On The Pegs May 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 5 | Page 61

On The Pegs
Vol. 3 Issue 5 - May 2018
P 61
opinion. I was happy to be up there fighting for
test wins and to come away with a second-place
finish.”
Due to his DNF at the previous round in
South Carolina, Thad DuVall was forced to start
from row 42 (11 rows behind Steward Baylor),
which can be an advantage at times. However,
in muddy conditions, especially if the terrain is
really soft, starting that far back can mean you
are racing in footpeg-deep ruts (or worse), while
the competition is facing much easier conditions
up front. DuVall struggled in the opening test,
putting himself in a hole with a sixth place finish.
However, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Fac-
tory rider picked up two tests wins to finish out
the day. His only other misstep came in test five,
where he finished fifth. In spite of his finishes in
tests one and five, DuVall managed to dig his way
out of a hole and salvage a third place finish.
“It wasn’t ideal conditions for row 42,” said Du-
Vall. “The first and the fifth tests killed me. They
were really bad and really rutted and I was just
happy to just get through them. The course de-
teriorated so fast that by the time it came to my
row there were so many deep ruts and holes that
it was really challenging. It was something like I
have never ridden before and it was some of the
deepest ruts I’ve ever seen. I hope I never have to
race anything like that again.”
Ben Kelley was among the riders who weren’t
happy with how he rode, but was somewhat
pleased with the outcome. The Trail Jester KTM
rider was fourth overall, adding credibility to the
third place finish he had in South Carolina.
“I got stuck a couple of times and had a few
crashes,” said Kelley. “It was a struggle, but I had
a few good tests and I had a decent finish.”
Kelley really buried it pretty good in the fifth
test and lost about 30 seconds in the process. “I
was really buried and luckily there was a guy that
ran down the hill and helped push me out,” said
Kelley.
Ryder Lafferty won test five en route to a fifth
overall finish. The Solid Performance KTM rider
also took top honors in the NE Pro2 division.
“I pretty much stayed off the ground all day,”
said Lafferty. “I’m starting to find some consisten-
cy in my riding and I think that is paying off.”
The win was Lafferty’s second in a row in the
NE Pro 2 class.