ROUND 3: MAY 9, 2010

Round three of the Yamaha/ITP QuadCross series took us to a new track that has never seen quad racing. Rynoland is where former MX Pro champion Ryan Hughes trains future two-wheel stars. The track was a little narrow for quads and was a challenge for the riders to make passes. The weather didn't cooperate either as the wind was blowing all weekend, making it hard to keep water on the track.

The starting gate hesitated to drop for the first moto, causing several riders to misjudge when it. Beau Baron got the jump off the gate and took the holeshot with Justin Noss in second. Nelson found himself back in fifth as they rounded the first corner. As Baron led the race, Nelson was able to move up despite the narrow course. Reed Petchnick was running in third but got hung up on a berm, allowing Nelson and Jason Dunkleberger to slot in behind Noss. Nelson passed “Dunk” on a downhill jump and set his sites on Noss. By the end of the first lap Nelson had moved into second and began to quickly close the gap to Baron. An aggressive pass by Nelson put him out front. At the end Nelson had a nice lead until he messed up in a corner and almost got stuck on the berm. It was then a drag race between Nelson and Baron to the finish line, with Nelson taking the checkers. Baron was second and Noss third.

Justin Noss came out on fire in the second moto, grabbing the $250 GYTR holeshot award. Nelson was right behind Noss on the first lap, and passed into the lead on the same rough uphill section as he did in moto one. Nelson then began to check out on the rest of the field, eventually winning with almost a 10 second gap. The real battle was between Noss and Baron. They swapped positions several times before Baron was able to get in front of Noss and open a small gap. Baron went on to take second and Noss rounded out the top three for moto two, mirroring the overall results for the day: Nelson, Baron, Noss.

Nelson now has an 8-point lead over Baron in the series standings going into Round 4 at Speedworld in Arizona on June 19.

Story by Roy Bloodworth.

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