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Team Yoshimura Suzuki
Go One, Two, and Three in Memorial Day Thriller
Blountville, TN – May 28, 2006 - 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 Suzuki's
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.
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."
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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