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Quad Related Interviews

Interview: John Natalie Jr - Honda Factory ATV Motocross Racer
John (Ironman) Natalie, Jr. was crowned the WPSA PowerSports SuperQuad Pro 450 champion this weekend after wrapping up the season with yet another Podium finish. Despite crashing in Round 2, he was able to overcome his injuries, which would have sidelined many other competitors. John put his “never give up” philosophy into practice and made an impressive comeback, and charged his way back to the top with four wins and seven podium finishes, and regained control of the points lead at Round 8 and never looked back.

Natalie’s 2006 season was plagued with problems. A broken thumb sidelined Natalie for several rounds, which ended his run for the Championship. However, John’s determination and competitive nature got him back on track for 2007, which gave him the drive to take on factory Suzuki and Kawasaki.

Just after wrapping up the championship, ATVriders.com got the opportunity to speak with John about how this season went, his plans for next year and how it feels to be back on top again, since his 2005 Pro Championship.

#13 John Natalie Jr.- Ten Quick Facts
Birth Date: 7/7/1975
Weight: 180lbs
Hometown: Houtzdale, PA
ATV: Honda TRX450R
Occupation: Factory Pro Racer
1st ATC/ATV: Honda ATC70
Started Racing: 15 Years Old
Thumb/Twist: Thumb
Hobbies: Boating / Sking
Website: ironmannatalie.com
ATVriders.com: Today you wrapped up the championship, your first one since 2005. How does it feel?
It feels great! We were on a roll last year and on our way to a championship, but I ended up with a broken thumb that sidelined me for the rest of the season. I got hurt at the second round this year, and it was looking like it was going to be another year like 2006, but we stuck it out and the team worked hard and we pulled together. We came back and took out the powerhouse team of Suzuki and pulled it off this year and won the championship.

Looking back to when you got injured at South Fork, did you think it would come around for you?
I definitely wasn’t giving up. I never wrote it off. Even while I was lying in the hospital, I was saying I was still going to win this championship. It was one of those things where I had to get through the pain of that weekend. I told myself no matter what it took I was going to try and stay consistent and stay up front and come away with this championship. I have a lot of great people behind me, not the big powerhouse teams like Suzuki and Kawasaki, but we had the family team that all worked together and stuck together and we pulled it off.

How long did it take you to be back to 100% after your accident?
I’m still not really back to 100%. My knee still gives me some problems with it popping in and out, and my legs aren’t nearly as strong as they were at the beginning of the season because I had to sit on the sidelines and really not do anything for a while. The big thing is that I’m not back to 100% yet, but when I am back to 100% these guys are going to be in trouble because I am coming back strong next year.

You had a couple of points lead over Wimmer coming into this round after taking control of the points lead at the Round 8
Wimmer and Gust got stuck together and I ended up getting second at that race and that gave me the points lead. From there on I said that I wasn’t going to give it back and we worked hard and never gave it back.

Rage ATV's John Natalie jr pulled the Holeshot for Super Quad Pro450 Main

You pulled Holeshot, and it was your race at that point, you were out in front until the very last lap when Chad Wienen got around you…
Yeah, I got messed up going into a corner. I went to grab the clutch with my left hand and my finger slipped off the clutch and I stalled the bike. Luckily, going through the corner I started the bike back up and was able to pull in behind Chad and settle in second and that’s all I needed to win the championship.

You mainly just had to finish ahead of Dustin Wimmer correct?
Right, I could have finished ahead of him or probably 5 or 6 places behind him and still won the championship.

 
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