Jeremiah Jones of
Bowling Green, Kentucky, blasted his Suzuki/Yoshimura
LT-R450 to the front and led from start to finish in both
motos at the Sunset Ridge MX facility in Walnut, Illinois,
July 15-16.
Promoters Amy and Tim Ritchie knew that
Sunset Ridge MX would be an excellent track for an ATVA
ITP/Moose Grand National Championship Motocross Series
race. Sunset Ridge is very ATV friendly with a wide track,
high-banked turns, split lanes, and good soil. It all
made for some very fun and exciting racing.
Local fan support was fantastic as ATV
race fans filled the track spectating areas to watch the
best in ATV racing, from the 50cc youth classes to the
best Pros in the world.
The weather in the high 90s Sunday was
just as hot as the racing.
Missing from the race lineup was John
Natalie (#13, left) of Houtzdale, Pennsylvania. Natalie,
who had surgery to repair an injured wrist, stepped up
the microphone and helped series announcing Rodney Tomblin
call the action. Natalie did a great job, adding his personal
insight to all the action on the track.
In the first Pro moto, the quickest out
of the starting gate was Harold Goodman (#708) of Romulus,
Michigan. Right on his rear grab bar were four of the
fastest Pro racers on the planet with Jones second, Doug
Gust (#55) of Salem, Wisconsin, third, Travis Spader (#30)
of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, fourth and Pat Brown (#199)
of Pittstown, New Jersey fifth.
Jones took a few laps to size up Goodman
before moving into first. Then Gust passed Goodman to
make it Team Suzuki/Yoshimura in the first and second
spots.
There was no love lost between the two
Suzuki teammates as they battled lap after lap. If Jones
took the outside line, Gust took the inside. The crowd
was going nuts as the lead switched back and forth several
times, even during the same lap!
Gust, who has been racing all year without
a single mechanical problem, with only a few laps to the
checkered flag saw his charge come to a halt. As he launched
off a large table top, his engine quit. As the ATV started
to take a nose dive, Gust was doing everything he could
but a crash landing was inevitable, sending him and his
ATV to the sidelines.
Back in the pack, mechanical problems
brought Goodman in third to a halt.
Joe Byrd (#7, left) of Union City, Tennessee,
who was sixth at the start, stayed smooth and consistent
as he passed the few riders in front of him. But Byrd
was having his own mechanical problems, as his engine
blew smoke and antifreeze as he moved into second. Would
the ATV stay running with just two laps to go?
Jones, with big lead, was first to the
checkered flag. Byrd kept it running and grabbed second,
Spader was third, Brown fourth and Chad Wienen of Galena,
Illinois, was fifth.
While Pro riders were signing autographs
for their fans between motos, many mechanics were changing
engines because of mechanical problems.
Jones knew what he had to do in the second
moto and blew everyone away. He took the holeshot and
led the pack for the entire moto, without a single challenger.
The second moto finish was Jones first,
then Byrd, Wienen, Cramer and Spader.
For the overall it was easy to score:
first was Jones with a 1-1, Byrd’s 2-2 gave him
second and Wienen with 5-3 was third.
With Jones’ win this tightens up
the chase for the national championship. Byrd is currently
still in first place with 246 points. Jones has moved
into second with 219. Gust is third at 217, Natalie fourth
with 202 and Keith Little (#12) is in fifth with 174.
©
2006, All Terrain Vehicle Association
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