2018 Primm BIG 6

By Precision Concepts | May 8, 2018

2018 Primm BIG 6 Report —

The fifth round of the AMA BIG 6 Grand Prix series headed to Primm, NV. With temperatures in the mid-90’s, it was the first hot race of the year. Taking the heat into account, hosting club Shamrocks MC utilized a speed-controlled pit row for every lap. As a result, this gave riders opportunity to grab water from their pit every lap for a refresher. The Chaparral Motorsports, Precision Concepts, Kawasaki crew devised a strategy to take full advantage and keep the riders cool and hydrated. This seemed to work out as each rider put in a great performance.

Blayne Thompson and Justin Seeds needed to rebound after a tough go at Sand Hollow WORCS the previous weekend. Both riders responded, putting in great efforts. Thompson ran second all race long, pushing the leader [Trevor Stewart] all the way to the checkers, thus earning his first podium of the season. Unfortunately for Seeds, a poor start didn’t give him a crack at the leaders. However, after starting nineteenth, Justin was able to work his way up to sixth by the finish.

In the Pro 2 class, Clay Hengeveld continued his stellar string of performances. After starting at the edge of the top-five, Clay would take a dominating victory. Likewise, team manager Robby Bell kept his streak alive in the vet class. Bell made it five-for-five on the year, taking a comfortable overall win.

Blayne Thompson — 2nd place WCGP Pro

Recently, Blayne has been building toward a performance like this. After starting second, Thompson went back and forth with Zach Bell on the first lap. Blayne, then, solidified himself in second after Zach fell and maintained about a ten second gap up to leading Trevor Stewart. From there, Thompson slowly inched closer to the leader as the two pulled a gap over the rest of the field. Just before the white flag came out, Blayne had closed the distance to Stewart to a couple seconds. The two put on an incredible effort to the checkers, pushing for the win with everything they had left. In the end, Blayne came up just a few seconds short, crossing the line in second position.

The finish bumps Thompson up to fourth in the BIG 6 championship standings. The series now begins a five-month hiatus before kicking back off in October in Ridgecrest, CA.

Justin Seeds — 6th place WCGP Pro

Justin looked to bounce back from a rough effort at WORCS the previous weekend, which saw him crash three times. Though Seeds didn’t get off to a great start, he showed a positive reaction, pushing forward all the way to the checkers. As the race began, Seeds didn’t get ideal drive off the starting line. The consequence saw him get pinched by the riders around him, relegating him to nineteenth through the first few corners.

Dusty conditions made it difficult to make a lot of passes early on. Regardless, Justin was able to make his way through numerous riders over the first few laps. Additionally, a couple competitors succumbed to mechanical or physical issues, bumping Seeds up to seventh with a couple laps remaining. Justin’s pace had him closing in on the riders just ahead of him. He was able to close the gap and make the pass into sixth just before the white flag came out. Unfortunately, time ran out before Seeds could make any further progress, but it was a solid effort to come from his start to the edge of the top-five.

Clay Hengeveld — 1st place WCGP Pro 2

Clay maintained his winning ways at the 2018 Primm BIG 6. A decent start put Clay just outside of the top-five through the initial few straightaways. He soon made a couple passes, but then saw Jake Alvarez sneak by down a sand straight. Not long after, Chance Fullerton blew a corner from third and nearly came into Alvarez as he reentered the course. Clay jumped at the opportunity and he subsequently passed both of them, moving into third.

Over the next lap, Clay caught up to Trevor Hunter. Hengeveld stalked him for a bit before maintaining more momentum around Hunter’s outside and passing into second. Toward the close of the second lap, Henge had reeled in the leading bike of Nick Stover. It didn’t take Clay long to make the move as he pulled along side the leader down a straightaway before out-braking him into the following corner. After taking the lead, Clay pulled away to the checkers, winning the Pro 2 class by just over a minute.

The win extends Clay’s points lead in the Pro 2 class to forty-one points as the series hits the summer break.

2018 Primm BIG 6 Results

WCGP Pro

1. Trevor Stewart
2. Blayne Thompson
3. Kailua Russell
4. Gary Sutherlin
5. Derek Kelley
6. Justin Seeds
7. Mark Samuels
8. Justin Wallis
9. Nick Burson
10. Mason Ottersberg

CLICK HERE to view full results.