Finish is a First for Lunde at Memphis OMA National

Patrick Lunde hasn't racked up the most impressive record in the 2004-2005 Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV Nationals, going winless in the first five rounds. To make matters worse, he hadn't even finished one of those races. That's the kind of thing that can get you down.

But Lunde's luck finally changed at round six—the Moonshine 100, presented by ITP, outside of Memphis, Missouri—as he finally finished a race. Not only that, but he also won it on his Pro Serve Motorsports/PEK Performance YFZ450.

"Every race so far, I think I've broken something," he admitted. "This is the first one I've actually finished this entire year."

His list of broken parts includes a snapped steering stem, torn A-arm and a broken shock. That's in addition to arm pump that would sometimes flare up.

"That's pretty much been my year so far," Lunde lamented. "Today, luckily, it held together."

That's not to say he didn't have his problems in Memphis. A contact lens popped out, making it hard to see on the last lap, but he was able to hold off defending series champ and current points leader Rob Zimmerman.

"I got the holeshot, which I was very happy [about doing] on this dusty course, and held the lead for a few laps," Zimmerman said. "Patrick was on me the first couple laps real good, then I started slowing down after I saw I had a huge gap on him. Then I saw him close the gap.

"I thought I was leaving him pretty good, then I caught a quick oak in a tight section, and sure enough, here he comes, right there. I was pulling my quad back, and he found a way around me, surprisingly.

"After that I just got on it, just to catch back up to him because I wanted to win! I was able to close the gap, even thought that was extremely difficult with this dust. When we got into the tight woods, I was able to close [the gap] better.

"I caught up to him, was right on his tail. The next thing I know, the handlebar turned right real hard, I went off the right-hand side, the quad goes flying up and just drills a tree; I was like, `Crap!'

"As I was pulling it back, I noticed the tie rod was a nice U-shape. I was like, `See you, Patrick! It's yours.' "

Despite running into another tree due to an excessively toed-out front end (plus severe vibration due to a bent front wheel), Zimmerman managed to hold his position on his Scott/Maxxis/Moose-backed TRX450R, fighting off a challenge by eventual third-placer Shea Dickenson.

"I got off to a good start," Dickenson said, "then the second lap Zimmerman and Patrick started pulling away in the dust; I couldn't see.

"Then Zimmerman must have wrecked on the last lap, I think it was, and I caught up to him. Coming across the creek he roosted me [and I didn't have] goggles so I had to run the rest of the race with no goggles." Still, he matched his series-best finish of third place from the Moose Run.

Yamaha YFZ450 riders Ryan Smith and Curt DeMay rounded out the top five.

With the series starting its final half, Zimmerman holds a commanding lead in points and could wrap up the Pro-class championship after the next round, which will be at the end of the month at Millville, Minnesota. After Memphis, he has 170 points, well ahead of DeMay's 83 while Kevin Tinsley, sixth in Memphis, has 76.

OMA National, Round 6 ATV Pro Results; Memphis, MO
1. Patrick Lunde, Yamaha YFZ450
2. Rob Zimmerman, Honda TRX450R
3. Shea Dickenson, Honda TRX450R
4. Ryan Smith, Yamaha YFZ450
5. Curt DeMay, Yamaha YFZ450
6. Kevin Tinsley, Honda TRX450R
7. John Stehlik, Yamaha YFZ450