Monster Energy Kawasaki’s
Josh Creamer Claims Top-Five Finish
2009 AMA ATV Motocross Nationals
- Round 9 - Pleasure Valley Raceway
|
|
Monster Energy
Kawasaki's Cody Gibson Wins Again
|
Irvine, CA (7/22/2009)
- Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh Creamer earned
his fifth top-five finish of the season with a 4-7
as the AMA ATV Motocross Championship Series returned
to Pleasure Valley Raceway. Teammate Chad Wienen
went 20-6 for 13th overall. On the championship
front, Kawasaki’s young gun Cody Gibson clinched
the Pro Am Production class with two races left
on the schedule. Gibson took an outstanding lead
in both motos to earn his sixth win of the season,
while Joel Hetrick and Bobby Ross rounded out the
podium as Kawasaki took the top three spots in the
class.
What Could Have Been
Creamer made a great charge in the first moto
after getting a decent start and working his way
nearly to a podium spot, but settled for fourth.
In the second moto, he got a similar smart, but
worked his way up quicker to battle with the front-runners.
The top four riders were switching positions and
on the last corner on the way to the checkered
flag, Creamer got tangled with another rider and
ended up finishing seventh.
“I really couldn’t get into the groove
right away,” said Creamer. “In the
first moto, I almost had third and was really
motivated to go out and finish on the overall
podium. It looked like I was in position to do
that, but I got brake checked going up to the
finish line and got stuck in Joe (Byrd)’s
bumper. I was able to get unstuck and finish seventh.
|
|
|
Kawasaki's
Josh Creamer was on his way to his first
Podium finish since winning at Steel City
till the final turn incident, which dropped
him off the Podium
|
Never Give Up
|
Chad Wienen
on the charge after his Moto One 1st Turn
Wreck
|
Wienen made the most of the cards he was dealt at
Pleasure Valley. In the first moto, a first turn
crash resulted in a broken kill switch and a 20th
place finish. In the second moto, he had the furthest
outside gate pick, but wasn’t going to give
up. He charged hard through the pack after starting
next to last to finish sixth.
“It was a tough weekend to go in ahead
in the points and have a bad moto,” said
Wienen. “It’s not over yet. There
are still two important races left and a bad race
or moto can happen to anyone. I’ve moved
on and not going to let it get me down, but rather
it is really motivating. I almost wish we had
a race this coming weekend because I’m ready
to go out and win.”
Still Some Time Left
With the points lead being relinquished in Pennsylvania,
Wienen still hasn’t given up hope for the
championship.
“I’m taking this season one moto
at a time,” said Wienen. “Anything
can happen like it did to me. I am just staying
positive and very motivated for the next two rounds.”
Racking In The Championships
Gibson’s dominance of the Pro Am Production
class can be shown in his results. The Tennessee
native has never finished lower than second and
with a dominating 1-1 finish on Sunday, Gibson clinched
his second Pro Am championship in two years. It’s
not over yet since Gibson has an opportunity to
clinch the Pro Am Unlimited championship at the
next round at Red Bud.
“It feels good to win the championship
so early,” said Gibson. “It hasn’t
kicked in yet. I won the championship last year
in the Unlimited class, but this feels bigger.
The race was great and I was posting pro lap times
in both motos. My Kawasaki KFX®450R has been
great.”
1-2-3
While Gibson was on his way to clinching the
Pro Am Production championships, two other Kawasaki
riders were following suit to make the class podium
a Kawasaki sweep. Hetrick earned his second podium
finish in second, while Ross grabbed his third
podium in third.
Red Bud
The next race will take place at Wienen’s
favorite track on the schedule. The historic Red
Bud track is technical and rough, which suits Wienen’s
style and abilities.
“I love Red Bud,” said Wienen. “It’s
my favorite track and I did really well there.
I need to step up to the plate. After Red Bud
is Loretta Lynn’s, which I have won the
past two years.”
AMA
ATV Motocross Championship
Pleasure Valley Raceway – Armagh,
PA - July 19, 2009
|
|
ATV
Pro Class (Moto Finishes) |
- Dustin Wimmer, Center Valley, Pa.,
Suzuki, 1-1
- Doug Gust, Salem, Wis., Suzuki, 3-2
- Josh Upperman, Louisville, Ohio, Honda,
9-3
- John Natalie, Jr., Houtzdale, Pa.,
Can Am, 7-3
- JOSH CREAMER, N. STONINGTON,
CONN., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 4-7
- Joe Byrd, Union City, Tenn., Honda,
2-10
- Thomas Brown, Sanger, Texas, Yamaha,
9-8
- Cody Miller, Greenville, Texas, Cam
Am, 6-11
- Jeremy Lawson, Live Oak, Fla., Can
Am, 13-5
- Greg Gee, Simcoe, Ontario, Honda, 11-9
- CHAD WIENEN, GALENA, ILL., MONSTER
ENERGY KAWASAKI, 20-6
Pro
Overall Point Standings |
- Dustin Wimmer, Center Valley, Pa.,
Suzuki, 335
- CHAD WIENEN, GALENA, ILL.,
MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 306
- Joe Byrd, Union City, Tenn., Honda,
304
- Doug Gust, Salem, Wis., Suzuki, 292
- Josh Upperman, Louisville, Ohio, Honda,
276
- JOSH CREAMER, N. STONINGTON,
CONN., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 256
- John Natalie, Jr., Houtzdale, Pa.,
Can Am, 237
- Jeremy Lawson, Live Oak, Fla., Can
Am, 225
- Cody Miller, Greenville, Texas, Can
Am, 194
- Thomas Brown, Sanger, Texas, Yamaha,
184
|
|
