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Yamaha/ITP Quadcross
Round 8
Nick Denoble grabbin the holeshot
in the first moto.
Dustin Nelson power though the
track, looking flawless in moto one.
John Natalie would fall victim to
a flat tire in moto two. |
Ramping up for the final round the ITP
Quadcross rolls into an all new venue. Just out
side of the Inland Empire’s wine country
(Temecula, Ca.) in the small town of Anza is a
new Track. Cahuilla Raceway is owned by Johnny
Leach the head honcho of the Motoworks race
team. The track runs thought the hills of Anza
and was very nicely setup, my only complaint was
the dust. They really could have used a water
truck to help keep the dust down in the pits.
Unlike the last couple of rounds the heat had
definitely died down and you could tell fall was
in full effect. You couldn’t ask for better
weather. But as the pro class lined up the storm
was about to roll in, the thundering up the hill
meant the battle for the 2009 championship was
well on its way and someone would be going home
felling the gloom.
Past Quadcross champ and
Yoshimura’s own Kory Ellis was out on
his almost bones stock LTR showing them
how it’s done.
Thomas Brown came out west to get
in some seat time and had a great
showing in both motos.
Chad Wienen trying to catch Dustin
Nelson. Nelson taken home another win. |
Pro Production Moto 1
The entire row of pros left the line and
blasted the first hill to see who would take the
first turn and the holeshot. It would be the
number #123 Honda based machine of Nick Denoble
and right behind him was the #94 of last years
champion Dustin Nelson about his YFZ-R. Right on
Nelson’s heels would following in third was one
of Can-Am’s newly hired riders Chad Wienen. Chad
has been looking really strong on his new ride
and has adapted well the big change to Can-Am.
Looks like Can-Am will be a force to be reckoned
with. Trailing Wienen was Factory Yamaha rider
Thomas Brown. Brown also from the ATVA National
Series like Wienen, guess the boys came out west
to get some practice and also gauge the west
coast racers. At the moment the west coast
riders where putting up one hell of a fight.
In fifth place was the one of the contenders
in the points race, Jeremie Warnia with a few
wins this season he in the chase with Nelson and
current points leader heading into this round.
Unfortunately he didn’t get the start he was
hoping for, so he would have some catching up to
do. His Can-Am counterpart John Natalie Jr. was
in sixth. By the end of the first lap in moto
one Nick Denoble had already drop four
positions. Nelson made his move early as did
Wienen and they where starting to pull away. It
was pretty much a freight train after that, a
few would pressure for a pass, but everyone just
held there place. Nelson would take the first
moto win with Wienen in a very close second.
Thomas Brown would finish third with Warnia in
fourth. Warnia really need a better finish than
that, but would settle for the fourth for now.
Natalie rounded out the top five and holeshot
winner Nick Denoble finished seventh with Yamaha
factory rider Justin Noss finishing just ahead
of him in sixth.
Moto 2
Lined up for the second moto, engines roared
as they readied for the gate to drop. They shot
up the hill into the first turn, John Natalie
would pull the holeshot, but that was short
lived as the hungry Motoworks rider Jeremie
Warnia would steal the lead away. Nelson would
also Capitalize and move up to second behind the
point leader. Nelson being second in points
would make the final round interesting. Natalie
would fall victim to a flat and DNF in the final
moto, which left the door open for the rest of
the field. As for the rest of the Can-Am crew,
Chad Wienen was off to a really bad start and
had his work cut out for him. He would make a
hard charge in the first lap and made up a few
positions. His efforts got him up to third in
just one lap. With Nelson riding in second he
decided it was better to just ride his own race
and finish second. With his 1-2 finish he would
take the overall and it was smart for him to
play it safe. Even thought he took the overall
Nelson would still be tailing Warnia in points
going into the final round. Now nelson would
just have to win the final round and Warina
finish in third or lower for a back to back
championship. Of course Warina would take home
the win in moto two. Thomas Brown would have
another great moto on his visit to Cali, with a
forth in moto two. Brown would take home a
fourth overall for the weekend. Justin Noss
would round out the top five. He has had a
really great year with several podium finishes
and his very first Pro ATV win. He has looked
strong all year and with this finish he would
clinch the series third place in this round
before we head to Glen Helen for the final.
This round was great, a new track added to
the series, and a few new pros out to race. It
was an awesome weekend and can’t believe the
season is almost over. But before you know it,
the 2010 season will be here. Now that the
points race really has heated up with only a 3
point gap between Warina and Nelson, its going
to be a great race for the final round at Glen
Helen Raceway.
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