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WPSA Season
Opens with Doug Gust and Dustin Wimmer on Podium
Brea, CA (4/30/2007) -The opening round
of the 2007 WPSA SuperQuad Pro 450 Series got off to a
great start for Team Rockstar/MSR/Pro Taper/Suzuki/Yoshimura.
A new Rockstar awning and Tucker Rocky Hospitality Center
were quickly set up under beautiful blue skies at the
Silver Dollar Race Track in Reynolds, GA. The track had
been dormant for years, but the WPSA crew got the it back
up to speed in no time and the facility turned out to
be very raceable as well as challenging. With the dry
weather the sand/clay base featured good traction and
the corners had multiple lines.
Rick Murphy and the rest of the folks at WPSA had prepared
for a bumper crop of riders and they got it. Over 450
entries and a record number – 39 – Pros
showed up to support the first event of the series that
will be broadcast on ESPN-2 in June.
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| CHAD
WIENEN TAKES FLIGHT!
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This was the first race with newcomer Chad "Wide
Open" Wienen aboard a QuadRacer® R450. He had
been busy all week with his mechanic Ryan Cox getting
his new bike set up and getting used to the idea of
being a "factory rider."
In the first group of qualifying races on Saturday,
the team did very well. Wienen was ready to prove his
mettle with the other two members of the Triple Threat
Suzuki squad. He'd only had a couple of days on the
finished bike and his lap times had been smokin' hot.
It was showtime. The format was to have two split field
qualifying races on Saturday and then the same on Sunday
morning. In the WPSA series, even the qualifying heats
carry points that total in. Chad was paired with teammate
Doug Gust, and Dustin Wimmer was running his heat solo.
Although Doug had first gate pick, he still trailed
Natalie for the holeshot and came in third behind Wienen.
In the second heat, Wimmer made a bullet line to the
first turn for the holeshot and walked away from the
pack for an easy win.
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| WIMMER
ON THE GAS AT SILVER DOLLAR |
Sunday's first qualifier pitted Gust against Natalie
again, with "The Digger" getting the holeshot
and never looking back. Doug had some really good lines
through the whoops sections and that helped him increase
his lead. The second qualifier had both Wimmer and Wienen
going for the win. Wienen had tangled up with another
rider at the start and took off close to the back of
the pack. But the end of lap one Wienen was fourth,
by the end of two laps Wienen was second. Passing riders
does not seem to be much of problem for Wide Open Wienen.
At the checkers, Chad held a couple of seconds lead
and he, Dustin and Natalie all were tied for points.
Finally, the main event was ready to go and at gate
drop it was Natalie, Wienen and Gust and so it stayed
for seven laps. Chad Wienen was blazing fast and was
closing in on Natalie when his bike stalled due to a
suspected case of boiling gas. Although he was able
to get going again after a moment or two, the race for
the win was over for Wienen. Wimmer came up from behind
and eventually passed Goodman for third.
"The QuadRacer was going really fast and I was
really gaining on Natalie, "Wienen said after the
race. "I'd gotten one of my best starts ever, too.
Even though I didn't win, I think we went out and showcased
what we can do. I'll be ready for Taylorville."
With Wienen out of the running it was up to Doug and
Dustin to move into the lead. They really pushed the
bikes but Natalie had about a ten second lead that they
couldn’t overcome and had to settle for second
and third place.
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| DOUG
GUST GROUND-POUNDING UP SUZUKI HILL
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"All in all, I had a good weekend," Doug
said. "The Suzuki QuadRacer R450 really worked
well and the team has been really working hard to get
it dialed in right. I've been working hard on my starts
and it really showed today."
Wimmer was philosophical about the weekend, "Overall,
I came out of the weekend with a heat win, and a lot
of points. I'm not happy with Sunday's results, but
I know I have the speed and endurance to win and that's
what I intend to do this season...a lot."
The trio has a couple of weeks off to strategize for
their next assault at Taylorsville, IL on May 12th
Team Rockstar MSR/Pro Taper/Suzuki/Yoshimura
Program Sponsors:
Maxxis –
Douglas – Repsol – Pro Aluminum –
AFAM – BMC Filters – Galfer – PowerMadd
– CV Products – Full Bore – Motion
Pro – Liquid Performance – Walsh –
Fox Shocks – NGK – Hinson Clutch –
Precision Racing Products – VP Fuels – Quad
Tech – RPM – Arai – Mechanix Wear
– One Industries
www.yoshimura-rd.com
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