, so that’s good for me. Overall, the weekend was good. I lost the overall by two and a half seconds. I didn’t do anything wrong. I had a few small mistakes but all my tests were pretty good. Kailub had a killer first enduro test today. He was ten seconds faster than everyone all weekend. That’s Kailub. He can pull it out, he must have been on edge. He does it everywhere. He’s good at it.” There was a major focus on Girroir on Sunday, to see if he could repeat his third overall finish from Saturday, and the Southwick, Massachusetts-native delivered, edging Michael by just less than six seconds and securing third overall for the weekend. The finish also put Girroir at the top of the Pro2 division. “I started off a little bit slow, just timid on the weekend,” said Girroir. “I didn’t really want to crash, but it’s not the name of the game here. It’s sprinting. I think I won 11 out of 12 tests in Pro2, so it feels good. I liked the roots and rocks and stuff in the Enduro test. They were just slick and high-speed, so it was a little dangerous.” Michael finished P3 in the Pro class and fourth overall. “Today (Sunday) was much better for me,” said Michael. “I stayed off the ground all day which was huge. I just kind of felt more comfortable today. Yesterday was the first time I’ve ridden in the woods in five weeks. I’ve just had some time off the bike. Today I felt much more like myself. I was contesting for test wins. I didn’t get one, but I was close all day.” Michael ended up with three runner-up test finishes on Sunday. Team Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Jordan Ashburn was fourth in the Pro division and fifth overall. “I got some good tests on Saturday,” said Ashburn. “I just made a few mistakes on Sunday. Today I just wasn’t quite on the edge. Layne picked up some time on me. Overall, I’m happy with the weekend.” Tely Energy Racing KTM’s Liam Draper, who moved into the Pro division this year after winning the Pro2 championship last year was sixth overall. “I got off to a slow start both days, really,” admitted Draper. “I couldn’t figure out this Cross test all weekend. That was my downfall. But I had a fun weekend. Battling with these Pro 1 boys is no joke, really. They’re fast guys. It’s all tight turns, but I re-