Iowa’s Ben Ward claimed his first-ever Hoosier Tire, Border Battle XC premier class win with a green to checkers ride at the third annual Badger Brawl, presented by Jay’s Power Center at CMJ Raceway in Hixton, Wisconsin.
Ward has been a regular on the tour for the past few seasons and after showing steady improvement last year has come out of the gate swinging in 2021 with two straight podium finishes.
In true best of the Midwest fashion, Ward was joined on the box by Illinois’ Matt McDonald and Minnesota’s Kyle Nelson. It was also Nelson’s second podium of the season, leaving him tied at the top of the championship with Ward, both having a first and third to their credit.
Devon Jirik made his way within striking distance of Ward midway through the race but dropped back in the late going before suffering a terminal motor and clutch failure.
Rain began to fall at the start of the 2pm race creating challenging conditions for the A/B competitors. Temperatures hovered in the mid-70’s but high humidity made it all but impossible to keep goggles free of fog. As the laps wore down, the trail began to tack up but also get deeper, with veteran racers rising to the top at the checkered flag.
A record 326 riders signed in for was reported as the biggest off-road event in Wisonsin’s history.
Up next is the Checkpoint Off-Road Summer Showdown with the OMA nationals in Dayton, Iowa on July 10.
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