Yoshimura One, Two, Three in Memorial Day Thriller!
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#2
Jones and #55 Gust on the podium |
Blountville, TN - (5/30/06) -Muddy creek
was in perfect condition for this weekend's GNC event.
Hot temperatures greeted the competitors, separating the
men from the boys. Jeremiah Jones and Doug Gust dominated
the event with 1-2 finishes in both motos aboard the blazing
fast LT-R450 Suzuki QuadRacers®.
Team Yoshimura
Suzuki manager Wayne Hinson was feeling good at the
end of the day, "Jeremiah is just 'on' right now.
These Suzukis are incredible, and with the way he's
riding – he'll be tough to beat... The day could
have only been better if both of them won. But somebody's
got to get first and somebody's got to get second. As
it turned out, Doug gained a lot of points and Jeremiah
keeps inching
closer. It's a long series and we are looking at being
up front when it’s all over."
At the start of the first moto, a seemingly smooth
start for everyone turned to chaos as too many quads
tried to fit into one spot.
Teammates "Digger" Doug Gust and Jeremiah
"The Gunslinger" Jones were running 5th and
6th respectively rounding out the first lap. Yoshimura
support rider and series point leader Joe Byrd got together
with John Natalie Jr. with Natalie getting the short
end of the stick. Joe emerged in 7th right behind Jones
and Gust, while Natalie went back to 9th.
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#2
Jeremiah Jones |
By the third lap Jeremiah had passed through to the
lead and started to pull away. Gust meanwhile was scrapping
in a pack of riders that included Joe Byrd and Keith
Little. Natalie had gone up to second as Jones pulled
away.
Around the halfway point, Gust passed up to second
and took off after his teammate. The moto ended that
way with a 1 - 2 finish for Team Yoshimura Suzuki. Yoshimura
support rider Joe Byrd rode his Dan Lamey tuned machine
to a well-earned 3rd.
In Moto two, Jeremiah started second but quickly moved
to the lead before the second lap was done. Gust powered
up into second place and the race was on.
The rest of the race saw Jeremiah putting the "bit
in his teeth" and checking out. "Harold Goodman
got the holeshot," Jones said. "I picked him
off in about a lap and a half over in a whoop section.
It was pretty much clear sailing from there."
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#55
Doug Gust |
Jones had a huge lead by mid race on his Ryan Cox tuned
LT-R, and was riding smart maintaining his gap. Gust
rode in second while once again Byrd and Natalie got
together. This time Natalie ended up flipping and by
the time he got back going was well down the field.
Jeremiah ended up winning the second moto with a comfortable
margin over teammate Doug Gust. Gust had a large margin
over Joe Byrd with the rest of the field being fairly
spread out as well. It seemed the heat and humidity
had taken its measure of some of the competitors.
John Natalie Jr. ended up 6th overall on the day, thus
losing valuable points to Joe Byrd and Digger Doug.
The points are under protest due to an incident back
in Birch Creek, so depending on how the ATVA rules,
the points are either very close, or Byrd has a 40 point
lead.
Jeremiah however was just enjoying his success, one
race at a time. "I'm at the breaking point right
now – just trying to collect points from the three
guys ahead of me. Just trying to click away. Doug's
third, I'm fourth. All I can do is just keeping winning
races. This LT-R450 Suzuki is really working and I'm
feeling really strong."
Jones was really happy to finally to share the podium
with Doug. "It was really great be up there with
Doug. I've been waiting for this all season."
Gust agreed in a post race conversation, "Jeremiah
was on a mission today. If it isn’t me, I'm really
glad to see him win it," Doug proudly said of his
teammate.
In Wayne Hinson's understated words: "It was a
good day."
Team Suzuki/Yoshimura Programs Partners American
Suzuki - Yoshimura R&D of America - Hinson Clutch
Components - Dunlop Tires - Motul - Fox Racing Shox
- Galfer - AC Racing - BMC Filters - Tag - Regina -
RPM - Walsh Racecraft - Quad Tech - Douglas Wheel -
Motion Pro - Precision Steering Stabilizer - VP Fuels
- Mechanix Wear - Pro Design
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