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ATVA ITP Moose Racing
National Motocross Series
Round #1 - Glen Helen
February 4-5, 2006




ATVA Motocross Nationals
Round #1 - Links
Devore, CA - The start of the 2006 ATVA MX Nationals has generated more excitement than ever with half the Pros receiving some form of factory support for 2006, which was something we only dreamed of several years ago. With so much on the line and money up for grabs, the riders are more dedicated and determined than ever to come out on top, and everyone has their eyes on the 2005 Champion, John Natalie Jr.

The big question of the weekend was if Natalie Jr. would be able to almost completely change his racing program for 2006 and still come out on top especially with Team Suzuki/Yoshimura’s Doug Gust and Jeremiah Jones making the switch to the new LT-R450 QuadRacer, which has been touted as the one of the most advanced sport ATVs ever released. Also, Yamaha’s Travis Spader is back in full force as a Factory rider along with Pat Brown and Kory Ellis on the redesigned YFZ450.

After a calm and beautiful sunny day of racing on Saturday, the Glen Helen wind machine would fire up early Sunday morning with gust well over 60mph, which shredded trackside banners and sent canopies flipping through the pits like tumble weed. With the racers and fans being sand blasted by the whipping winds, goggles were being popping up on everyone to protect their eyes from the sand. The only saving grace was that no rain was in the forecast and temperatures were expected to rise into the upper seventies. Once again, the Pro Main Event was on Super Bowl Sunday, which seemed to cut down on the number of spectators, but it still didn’t deter many racers as the entries were up ten percent to around 500 for the weekend.

The winds were reaching tropical storm force which had flag poles bending and many reaching for goggles just to save their eyes from the flying sand

The Pro Class had over 30 riders signup, and with the top 10 seeded, the remaining riders went to qualifiers to narrow the gate down to 20 riders. Jason Luburgh and Joe Haavisto won their respective qualifiers and none of the upcoming Pro Am riders qualified for the Pro Main, but two ITP Quadcross Racers Dana Creech & Dustin Nelson both qualified to represent their West Coast race series.

Pro Moto One
John Natalie Jr grabs the Holeshot followed by Keith Little, Jeremiah Jones, and Tim Farr
With the chain link fence lining the starting gate swarmed with fans, the Pros made their way onto the concrete starting pad to prepare for the start of the first Pro Moto of the 2006 season. John Natalie Jr held the first gate pick for winning the 2005 Championship and he headed to the far inside leaving only two spaces to his right, which were filled by Matt White and Jason Luburgh. To his left were the remaining top five Pros as the inside line was the hot spot on the gate. Kory Ellis and Dustin Nelson with their last gate picks were forced to lineup on the far outside in the only two remaining spots.

With engines roaring, the gate dropped and the race was underway. Keith Little would get the early jump and held almost a quad length lead over most of the pack as they charged down the straight-away toward the Talladega turn. As they approached the turn, John Natalie Jr’s Rage ATV engine powered him into the lead with Keith Little dropping back into the second spot. Natalie Jr glided his Honda around the bottom of the bowl turn with the Holeshot followed by Keith Little, Jeremiah Jones, Tim Farr, and Doug Gust.

Jeremiah Jones dismount caused a chain reaction of riders colliding leaving four pros temporarily stopped

After another straight away, Natalie Jr. lead the way around a left hand turn and into an uphill section of whoops. Little maintained the second spot while Jones and Farr battled for the third spot as they crested the hill and around a sweeping turn when disaster struck when Farr collided into the rear of Jones with enough force to throw him off the side of his Suzuki and into the path of traffic, which created a pileup of riders trying to avoid Jones and his R450. Jeremy Lawson barely avoided Jones as he darted off the track on the inside while Dustin Wimmer went wide clipping Jones rear wheel spinning him around with Dustin Nelson locking wheels with Wimmer. Travis Spader would stall his Yamaha avoiding the pileup, which left Tavis Cain and Kory Ellis scrambling to get out from behind Spader. When the dust settled, four pros (Jones, Wimmer, Nelson, Spader) were left with their quads sitting motionless, as they tried to remount and fire up their quads to resume the race several seconds down.

At the end of the first lap, John Natalie Jr. continued his lead Little with Byrd in chase. Doug Gust held the fourth spot with Tim Farr rounding out the top five. Farr’s run near the front would be short lived as he began to experience engine problems when his kick starter began cranking itself down whenever he reached high RPMs, which forced him to let off the throttle and coast for the remainder of the Moto. With Farr off the gas, it opened the door for Jerermy Lawson to take over the fifth spot followed by Pat Brown, Dana Creech, Jason Luburgh, and Jason Dunkelberger. Also, Harold Goodman was already out of the race as he sat at the finish line table top with his Honda waiting for the checkered flag.

With the race half way over, Natalie Jr. stretched his lead out to just under ten seconds over Keith Little followed by Joe Byrd. Doug Gust maintained the fourth spot with a comfortable lead over Jeremy Lawson. Pat Brown’s charge in sixth place would come to an end when he a rock damaged his wiring harness, which brought his YFZ450 to a stop. Dana Creech moved up into the sixth spot as him and good friend Luburgh were battling for position followed by Dunk and Cain also running side by side.

