being wet and kind of slippery ,” said Nelko . “ We couldn ’ t see times , so I was just kind of expecting that I wasn ’ t doing as good as I was . By the time I saw my times , I think I was 52 seconds up , so the last test it was raining really hard and we just kind of rode it in and ( Jonathon ) Johnson got me by 30 seconds . Luckily , I had enough on him to get the win .”
Thad DuVall returned to action after missing the last four races due to injury . The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider battled the mud to 10th overall .
“ I started the race a little farther back , so it was a little tougher ,” said DuVall . “ The ruts were a little deeper and stuff , but just had fun racing . Had those butterflies and that nervous feeling again . Just struggled all day with the speed and stuff . I haven ’ t raced in a long time , so it ’ s been a struggle . Definitely was a little bit of an eye-opener today , but just got to get better , for sure .”
Beta USA ’ s Jonathon Johnson was second in the NE Pro 2 class with an 11th overall finish , while Steve Nicholas ( KTM ) was third NE Pro 2 rider in 12th overall .
Enduro Engineering / Fly Racing KTM ’ s Mackenzie Tricker topped AmPro Yamaha ’ s Rachel Archer to win the Women ’ s Elite class .
VOL . 7 ISSUE 9 - SEPTEMBER 2022 // PAGE 63