Professional ATV Racing Hits South Fork Dirt
Riders This Weekend
Taylorville, IL - May 12-13,
2007
White Bear Lake, MN (5/8/2007) - The
top names in professional ATV racing will converge at
South Fork Dirt Riders this weekend as the WPSA PowerSports
ATV Tour readies for its second round of the 2007 season.
The Jack Link's ATV Championship is scheduled for Friday,
Saturday and Sunday at the facility, located just outside
Springfield, Ill. The event will be telecast on ESPN2
on Saturday, June 23 at noon EDT.
The racing weekend will feature the nation's top Pro
riders, competing in three Classes: SuperQuad Pro 450,
QuadTerrain Challenge Pro Stock, and SuperSport Side
by Side. The SuperQuad Pro 450 Class features big air,
motocross style racing. QuadTerrain Challenge features
larger, utility-type ATVs, competing on an obstacle
course that includes log jams, mud bogs, rock crawls,
as well as high-speed sections. The SuperSport Class
comprises four-wheel utility vehicles piloted by a driver
and co-driver, sitting side by side. The purpose-built
racing machines compete on a modified course that includes
both big air sections, as well as obstacles.
The race weekend will also feature nearly 20 other
classes for Pro Am, Amateur, Junior and Women's classes.
SuperQuad Pro 450
John Natalie, Jr. (No. 13 Elka, Maxxis/Honda) returned
to winning form two weeks ago at the season opener.
After dominating qualifying and the final, Natalie,
who returned to competition this season after suffering
a severely broken thumb last year, came out of the event
with a four-point lead in the season ending SuperQuad
Pro 450 Riders' Championship.
Just behind Natalie is veteran rider and defending
WPSA champion Doug Gust (No. 55 Team Rockstar, MSR,
Pro Taper, Yoshimura/Suzuki) and sophomore sensation
Dustin Wimmer (No. 191 MSR, Pro Taper, Yoshimura/Suzuki).
The factory Suzuki teammates welcomed Chad Wienen (No.
44 Team Rockstar, MSR, Pro Taper, Yoshimura/Suzuki)
to the team at the opener, making for a nearly unstoppable
combination of experience and talent.
Other riders to watch include: Joe Haavisto (No. 75
Lost Creek Cycles/Suzuki), Harold Goodman (No. 708 American
Honda/Honda) and Keith Little (No. 12 Lonestar/Honda).
The Kawasaki factory team of Josh Creamer (No. 9 Monster
Energy Drink/Kawasaki) and Jason Luburgh (No. 8 Monster
Energy Drink/Kawasaki) will also be in contention, as
will many others.
QTC Pro Stock
Veteran Snocross and ATV racer Jesse West came out of
the box with a victory at the season opener, riding
Arctic Cat's newest quad. The rider of the No. 888 ITP
Tires, Oil Boyz/Arctic Cat will certainly be a force
here.
Also in contention is longtime rider and defending
WPSA titlist Daryl Rath. Riding the No. 67 Jack Link's/Arctic
Cat, Rath will put his experience to the test here on
what has been traditionally a tough QuadTerrain course.
Can-Am factory team Warnert Racing will bring its full
force to bear here as it welcomes longtime terrain competitor
Chris Borich to its already impressive squad. Warnert's
other riders are Scott Kilby (No. 207 Warnert Racing/Can-Am),
Josh Frederick (No. 245 Warnert Racing/Can-Am), Adam
Vaughn (No. 83 Warnert Racing/Can-Am) and Anthony Baker
(No. 4 Warnert Racing/Can-Am).
SuperSport Side by Side
The PowerSports ATV Tour unveiled the new SuperSport
Class as a professional class at the season opener.
Fans and racers alike were in awe of the capability
of these race-bred machines and their riders. Based
on utility vehicles--like the Yamaha Rhino, the Arctic
Cat Prowler--these machines are built from the ground
up to race and will certainly be a highlight of the
weekend.
All Pro Class Riders will be vying for one of the richest
purses in ATV racing here. The Tour will award $22,500
in purse monies this weekend for the SuperQuad Pro 450
and QuadTerrain Pro Stock Classes. The purse pays to
20th place in the QuadMX Series and to 15th place in
QuadTerrain Challenge. The purse structure awards $4,000
to win in QuadMX and $2,000 to win in QuadTerrain Challenge,
with $15,000 and $7,500 available in each Series, respectively.
The Jack Link's ATV Championship kicks off Friday,
May 11, with a full card of qualifying and finals for
the Pro classes, as well as Amateur, Pro-Am, Youth and
Women's classes scheduled for the weekend. Tickets,
which start at $10 per day for adults and $5 for kids
6-12, will be available at the gate.
About the PowerSports ATV Tour:
The PowerSports ATV Tour is North America's
premier professional ATV racing circuit, featuring
QuadMX, QuadTerrain and SuperSport Pro series
action as well as more than 20 amateur classes
for adults, women and children. The Tour is sanctioned
by the World PowerSports Association, North America's
most respected snowmobile and ATV sanctioning
body, and a promoter of ATV and snowmobile racing
on both the regional and national level. For more
information, please visit www.PowerSportsTour.com.
World
PowerSports Association Headquarters
1863 Buerkle Road
W hite Bear Lake, MN 55110
651.209.7404
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