In the final laps of the race, the top five were settled into their positions with a descent gap separating each of them, with the rest of the pack still battling for position. Jason Luburgh would take over the sixth spot when Dana Creech’s would begin to fade after dislocating his pointer finger and dropping back to eighth place after also being passed by Tavis Cain. Jason Dunkelberger would circum to Joe Haavisto, and Kory Ellis would make an incredible charge from near a last place start to finish out the race in tenth place after passing both Dunk and White in the final lap of the race.

Dustin Wimmer, Pat Brown, and Travis Spader wait for the checkered flag
#13 John Natalie Jr Points to the fans as he launches over the finish line table top

John Natalie Jr would cruise his way to the easy first Moto win in front of a cheering crowd as he pointed to the crowd over the finish line table top. Keith Little rode his way to a flawless first moto on his new Honda ride followed by Joe Byrd, which gave Honda the top three sweep followed by Doug Gust and Jeremy Lawson.

Pro Moto Two
Joe Byrd makes the pass on John Natalie Jr for the lead, but Natalie would regain the lead in lap two
The hollowing winds finally began to settle down as the Pros lined up for their second Moto. This time Jones and Gust had the far inside line with Natalie Jr remaining in the same spot as the first moto, and the result remained the same as Natalie Jr would once again grab the Holeshot around the Taladega Turn. Joe Byrd would sling shot his way around the turn and make the pass on Natalie Jr before they made the left hand turn up the uphill whoops and take over the lead. The battle was on for the third spot as Jones, Little, Haavisto, and Gust all charged up the hill virtually side by side. At the rear of the pack was Kory Ellis, Dustin Wimmer, Harold Goodman, Travis Spader, and Jason Luburgh.

By the end of the first lap, Joe Byrd continued to hold the lead with Natalie jr right on his rear tires followed by Jones, Little, and Haavisto. Early in the second lap, Natalie Jr would make his move on Byrd and take over the lead as Jones began to apply the pressure to Byrd for the second spot.

Jeremiah Jones applying the pressure to Joe Byrd and eventually making the pass Byrd only be to be sidelined.

In the fourth lap, Jones would make the pass on Byrd and set his sights on Natalie Jr. when bad luck would strike once again. As Jones headed through the lower whoops section after the finish line, his rear shock/linkage would break and leave his fenders resting on his rear tires as he forced to pull off the track and watch the rest of the race from the sidelines. It was now up to Doug Gust to put the new Suzuki LT-R450 up on the podium in its debut race, and he was up to the task as he passed both Little and Haavisto to move into the third spot behind Byrd.

Meanwhile, several other riders were also dealing with their share of problems. After an incredible charge in Moto One, Jeremy Lawson would drop back to the back of the pack in the second Moto. Dustin Wimmer would was running with a flat rear tire, which dropped him to the rear of the pack and wishing he had Tire Balls. Also, Travis Spader and Harold Goodman were both experiencing issues with their machines once again which sent them to the rear of the pack.

The rough Glen Helen track also played havoc on front runner, John Natalie Jr. After he built up an almost ten second lead with only two laps to go, his seat would come loose and after a few quick attempts of re-securing the seat, Natalie Jr. decided to let it go, which he would later regret. Natalie Jr. would let Byrd pass him for the lead with hopes of holding off Gust to the checkered to preserve his overall win, but riding without the seat was too much for Natalie Jr. to handle. Natalie Jr. was forced to allow Gust to pass as well, which sent him back to third place finish followed by Little and Haavisto.

Natalie Jr seat falls off with two laps left, which costed him the Overall Win.
Joe Byrd claims the season opener win along with his wife Heather Byrd

The second Moto win by Byrd was enough for him to win the Overall and start the 2006 season where he left off at 2005 season finale at Loretta Lynn’s. It also marked the first time that Joe & Heather Byrd both won in the same weekend. The second place finish by Doug Gust was enough for him to squeeze out the final podium spot over Keith Little, and give the Suzuki LT-R450 its first podium appearance in as many races, which put a smile on the Suzuki camp, but you could still tell that they were hungry for the win and the championship.

Pro Podium (1st Joe Byrd, 2nd John Natalie Jr, 3rd Doug Gust)
John Natalie Jr’s third place finish dropped him into the second overall spot, but he proved that he still is the man to beat as he once again pulled away to impressive leads in both Motos.

Round One of the ATVA MX Nationals is in the record books, and the series is now heading to the Texas for Round Two at the Oak Hill MX Park in Decatur, TX this coming weekend, and the stage is set for another exciting round of racing.

Also, don’t forget to make your Pro top 5 overall predictions before Midnight Saturday Night, February 11th for your chance to win some really cool prizes provided by ATVriders.com, Akraix, and ATV Insider.

Pro ATV Race - Video Clip
Videos By: www.akraix.com

 

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