Ricky Russell of the Am Pro Yamaha Team took a little vacation to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and came away with the Lions Share of the PRO Purse at Round 11 of the FOX Racing J DAY Off Road Championship. This was Russell’s first trip to the J DAY Tour in 2023 as he was in New Hampshire for the week to test with the Factory Connection crew at the suspension company’s Interplanetary Headquarters but he is no stranger to our series and has a lot of fans up here in the Great White North and had the support of the J DAY faithful. In the first moto it was hard to tell who the fans were cheering for more , Russell or reigning champ Simon Johnson on the Plaistow Power Sports / Am Pro / Factory Connection Yamaha as the two were locked in a battle so close that they ran the exact same lap time on the final lap but Russell got the nod to win by just two seconds. Johnson was fast all day and showed he is still very much in the hunt for his second championship as he not only battled Russell but early in the moto had a fierce battle with Championship point leader Chris Canning and pulled off the Moto Tassinari Move of the Day when he was passed by Canning going into the S Turns between the trees just before the FMF Extreme section and zapped Canning in the second bend in the S with a beautiful outside move using the berm like a slingshot and set sail for Ricky Muscle , quickly putting time between he and the Factory Connection / Canning MX / FXR Gas Gas rider. Canning would ride mostly alone for the remainder of the moto finishing 3rd and Bubz Tasha took the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC / Tely Energy / Loud Fuel Co KTM to fourth while Brandon Gregoire rounded out the top 5 on the Factory Connection / FXR / LBR Yamaha.
Moto 2 would see Gavin Simon on the Edelmans Husqvarna grab the Holeshot but that would be the bright spot of his day as he had a rough one. Russel would pass him quickly and lead all 8 laps and cruise to a 34 second win over Chris Canning who would turn his 3-2 moto scores into second overall. Simon Johnson would get a good start and complete lap one in second place but this time the battle on lap 2 between he and Canning was won by the veteran Canning and Johnson would finish third in the moto and overall. Gavin Simon would press on regardless and take fourth overall with 6-5 scores. Brayden Nolette had an inspired second moto on the V3 Kawi finishing fourth and with an eighth in the first scored 5th overall. Both riders keeping slim chances for the 2023 title alive. Rounding out the top 10 overall were Brandon Gregoire ( 5-7 ) who is still in contention as well, Jeremy Whalstrom showing some sand skills and scoring his best PRO overall finish going 9-6 for seventh, Nick Casey on the Evans Coolant KTM ( 7-10 ) was eighth, Bangor, PA native Neil Enman rode 11-9 scores to ninth overall and Super A Class rider the fifteen year old sensation out of Poultney Vermont on his Ronnies Cycle KTM Van Gosselin went ( 10-11 ) for a second consecutive top Ten Overall against the best PRO riders in the North East. Van is fast and getting faster, smooth and getting smoother and he manages his race very well but one thing that stands out is he is someone who fellow competitors can trust in a tight racing scenario and he leaves it all out there on the track holding no grudges , the way it should be.
Oh and if you are keeping score on the Championship race it’s Canning by 9 over Johnson who leads Simon by one point who leads Gregoire by another 9 points. It’s getting…..Spicey….with Four Rounds to Go.
jdayoffroad.com/
17 янв 2024
