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Rain, rain, and more rain. Team Yoshimura/Suzuki
slogs it out for 3rd/4th at Red Bud
 Buchanan, MI - May 14, 2006 - The Red Bud GNC
national was dogged by rain for the entire four
days of the event. A low-pressure area in Lake
Michigan created a spinning storm that never
left. Although the rain wasn't too heavy, it was
fairly constant resulting in a dramatically cut
down track. The surface of the track held up
nicely though and race day featured an eminently
"raceable" (although shorter) track.
The first moto saw Joe Byrd snag a clean
holeshot from the far right gate slot. Joe was
followed by Natalie, Gust, and Jones. This set
up a race long dogfight that featured some of
the best racing of the year. The top four ran
nose to tail the entire race.
Jones went on a big charge at about the
midway point and looked to be a sure bet for the
lead. But, going through the whoops section, he
got a rock stuck in between his rear brake lever
and the frame.
"I went into that little left after the
whoops," Jones said. "I went to hit the rear
brake and the pedal didn’t even move. I rammed
John so hard I don’t know how he didn’t wreck.
If he hadn’t of been right in front of me, I
would have gone right off the track."
In the resulting melee, Gust got around
Jones, while Natalie maintained the lead. Jones
was able to kick out the rock a lap later but by
then he was relegated to third. When the
checkers waved, it was John Natalie, followed by
Gust, Jones, and Byrd.
Moto two was a big holeshot for Digger Doug
Gust. #55 led followed by Natalie, Jones, and
Byrd. Natalie and Gust got together halfway
through the lap with Doug going over a berm and
losing six positions. Byrd got around Jones and
took off after Natalie. All three riders were
dicing heavily for the first half of the race.
Natalie started pull a bit of a gap while Jones
and Byrd were scrapping. Jeremiah finally
overshot a berm at the bottom of the ski run
jump and by the time he got going again, the
finishing order was set.
Natalie won with a 1-1 score. Byrd bagged
second with a strong 4-2. Jones tagged the last
podium spot with a 3-3. Doug Gust battled all
the way back up to 4th netting a fourth overall.
"I was hoping that Doug and I could be on the
podium together this race," said the Gunslinger,
"Maybe next time at Muddy Creek."
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