|
Wimmer Takes Dramatic Win
Wimmer Back
into AMA ATVMX Points Lead After Dramatic
Pleasure Valley Battle
Wimmer, Gust, Upperman claim the
unexpected Overalls
Wimmer, Gust, Byrd and Creamer provided
fans an exciting race.
Byrd and Creamers misfortune was
Upperman's gain taking 3rd overall.
Wienen became sidelined in moto 1 ending
his brief points lead.
Byrd grabs the holeshot in moto 2 but
fights to the end to keep the lead.
Creamer snags 2nd over Wimmer up until
the very last turn. |
Armaugh, PA (July 20, 2009) - In what many
described as the most exciting AMA ATV Motocross
race in years, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Dustin
Wimmer passed a battling Joe Byrd and Josh
Creamer in the last corner of the second moto to
steal the overall win at Pleasure Valley
Raceway, host of round nine of the 2009 ITP
Tires/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross
Championship. Honda's Byrd appeard headed to the
overall via 2-1 moto scores until Monster Energy
Kawasaki's Creamer attempted an aggressive pass
in the final corner of the race, leaving the two
riders tangled together and giving Wimmer a path
into victory lane.
"It all happened so quick," said Wimmer. "I
was just trying to get around Josh to get some
points back for second place and we came over
that tabletop side by side and I guess they got
tangled up and I went right around them. It
happened so quick I didn't really know what
happened!"
Wimmer took the first moto win in front of
Byrd, but Byrd appeared ready to take moto two
for his second overall win this season. Instead,
he ended the moto in tenth, with Creamer in
seventh. Wimmer's teammate Doug Gust ended up
second overall with 3-2 scores, and Baldwin
Motorsports Honda's Josh Upperman took third
with 5-3 finishes.
"The competition, if you look at our lap
times, there are 15 guys within two seconds of
each other," said Gust. "We have ten guys that
could win on any given day."
Behind all this, AMA Pro ATVMX Championship
Points leader Chad Wienen had a miserable day
and ended up handing the points lead back to
Wimmer. A first-turn crash in moto one knocked
the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider out of the
race with a bent machine, and a terrible start
in moto two-he was 12th on lap one-resulted in a
sixth-place finish in the moto. Wimmer is now
back in the series lead despite losing
significant ground at mid-season with a
dislocated shoulder.
Wimmer also scored the ATVSource.com Fast
Qualifier Award by a scant .026 seconds over
Warnert Can-Am's John Natalie-a Pennsylvania
native.
In moto one, Gust grabbed the
MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot award, and the winner
of last year's Pleasure Valley race led for a
few laps, while Wimmer battled with Creamer and
Byrd to get into second. Wimmer eventually
overtook his teammate to take the lead and the
moto win, with Byrd making a late-race move to
get around Gust for second, and Creamer taking a
close fourth ahead of Upperman.
Byrd, who also held the series' points lead
early in the year, was determined to get the win
in moto two, and he grabbed the
MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot there and took off.
But Creamer was determined as well. He passed
Gust to get into third, and then mounted a huge
rally on the last lap, passing Wimmer for second
and then going after Byrd. In the last corner of
the race, both Byrd and Creamer went to the
outside and collided, and their machines got
locked together with the finish line in site.
Wimmer and Gust, who were right behind, went to
the inside and emerged with an incredible 1-2
finish.
"That has be the moto of the century, four
guys going for it," said Gust. "I was kind of
back and watching it all. I figured something
had to happen, so I put a charge for it, and
then something happened and I came in second."
"It was good racing," said Wimmer. "I knew
Joe was going to be strong. I tried to get
around him this race (in the second moto) and it
wasn't happening. This track, you have to run it
wide to have good lines, you can't do it with
someone right behind you."
In the Pro-Am Production Class, Cody Gibson
dominated the event with 1-1 finishes on his
Kawasaki.
Race Notes:
The Pleasure Valley track, located just outside
of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, took on a lot of
rain on Saturday night, which threatened to turn
the race into a mudder. Track owner Jeff Cernic
and his crew worked hard to shape he track up
for Sunday's racing, and mud indeed was not a
factor there. Most riders described the track as
fast.
In the AMA Pro ATV Manufacturer Cup, Wimmer's
win helps Suzuki build a small lead, with 332
points over Kawasaki's 318.
Wimmer now holds a 29 point lead in the AMA Pro
ATV Standings with two races to go-a total of
100 points are up for grabs in the final four
motos.
Results
Suzuki Summer Nationals
Pleasure Valley Raceway
Armaugh, PA
AMA ATV Pro Class
1. Dustin Wimmer 1-1 (Suz)
2. Doug Gust 3-2 (Suz)
3. Josh Upperman 5-4 (Hon)
4. John Natalie 7-3 (Can)
5. Josh Creamer 4-7 (Kaw)
6. Joe Byrd 2-10 (Hon)
7. Thomas Brown 9-8 (Yam)
8. Cody Miller 6-11 (Can)
9. Jeremy Lawson 13-5 (Can)
10. Greg Gee 11-9 (Hon)
Series Standings (After nine of 11 rounds):
1. Dustin Wimmer (335/5 wins)
2. Chad Wienen (306/2 wins)
3. Joe Byrd (304/1 win)
4. Doug Gust (292)
5. Josh Upperman (276)
6. Josh Creamer (256/1 win)
7. John Natalie (237)
8. Jeremy Lawson (225)
9. Cody Miller (194)
10. Thomas Brown (184).
About the ITP/Moose Racing AMA
ATV Motocross Championship Presented by Parts
Unlimited
The ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross
Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited is the
nation's premier amateur and professional ATV
motocross series, and competes at top motocross
facilities nationwide. The 11-round series
features the Nation's best racers, teams and
sponsors, and is America's largest and
longest-running ATV National Motocross series
with more than 20 years of competition. The
series continues to expand and produce top
talent from the amateur ranks, while keeping
close to the grassroots fun that makes people
love to go to the races. Check out weekly
Motosodes of ATVision powered by Quad at
www.atvmotocross.com For more information,
please visit
www.atvmotocross.com.
About the ATV Promoters Group
(ATVPG)
The ATVPG is composed of the individual
promoters that host the ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV
Motocross Championship Presented by Parts
Unlimited. The goal of the ATVPG is to raise
awareness of ATV motocross through the
production of professional and amateur
championship racing events. For more information
on the ATVPG and the ATV National events they
produce, please visit
www.atvmotocross.com.
About MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.
MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. manages the Lucas Oil
AMA Pro Motocross Championship, the Women's
Motocross Association (WMA) National Motocross
Championship, and the professional racing side
of the AMA Pro ATV Motocross Championship. MX
Sports Pro Racing, Inc. is a second-generation
family owned business that has been in operation
for over 26 years and is an industry leader in
the segment of off road/action sports race
promotion in the United States. Through its
various racing properties, partnerships and
affiliates, MX Sports fields more than 60,000
action sports athletes each year and attracts
millions of active fans, spectators and
enthusiasts. For more information on MX Sports,
please visit
www.mxsports.com.
|
