Warnert Racing’s Natalie and Miller Both Make the Top 10
Warnert AMA ATV MX Round 4

John Natalie Cody Miller John Natalie

Danville, VA – John “Ironman” Natalie lived up to his name this weekend as he competed in round 4 of the AMA ATV Motocross Nationals despite a serious and painful eye injury. Cody Miller also came on strong with a 9-9 finish securing his spot in the top 10.

Birch Creek was the location of choice for round #4, which saw a huge increase in attendance of racers and spectators alike. The track conditions were a bit muddy for morning practice and the first moto was even delayed for an hour because of the mud, but that was the least of John Natalie’s worries.

When Natalie crashed in the last round at Ballance MotoX, he got debris in his eye and ended up scratching his cornea. The injury became even more serious when infection set in and John’s vision was temporarily lost in his injured eye. “It got so bad the doctors thought that they might have to do a corneal transplant at first,” said John. Luckily, he was able to avoid surgery and is on the road to recovery. All though John was feeling better, his vision was still impaired and his depth perception was off, which made things difficult for him out on the track, but being such a voracious competitor, John would not let his injury stand in the way of racing. As the gate dropped for the 1st moto, Natalie came off the line in 4th place. John put up a fight, despite quite a bit of pain, and finished the first moto in 5th place.

Once it was time for moto #2, Natalie was feeling a little worse for wear. John came out of the gate in 13th and was able to move into the #12 position before the checkered flag was waved. Natalie ended his day with 8th overall and vows things will be different for round #5. “My vision should be back to 100% by the next round, so I will be back in top form,” he said.

Meanwhile, consistency was the name of the game for Cody Miller this weekend. Miller took 9th in Saturday’s qualifying round, earning him a spot in Sunday’s main event. When the gate dropped, Miller came off the line in 11th place, but within the first two laps, Miller was able to complete two passes, landing him in 9th place for the first moto. Miller’s second moto was pretty much a repeat of his first. Miller once again came off the line in 11th, and had made his way up to 8th only to get passed by Doug Gust on the last lap, which put him back to 9th place. Cody ended his day with a very consistent 9th place overall. “Everything went really well this weekend. The bike was running great thanks to the Warnert team,” said Miller. “Last round I had a thing with 11th place, this round it was 9th, so maybe next round it will be the same way, but hopefully with a podium finish!” joked Miller about his uncanny consistency.

In just two short weeks, the Warnert/Can-Am team will be heading to Sunset Ridge MX Park in Walnut, IL for round 5 that is scheduled for May 10-11, where both Natalie and Miller have their sights set on the podium.