Snodgrass would lead the field through lap two , dropping Smith , while everyone else advanced their position as Barbosa ’ s day would end with a mechanical issue . AmPro Yamaha ’ s Mike Witkowski would move into the fourth spot after a poor start left him working his way into 7th at the end of the opening lap . At the halfway point , more shuffling was taking place as Barnes would take over the lead by more than a minute ahead of Witkowski , with Smith still holding onto third while Lafferty would be in fourth and Tely Energy Racing KTM ’ s Liam Draper would move into the top five after a mistake from points leader Snodgrass would drop him to 7th .
With Barnes in control heading into the last lap , the script was starting to write itself for the Illinois native to claim his first ever victory . After coming close in past seasons , Barnes had yet to put together a win . Lafferty was a minute and a half back all alone in second , while Draper and Witkowski were still battling for the final spot on the podium . Snodgrass would make his way back into fifth as Smith started to drop back in the field .
At race ’ s end , Cody Barnes would take a hard earned first win in XC2 , making him the fourth XC2 winner in seven rounds . Lafferty would cross the line for second with Draper taking the final spot on the podium . Snodgrass would round out the top
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 66